My back on the ground once more, I kicked my legs wildly. “Show it to yourself!”
He let out a grumbled huff of annoyance as he wrangled my legs. I tried to flip on my stomach once more to crawl away, but he flipped me back over with ease. My limbs felt like jelly. He straddled me with his knees beside my hips, and he collected my wrists in one of his hands, pinning them above my head. His other hand held on to my jaw, stilling me. I bucked my hips trying to get him off, but he pressedhis weight into me, pushing me against the cold ground. I gasped at the contact of his pelvis digging into mine. A wave of electricity coursed through me.
He tilted my head to the side, exposing my neck to the cool breeze that wrapped around my skin. He leaned down, running his nose up the side of my neck, inhaling deeply. I shivered. I took in a sharp breath as he licked up the column of my throat. A new wave of energy fled through me as my fight was renewed. I squirmed and writhed beneath him trying to break his hold.
He chuckled darkly. “Charlotte darling, are you going to cooperate for me, or are we going to have to complete this bond right now?” Fear ripped through me as I felt the sharp points of his canines at my neck. Not only could he complete the tracking spell, but he could also turn me if he didn’t extract the venom. And my life would be over. Any bit of normalcy I hoped to have would be dead and buried.
“Okay,” I breathed. “Please, don’t. Just show me whatever it is. I’ll cooperate.”
He licked along my jaw. Even his tongue was cold. A shudder racked through me as tingles erupted down the back of my neck. “Good girl.”
He rose to his feet, standing over me as I remained lying flat and limp on the ground. He sighed dramatically and gripped my upper arms, hauling me up to my feet. I swayed as the world spun around me, and he steadied me with a frown.
“What were you trying to escape from, darling?” He cocked his head to the side.
I glared up at him. “I’m looking right at him.”
He smirked, revealing his dimple. An innocent, charming young man cloaked the devil within. “Good luck with that.” He winked, and I lunged at him, only to stumble and fall into his chest.
He chuckled as he hauled me back up to my feet. “You just can’t keep your hands off me.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. Any touch is a mistake,” I retorted.
He only laughed more.
“I shouldn’t delay your surprise any longer.” He wrapped his arm around my waist, holding me upright with a bruising grip.
Someone came around the corner, and I inhaled sharply. “Thomas?”
He walked closer, no, it was more like a saunter. Nothing like his typical stiff walk. It was almost as if he was stalking his prey. Each step slow and calculated. He would pounce, and I’d never know when. He looked different. I hadn’t seen him since the initiation ball when he gave up on me like all the others. It wasn’t worth reaching out. I had to hold on to some of my dignity. But his eyes seemed off, and his brow seemed heavier. Usually he was so calm, so relaxed and poised. Honestly, quite boring. But now he seemed almost angry. No, not angry. A bit depraved.
Alaric’s lips brushed across the shell of my ear. I shivered. “I see you’ve already met my newest addition.”
Newest addition?
“W—you, you turned him?”
Thomas flashed a wicked grin that answered my question as I saw his pointed canines.
Alaric’s unrelenting grip tightened even further. I could already feel the blood pooling under my skin. His other hand landed heavily atop my throat, and he squeezed lightly, jerking me closer towards him. His lips were practically pressed against my ear now, and I winced as he spoke harshly, his breath the hollowed, frigid wind that came before the reaper. “You went to the portal,Charlotte,” he spat my name as if it was a curse. “I told you things would only get worse if you didn’t stop prying. And now his life is on you.”
My stomach sank.
“Now, I know you were not exactly fond of him, but we’re starting off slow. I know how much of a fragile bird you are, can’t even stand the sight of blood, my sweet dove.” He bit my ear softly, and my knees gave out. He yanked me back upright again.
He grabbed the dagger from my belt and swiped it across the swell of my breast. The sting of cold metal cutting into delicate skin came a second too late. I grew queasy at the warmth that dripped down. Before I could fully process anything, he shoved me hard. My body flew to the ground in a crumpled heap.
Thomas pounced.
I was still so sluggish. I had no idea how I managed to fight him. I swatted, kicked, and punched wildly, anything to ward off his gnashing teeth.
“Darling, you have what you need to end him. Why don’t you use it?” Alaric drawled. He was watching the scene with his arms casually crossed across his chest, the picture of ease, as his feral newborn desperately tried to eat me.
I realized the dagger was in my hand. He must have put it there before he pushed me. I looked to the dagger, then to Thomas. This was surely the best time to use it. The action more than reasonable, my duty even. I could already feel the slickness between my fingers, what would spill from him. My stomach turned. Acid already burning my throat.
“You care so little for your life that you’d rather die than defend it?” Alaric’s words carved open my chest, a rabid beast leaving my insides a mangled mess, all I hid from myself exposed.
Though I was squeamish, it wasn’t just the sight of blood I feared but what it represented if I were the one to draw it. The disdain others heaved upon me my entire life had taught me that maybe my life wasn’t worth saving. When it came between the two, not only was I the lesser choice, but taking a life would only supply otherswith more ammunition. And so I was never able to bring myself to lift the blade, even when it was justified in the name of self-defense.
