I didn’t want to let what had happened forever define who and what I was now.
So I said nothing because I didn't know how to convey any of that to him, hell, to anyone. But before that awkward silence could descend further, I felt my eyes widen and shock fill me.
Instantly I felt a change in him. He grew tense, this icy air exploding out of him, a growl reverberating around us.
I got up so quickly that I stumbled forward and caught myself on the wall as I made my way toward the entrance of the cavern.
“What? What’s wrong?” His voice was hard and alert as he stepped in front of me, placing himself between me and whatever invisible threat he sensed.
I wasn’t thinking as I reached out and placed a hand on the center of his chest, bracing myself, or maybe it was to push him back so he wasn’t in the way.
But the feeling of his hard, warm chest against my palm had my body singing. I knew he felt it too because his heart started beating faster under my palm, and I heard his sharp inhale.
I glanced up at him, then looked down at where my hand rested, swallowing roughly at the same time I felt intense heat move through me.
“Let me carry your burden?” he said softly and leaned down, my breath coming out harder and faster, my focus trained on his lips.
I felt that familiar warmth settle between my legs all over again. I couldn’t move. I didn’t want to.
But when he groaned and I watched his lips part, saw the way his fangs started to elongate, I felt like it was a cold splash of water on me as I took a step back and shook my head.
“Look,” I said with a voice that didn’t even sound like my own. He didn’t take his focus off me, but then gave a frustrated sound and glanced out the cave entrance.
Both of us were trying to get ourselves under control. I followed his line of vision. We both just stood there staring out into the abyss of whatever wilderness we’d been thrust into.
“The sun has set.”
And that meant getting the hell out of this cave.
Chapter
Six
Sebastian
I wasn’t sure what I expected when Ada told me we’d been thrust into a parallel dimension.
Because although I’d lived in the city for most of my existence, my actual home was situated out in the middle of nowhere with a thick forest surrounding it. And what I’d seen here so far didn’t look any different than what I was already used to.
Mountains were to our left, great towers of dark rock that seemed to reach higher than I could even gauge. And to our right was a thick forest, the trees heavy at the top, the darkness making them appear almost black in color.
I had yet to see any other creatures, Otherworld, human, or native to this plane. But the scents were different. More pungent, hitting the back of my nose before dripping down my throat.
We’d had to make a swift decision on what the plan would be leaving the cave, because we didn’t know how much darkness we’d have. So we decided to head back toward the direction we assumed the portal we’d come out of was.
It was a shot in the dark—fucking ironic—but not knowing the terrain of this world, or how much cover we’d have from the sun, left us few realistic and safe options.
I focused on Ada once more, glowering because she insisted on leading the way even though I wanted to go first in case there were any dangers that I could take out and keep her safe.
She was stubborn, my female, tiny but fierce, and it turned me on like nothing I’d ever experienced before.
Not even the thrill of taking a life, the high of satiation when I drained a body and took my fill of their blood, compared to how she made me feel.
Just looking at her brought me immense pleasure.
She was doing her fucking best to avoid me, to act like I wasn’t here. It infuriated me. It tore my chest open and ripped out my heart.
I wasn’t used to feeling this way, hell, to feeling any type of way.
All I’d ever felt was loyalty. To my brother Kane. To the American Vampire Council, and to my cousin and leader of said council, Adryan.
But then here I was, feeling sensations and emotions, fucking hardcore needs and wants that were driving me insane.
I knew what she was doing, knew she was keeping me at a distance to protect herself. I could see that wariness in her eyes, and that notion was solidified when she woke up screaming from a nightmare. I didn’t know how long she’d been with the Assembly, but I knew they’d hurt my female.