And just when I thought I couldn’t go farther, I collapsed, hands and knees on the ground, body shaking… and so fucking thirsty.
I let myself fall to the side, the wind getting knocked out of me, a slice of sunlight peeking through the treetop. With what remaining strength I had, I lifted my hand and gave that burning ball of bullshit the middle finger.
And then I promptly passed out and welcomed death.
The sound of water dripping and the scent of damp earth was the first thing I was aware of. The second was the fact it was blessedly fucking cool and dark where I was.
Surely hell wasn’t this pleasant.
Despite the dark, dank interior of wherever I was, I was still too weak, my body feeling like a husk of hunger and pain. I turned my head when I heard shuffling to my right, but even opening my eyes was a chore, and my vision was far too blurry to see anything clearly.
Once my vision adjusted slightly, I could see the flickering of light close by. A fire. And then a shape, a shadow moved across from me. I bared my fangs, using every ounce of strength I had to try and push my upper body up.
And then I promptly cursed when my arms gave out from under me. Motherfucker.
I heard a voice. Feminine. But my hearing was so fucked that it was all jumbled.
And then I scented her. It was hard to make out anything aside from the fact that she was female. My mind wasn’t working at full capacity, I was too fucking weak, and all the other surrounding scents clouded too much. But as she got closer, her aroma became stronger.
Hyacinth.
“Calm down,” she said, and I bared my fangs again, holding out a hand to keep her away. I’d never been called a good guy and had killed my fair share in my long years of living, but right now she smelled too perfect for me not to hurt.
Good enough to drain dry.
I clamped my jaw the closer she got, shaking my head and squeezing my eyes tight. I opened and closed my mouth, trying to tell her to stay away but I couldn’t form a fucking word. I didn’t want to kill her but I was hungry enough I would.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
No, but I’m going to hurt you.
Gods, her smell.
My mouth watered at the very idea of how good she’d taste, how thick and rich her blood would be as it covered my tongue and slid down the back of my throat. My stomach cramped painfully, this stinging sensation covering my arms and legs, my fingers and toes.
My vision cleared for a fraction, my gaze now latched on to the side of her throat, where I could see her jugular throbbing.
I squeezed my eyes shut and threw my arm over them, the limb feeling like it was filled with lead.
And then she came closer, my fangs aching and every feral, predatory part of me telling me to drain her dry and become stronger.
She touched my arm and I snapped.
She was so good, better than anything I’d ever tasted, the sweetest wine. I flattened my body against hers and felt how soft and feminine she was.
Her blood rushed through my veins and I felt my strength rise up tenfold, growing and growing until it roared in my head.
And still I drank my fill, swallowing mouthfuls at a time. I could feel her struggle against me. But I was too greedy, too hungry to stop.
I moaned. She was tiny, soft.
She was…
Oh fuck.
I ripped away from her and panted, leaning back on my haunches to stare down at her. My heart was beating overtime, her blood rushing to every part of my body and knitting, healing everything from the inside out.
With every passing second my vision became clearer, crisper. I could see every minute detail in the dark cave, every little detail of her.