“I’ll take your wrist,” he said, his words rough as he accepted his fate.
She didn’t speak, but he didn’t want her to. This was difficult enough without chitchat.
The sleeve of her robe was pulled back, revealing the thin wrist. Biology had his fangs dropping into his mouth, blood rushing in his ears as he succumbed to his hunger. It took two tries before he could touch her, lifting her arm to his mouth. Two more attempts and he had finally pierced her vein. At that point, he closed his eyes and thought of Acadia. This female’s blood didn’t taste the same, but it was powerful enough to sate him, so he took as much as she could part with. And when he finished, he remained on his knees after dismissing her from the room.
For a few minutes, he worried he was going to expel all he’d taken in. Breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth helped to settle matters. At least where his stomach was concerned. As for his heart … yeah, he seriously doubted that thing was going to find peace for a while. If ever. He felt as though he’d betrayed the female he loved, but he knew it couldn’t be helped. Vampires had to feed. It was a biological necessity. The longer they went without it, the worse they would get until, eventually, they would die.
His body hadn’t responded the same to that female as it did to Acadia, so at least there was that.
Kaj wasn’t sure how much time passed between the time she left and when he finally got to his feet. But when he did, he shored up his nerves and headed out of his room, down the grand sweeping staircase, and to the main floor below. He didn’t stop, ignoring those who were still hanging around. They’d moved a few people into the Lair until the mansion was back to its former glory, and the additional souls were adding to the chaos.
Hoping to help Obsidian and his brothers, Kaj headed for the mansion, traversing the tunnels, making his way past the infirmary, beyond the war room, which was a hub of activity, through the bar that was, not surprisingly, vacant. Despite the energy he now had, there was still an emptiness within him. But it wasn’t until he made it up the stairs to the mansion’s kitchen that he fully understood why. There, sitting in the sunroom, was Acadia. Her eyes appeared vacant when they met his.
Kaj stopped, swallowing past the lump in his throat.
She knew. His female knew he’d fed from another. It was the first time he’d done so since his return nearly three months ago. For the past eighty-four days, he’d relied on her blood to sustain him, and now he’d sought another. He briefly wondered if she felt the same pain he did when it had happened. Fuck, he hoped not. Regardless of how things stood between them, the last thing he wanted was to cause her pain.
I’m sorry, he relayed directly into her mind.
Acadia didn’t respond, her vacant gaze still on his, and he knew he’d hurt her. Perhaps in a manner she would never be able to recover from.
Truth was, he didn’t necessarily blame her.
But more importantly, he had to wonder if, on some level, he hadn’t done it on purpose. As a way of protecting her from him. Didn’t matter that he’d bonded with her, that he wanted to spend eternity with her; Kaj knew, deep in his dark soul, that she was better off without him.
It well and truly sucked, but it didn’t make it any less true.
“How’re you feeling, brother?” Eclipse asked Obsidianwhen he joined the male in the underground bedroom he and Penelope had temporarily moved into.
“I’ll live,” Obsidian grumbled, offering a smile. “And I thought lightning bolts were a bitch.”
Eclipse chuckled. “Yeah. I suppose sharing a body with an archangel does make electricity look like kid’s play. Have you heard from him? Michael? Since, you know…”
Obsidian shook his head and propped himself up on the pillows of the enormous bed. “No. And I’ve reached out. Nothing.”
Eclipse had worried that would be the case. He wasn’t sure whether anyone was considering the fact Michael’s hands were supposed to be tied here on Earth. For him to have used his own powers against Eevuhl, even if it had been through the use of Obsidian’s physical form, that didn’t change the fact he’d intervened, which violated the Almighty’s rules. Heaven only knew what punishment for such an egregious act of defiance might be.
“How’s Penelope?” he asked, nodding toward the female, who was currently perched on a small settee in the corner, her feet propped up on an ottoman, eyes closed, a pair of headphones covering her ears.
“Surprisingly, she’s content.”
Thatwassurprising considering she’d already passed her due date. Not by much, mind you, but according to the good healers, she was now twenty-one weeks along. Granted, none of them knew exactly how an angel birth on Earth would play out. Perhaps she could carry that baby for a full forty weeks like humans, but if she did… Eclipse seriously doubted she’d be able to hold that thing in there. As it was, her belly appeared stretched to maximum capacity.
Obsidian glanced over at her, his eyes softening the same way they always did when he looked at the female.
“You two need anything?” Eclipse offered.
His brother’s attention returned to him. “Yeah. An update. How’s it going with the construction?”
“Almost complete. What takes humans six months takes us only a few days.”
“Damn good thing, too. I intend to have myereswaback in her own bed when the baby’s born.”
Eclipse knew that. It was the very reason they were busting ass to make it happen. Thankfully, on the third floor, all of their bedrooms faced the rear of the mansion, with the hallway along the front as well as the additional spaces, including their private recreation area and the room Penelope had been working on as the female getaway. Those had been obliterated, as had many of the bedrooms on the second floor. Thankfully, they still had overflow belowground, as well as space in the vampire lair. For now, they were scattered, but if all went well, they’d be back to normal by the time the calendar flipped to February.
“We have to have more protection,” Obsidian said softly. “This can’t happen again.”
His brother didn’t have to tell him that. Eclipse felt the same, and with the help of thefiestreigh, they’d been designing some additional security measures, including a wall that would surround the entire grounds, something they could defend in the event—God forbid—something like this happened again. As it was, they had no idea who knew of their location. Though they’d considered vacating Darkness entirely, they’d come to the conclusion that if they had found them once, they would find them again, so the best thing they could do was simply be prepared.
