Page 26 of No One’s Daughter

I’d barely made it into the myriad of dancing bodies when the sound of a dark chuckle reached my ears and I found him standing there.

Mere metres away from me, seemingly in no rush to pounce on me. He knew he had me. He was cocky about it, sure that this was it and that he’d caught me.

His mocking laugh told me as much.

But I wasn’t done.

I refused.

Shit.

Fuck.

He was so damn close.

Quick, think, for fucks sake.

I couldn’t let him get me.

Think.

The hairs on my neck stood.

I had to do something—anything—now.

Think.

I grabbed the nearest guy to me, my nails digging into the back of his neck as I whirled him around to face me and sunk my fangs into the delicate flesh just above his collar bone.

​Blood welled to the surface immediately, flooding my mouth with the most delicious satisfaction. I wanted to drink, to bleed him dry. But I had just about enough willpower to remember why I’d done this.

​A distraction.

​The vampire cocked his head at me, studying me far too intensely for my liking. I had needed to do the unexpected, and judging by the way the eyes of the man who was after me had widened, I had managed just that.

​So I tore into more of my unfortunate victim’s flesh and then threw his lethargic body into the stranger who had hunted me just as screams began to rise above the sound of the music.

​I ran.

​I ran as fast I fucking could, straight for the fire exit.

​This was my only chance.

​My pulse was racing as I struggled against the feeling of my heightened senses trapping me. Everything was too damn loud, the scent of sweat, sex and worse in the air. Even the flashing lights became too much. And the fucking hunger. All I wanted was to rip into the next person. I’d lost the ability to care. My senses were suffocating me, the hunger screaming at me.

​But still I pushed on, not daring to turn around to see if I’d managed to slip past my follower. The screams had died down, leading me to believe that he’d somehow managed that situation, which could only mean one thing. He’d be on my trail again before I knew it.

​I couldn’t let him catch up to me.

​I needed to get out of here and away from him.

​I ascended the old metal stairs, taking two steps at a time, then I finally reached it—the smoking area. All I needed to do now was escape the crowd undetected, make my way down the other fire escape, then disappear into the night. I didn’t know where I’d go, I’d figure that out as I went. My only concern right now was evading him.

​Smoke filled my lungs as I weaved through the crowd of sweaty party-goers. Their heartbeats were all too tempting.

​Focus Ailsa, I chastised myself. I need to get out of here.

​I breathed in the chill night air when I reached the fire escape, I didn’t slow, and my hands slid along the handrails as I ran down it.