Page 13 of Marked Resistance
“I don’t,” I gasped. “I don’t feed from humans. My sister...”
“Don’t be stupid,” the voice chastised. “You don’t feed, you die.”
“Oh, I missed her heart on purpose, Xavier,” I heard Ilanis declare.
Xavier.
“That was reckless,” he answered.
His voice rolled around in my head like the gentleness of the ocean waves on a calm night.
“Thatwas necessary,” Ilanis countered. “She talks too much, andifshe’s to ride with us, we can’t have her weak. She didn’t even use her Wildfire.”
My entire body screamed at me to stop what I was doing, stop and find relief from this hellish feeling. I tried as best I could to block out the pain, to find some form of meditative trance in order to cope with the agonizing sensations, but I was tired. Tired both because of the pain and tired of having to deal with the pain. I longed for a bed, a hot bath, or a fluffy pillow to lie on, but right now, none of that was an option.
Then I remembered.
“She may not have mastered it yet,” Xavier continued. “You know it takes great restraint and control.”
“Or, maybe she’s not like you.”
“No. I think she’s better.”
“Blood bag,” I whimpered through the darkness of my closed eyelids.
I didn't have a choice in the matter. I abhorred feeding from a live human. Every time I did, I could only envision my sister Sarah. I wanted to protect Sarah’s humanity for as long as she could have it. My worst nightmare would be for her to be the one fed on by some heinous vampire who had no limits. Sinking their teeth into her flesh, or tearing into her body. Abusing her with little regard for who she was as a person in life. This is why I refused.
Most vampires preferred to feed from a human, regardless of their clan affiliation.
Most vampires.
Not me.
I always had a second option.
“In my bag,” I moaned. “I have a blood bag. I can drink the blood from there.”
A strong hand came and rested on my shoulder. “You need a live human to feed from to trigger your healing,” Xavier’s voice responded from above me. “A blood bag isn’t enough.”
I opened my eyes and met the gaze of a familiar face. Through the haze closing in on me, memories of a specific night flooded my mind, and a smile formed on my lips. As I sank into the darkness, the image of Xavier, his eyes widened and his hand waving frantically to someone beyond my vision, somehow comforted me. If I were to die, at least it would be in the arms of the man who showed me how to live, if not but a moment.
“Open your mouth for me, Gorgeous,” he whispered.
The man who was already used to getting me to do things I wouldn’t normally do, stood over me as he’d done before. And as I did on that night, I complied without hesitation.
I must be losing my mind as I’m losing my life.
I did as commanded and he gripped my chin. He squeezed firmly and my fangs descended. A warm body pressed into my mouth and my fangs pierced the skin, sending a cascade of sweet, sticky nectar into my mouth.
“I was beginning to wonder if she evenhadfangs,” Ilanis taunted.
“Stop it, Ilanis. Drink, Zenobia,” Xavier directed and placed his hand on my forehead. It was warm to the touch. “Because this is going to hurt.”
“She’s weak, Xavier. You know it, and I know it. Now, you charged me to assess her, and I did. She’s not ready.”
With that, he snatched the blade out of my chest. It was difficult to focus between the moments of pain and the voice telling me to stop what I was doing, but I pressed onward. The cold metal seared and burned as it went, so I pulled from the human flesh until it fell dull and distant. Was it the screams of the human echoing in my ear, or my own?
“Sleep now,” Xavier soothed. “We’ll speak again tomorrow.”