Page 32 of Deadly Cravings
Though fearful, she picked herself up each time she’d been slammed down.
Humanity was the Lord’s creation while I was an abomination, something dark and sinful that should have never been, so I’d abstained from feeding directly from humans once I became a monster, feeding from animals and then blood banks when they surfaced. Until the curvaceous human appeared and saved me. I watched said human disappear through the swinging glass door of the building.
Knowing other’s thoughts, forced me to be more conscious of their emotional state. Reading human minds were easier than reading the minds of other vampires which always seemed shrouded in a layer of fog. Furthermore, any emotion humans felt at a powerful level leaked into my conscious. I understood the emotion from an outsider perspective, even if I couldn’t feel it as they did. When thinking back on human memories, they remained behind a hazy curtain. Present, but not fully formed. Little details faded, like smells, tastes?—
You two always get onme, but no, when you want to stalk the human, it’s fine.
I narrowed my eyes at the door.
The voice was?—
“What you doin’,” Asher slipped into my vehicle and slammed the door shut.
“How did you get here?” He hadn’t driven up.
Asher’s seat creaked as he scooted it flat so he reclined and he hooked his arms behind his head.
“Compelled some human.” Asher smirked. “What, you didn’t see me following you because you were so honed in on the pretty little ass?”
I stiffened, offended. “How dare you?—”
“I feel like we’re bonding with this whole stalking thing.” Asher’s grin widened.
“This is not stalking,” I snapped. “I volunteered to keep an eye on her.”
“Let’s stop the bull, we can have our hired humans, or one of my progeny could have watched her if we truly wanted eyes on her.”
“Nonsense.” I left it at that, not bothering to try to make sense of it all. We’d kept our relocation silent to all under our coven. Neither them nor the humans could know where we’d relocated. Jax sent them the girl’s location virtually with strict instructions to notify us of her every move, and if the time came where she attempted to leave within a twenty-mile radius from this address, then she would be detained until we collected her, yet she hadn’t tried to flee.
The front door opening dragged our attention to Catalina as she sped to her car, peeking around her. She popped the door open and bent inside, reaching for something I couldn’t see.
“I want to fuck her.” He groaned, rubbing his crotch.
I eyed him. “Tone down your vulgarity.” He only lifted an eyebrow. Catalina retreated from the vehicle with a bag swinging in her hand.
“Whatever you say,” Asher scoffed. “So, has Calliope contacted you to complain about you offing her child?”
“No.” And I was as surprised as he looked. It lent itself to our theory that she had Ren. In any other instance, she would do whatever possible to be as much of an annoyance as she could.
Calliope likely played her little games . . . I counted on this because if it were another, more volatile enemy making a move by taking Ren, he may not be alive.
We could not storm into her territory without her being able to call a hearing, turning all vampires against us. Many would gladly take the chance.
It would be a bloodbath from both sides and humans would be the collateral.
Toe the fine line. Play the long game. We would prevail but we had to take care when moving the pieces.
THIRTEEN
catalina
Fortunately,the 24-hour animal shelter asked me to come in on short notice to fill in during the evening shift, giving me the perfect excuse to avoid the turbulent shit going on in my head. Mainly, the fact that I was being ‘watched day and night’, whatever that meant. I believed it even though I vigilantly kept an eye out for anyone following me, but to no success. On my drive over to the shelter, I’d squeezed the steering wheel in a death grip and my shoulders hadn’t relaxed since I arrived. I tapped my fingers on the front desk surface, my mind staying on the havoc causing vampires. Plural. Something about Tobias and Asher pulled me into their rotation and fantasies spawned in my brain at an alarming rate. Especially after the mention of sharing a woman. My fixation felt wrong, but right at the same time. At my increasing fascination, I could only conclude I’d become a blood-whore.
These emotions were a complete shift from the fear that normally haunted me. Indigestion burned in my throat, so I took a swig of the water.
No more mulling. I’d been thinking about what kind of woman she had been to inspire them sharing her, and I couldn’t wrap my head around it as much as I tried. What was so specialabouther? Wait a moment. Plastic crackled under the pressure of my hand.
I was jealous.Absolutelynot. There was no need to be jealous of someone else—especially a deadvampirewoman.