Bitten by the Beast (Virgin Blood 1)

“Here we go with the scars again.” She lets out a breath of frustration and I know this is a sore subject for the both of us. She thinks nothing is wrong with them, but I disagree. “Can we just focus on why you’ve got a human in your house and why it looked like you were about to gnaw her arm off?”

God, she’s right. I was so close to tasting her sweetness. Even now, the smell of roses pours from the library and all I want to do is go in there and lie on top of her body. I want to lick her wound as I sink my cock deep into her body.

“She’s the one,” I say simply as I hold my hands out, palms up. “She’s my mate. I’ve found her.”

Ravana blinks a few times before her eyebrows scrunch together. “What did you just say?”

“I said she’s the one. I’ve found her.” A smile pulls at my lips and the feeling is so foreign. I can’t remember the last time I did it.

“I’m calling the twins.” She pulls out her phone, and I hold out my hands to stop her.

“No, just listen to me.” She stops and waits with her phone at the ready.

The twins, Ezra and Erik, are our enforcement. They are the vampires in this area that no one fucks with. They’re also like brothers to me. I doubt that even if Ravana called them they would ever hurt me. But I don’t want to bring them into this yet.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. She’s human, Kane. We can’t mate with humans. You’re supposed to mate with a vampire. That’s the only thing that will keep us immortal. We share our venom with our mate and that bond is what keeps both of us from dying. How can you possibly mate to a human?”

“I don’t know, but I feel it.” I place my hand on my chest and step towards her. “I’ve never felt this. Not even before I was created. But I know it just like I know the moment the sun sets every day. She is my mate.”

“You’ve lost your mind.” Ravana shakes her head and goes back to typing on her phone.

I let out a sound of frustration and turn away from her. Just then I hear a car pull up outside. “Who’s here?” I say, more to myself than to her.

“It’s a cab. I called it for the human,” Ravana says, not looking up from her phone.

“No,” I say and begin to walk towards the library. A strong arm reaches out and grabs my shoulder. Only another vampire would have the strength to stop me. “Get your hand off me or I’ll break it in half.”

“Kane, don’t do this. If you try to keep her, I’ll have to stop you.”

I turn around and get close to her. She’s tall, but not as big as me. But she’s got enough strength that it would be a fight.

“If you try to keep her from me, I won’t be sorry for what I have to do to get you out of my way.”

“I’m trying to protect you, brother,” she says softly, and I realize that I’m shaking with rage. How have I become so undone? “Can you not hear her heartbeat? She’s terrified. Let her go, Kane.”

A low sound begins to bubble up my throat and I shake my head as I close my eyes tightly. I don’t want to hear what she has to say. In the distance there’s a knock on the door—the cab driver.

“Listen to me,” Ravana says and grabs my arms. “If you keep her from leaving, you’re going to scare her even more. Be calm.”

My throat is tight just at the thought of her not being with me, and everything inside me is begging to rush back in there and hold her until she’s not afraid anymore.

I hear two sets of footsteps at the back of the house and panic hits me. “You called the twins?” I say. I’ve been betrayed by my own sister.

I struggle in her hold, and just as I break free Ezra and Erik come down the long hallway and grab me. It takes the both of them to carry me into the other room, and one of them covers my mouth so I can’t call for Juliet. I kick and fight as Ezra tries to calm me, but I’m not listening to his words. I watch as Ravana gives me a sympathetic look and walks towards the library as the twins carry me away. I stop fighting long enough to listen to Ravana tell Juliet that she’s called her a cab and that she’s free to go home.

“Oh, thank you.” I hear rustling like she’s taking the blanket off of her. “Can I tell Kane goodbye? I’d like to say thank you.”