Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 72056 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72056 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Rogan curls his hands into fists. “He said that? To you? His stepdaughter?”
“Yeah, he’s disgusting. Does he think I’d ever let him near me?”
“That’s not even the point,” Rogan says. “It’s repugnant that he would even think of you that way.”
“No kidding. He’s a fucking bastard. Always has been. Which is why I want to know… How the hell can you be on his side?”
“I’m not on his side, princess.”
“Uh…except you are.”
“No.” He rubs his forehead, closes his eyes a moment, and then opens them. “Everything is not as it seems.”
“What are you saying, exactly? Are the demons going to overthrow him?”
Rogan widens his eyes. Fuck. Am I right? This war just got a whole lot more meaningful for me.
“Not exactly,” he says finally.
“What, then? Because mates or not, I will not fight on any side that includes Richard Tomlinson. You can’t make me. I may be drawn to you, and I may love you, but I will draw the line at fighting on the same side as the demon who made my sister’s and my lives hell.”
“If I tell you any more,” he says, “I can’t keep you safe.”
“Do you truly have so little faith in me?” I ask. “I’m perfectly capable of keeping myself safe.”
“Are you, though? Why do you think I tested you that first night? Sent Delacourt after you?”
“That was three against one, Rogan, and I held my own.”
“And how do you think it will be with the demons, if you fight on your father’s side? Three against one? It may be ten against one, Hannah. Or more. And I’ll protect you. I can’t not protect you.”
“And that’s a bad thing? Why is your side more important than mine, Rogan? You say there’s no choice for me. I feel that. I do. But why must I be the one to give up the loyalty to her side for you? Why can’t you do the same?”
“Because,” he says, “I can’t protect you then.”
49
“Plus,” Rogan continues, “there’s one other thing you haven’t considered.”
“Yeah? What?” I whip my hands to my hips—
Then it hits me with the force of a hurricane.
The hunger.
The blood lust.
When did I last feed?
God, I don’t remember.
My heart races, and my skin prickles. I’m empty. So empty.
And I know what I need.
His cock back inside me...and my fangs in his neck.
His heart beats in tandem with mine, and I hear it as if it’s inside my own body.
Th-Thump. Th-Thump. Th-Thump.
My gums itch and tingle, and then my canines descend with a sharp snap.
“See something you want, princess? Or rather...hear something you want?”
“You’re not playing fair,” I growl.
“We’re fated,” he says, “and for you, princess, it’s more than just a mating of body and soul. For you it goes deeper.”
I inhale, and my God, his scent is all around me.
His strong wolf scent—fur, the outdoors, cinnamon, musk...and everything that’s uniquely Rogan.
I bare my teeth at him, growl from my chest.
“I’m not the only animal here, princess,” he says. “Don’t you ever forget that.”
I lunge at him then. Jump on him and sink my teeth into the succulent flesh of his neck.
Dark nectar.
Black raspberry, merlot, the darkest chocolate.
Only better—a thousand times better.
Rogan’s blood slides over my tongue and down my throat, nourishing me, strengthening me.
And I know...
This is the real reason there’s no choice.
I’m bound to him now. Bound to his blood.
No other blood will satisfy me.
No other blood will quench the undying thirst I have for Victor Rogan.
Only Victor Rogan.
Without his blood, I will not survive.
There is no choice for either of us. I knew this moments ago, but still I questioned it.
I suck at his flesh, take his blood into my starving body, until—
He pushes me away. “That’s enough, princess.”
Indeed, I’ve taken more than I should, but I don't lick his wound closed.
“Don’t go so long between feedings from now on,” he growls. “You know better.”
“More,” I growl.
“No. I can’t. I’m recovering from being shot, and I’m recovering from the change. I’d give you more if I could, princess. If I could...”
“What?” This time I relent, lick his wound closed, savoring the last few drops of blood on my tongue.
He snarls at me. “If I could, I’d give you everything.” His mouth comes down on mine.
He kisses me harshly and passionately, and then he rips his mouth away.
“Damn it. Why? Why does my blood taste so fucking good when I kiss you?”
“Your blood is the most delicious concoction on this planet,” I tell him.
“For you. Why for me?”
“Perhaps this mate thing goes both ways.” My mind races. “Maybe you need to feed me as much as I need to feed you.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?” I lean toward him, my lips only an inch from his. I breathe in, savor his scent, the fragrance of his blood on both our mouths.
Then his breath—it catches in the back of his throat, and when he exhales, the sound of it...