Page 16 of B Negative

I didn’t think I could watch.

I sure as shit didn’t want to.

But I also didn’t want Sunny to think I was judging her for something she couldn’t help.

I lifted my chin, straightened my back, and didn’t flinch as Sunny dropped fang and sank into the girl’s vein.

“You should only need the barest drop,” whispered Devon.

Sunny nodded, but she also clamped Ishta’s wrist to her mouth with both hands.

“Sunny, you must release her. Ishta is too small for a regular portion of blood.”

Sunny’s gaze went black as night as feral groans bubbled up from her throat.

Devon spoke louder. “Sunny! Let Ishta go or else—”

But Devon didn’t have to finish his threat.

Fast as a lightning strike—vampire fast—Ishta snaked her free hand around Sunny’s throat. Her small fingers squeezed tight until Sunny’s face went purple. “Release me, young queen, or I’ll be forced to use my other gifts on you.”

Sunny snarled, lost to the double whammy of bloodlust and the powerful pull of child’s blood.

“Sunny!” I yelled.

Ishta glanced at Devon. He gave her a sharp nod and before my eyes fully perceived it, Ishta had ripped her wrist away from Sunny’s teeth and hands, and knocked her to the ground.

I wasn’t quite sure how any of it happened.

The moment Sunny stopped drinking, her eyes cleared to their normal green. “Oh, Ishta, I’m so sorry. I couldn’t help myself.”

“I know,” the young girl said. “It’s why thirty-three saw fit to give all child donors access to vampire blood. We can fight off the new and stubborn ones.

Vampire blood.

Yeah, that made sense. Especially since Ishta’s wrist mended itself as I stared at it.

Ishta rose from the floor. “I’m only across the hall. Let’s not wait too long for your next feeding. I don’t like manhandling people. Least of all our new queen.” The small girl left a room with more composure and grace than I had in my little finger.

“Goodness, I have so much to do,” Sunny said with a strange edge to her voice as Devon and I guided her to the sofa. She stared at the expanding red shape on the carpet.

Devon glanced at me, sensing the sudden change in her mood. “I suppose I should get going too. I won’t be able to feed you tonight, Eden.” He didn’t need to mention why. “But I’ll send the next in the queue.” He left before I had the chance to respond.

“Are you OK?” I asked Sunny.

She paused before answering, standing and brushing the wrinkles out of her dress. “I’m fine,” she said, voice clipped.

“Look, you don’t need to be embarrassed, Sun. All families have drama. Yours is just—”

“I’m not embarrassed, Eden.”

“OK. Then what’s with the sudden vibe change?”

Sunny glanced downward, like she had so many times at Julian’s compound. “I just have a lot to do. I assumed Titus called mate’s rites and postponed the incursions, which means I’ve got to choose the colors and style for the mate suit, plan my introduction event, and make myself available to Cypress City residents.”

I stared at her, unsure what to say.

Was she actually considering staying mated to Titus?

“I think you should go, Eden.”

My brain shit itself, unable to comprehend what Sunny asked. “Go? I—I don’t have a room here yet. I didn’t expect you to rise so—”

“No, Eden, you misunderstand. You need to leave the tower. Now.”