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)
I feed.
I feed.
The red nectar slides over my teeth, my tongue, and down my throat. Sweet and dark, spicy and exotic.
He pulls me into his arms without displacing my teeth, and he pushes his hard cock into my wet pussy.
I feed from him, take from him as he fucks me, holding me and taking complete control.
This is his need.
His need and mine.
And I realize…
As much as I need his blood?
He needs me to take it.
It’s as physical for him as it is for me.
Within a few seconds, I’m on the brink of orgasm, and when I shatter, his blood still gliding down my throat, I know.
I know this is real.
My hell-dwelling stepfather made me doubt Rogan’s and my bond for an instant, but he was only planting a seed for his own benefit.
This is real.
This is real.
This is—
“Fuck, princess!”
Rogan empties into me as I float toward another orgasm.
I move my lips away from his neck, lick the wound closed, lean my head back, and revel in the bliss that overtakes every part of me.
We’re joined, and as he pulses into me—
The phone.
The fucking phone in his penthouse.
“Fuck,” he grits out.
“Ignore it.”
“Can’t. We’re at war, princess. I fucking can’t.”
52
Rogan takes his phone into another room, and I get dressed.
We’re at war, princess.
War.
This is so fucking surreal.
One day I was walking around, minding my own business, and the next my father is hauling me into his office and commanding me to seduce an alpha were named Victor Rogan.
It’s almost as if he knew…
But even my father isn’t clairvoyant. Vampires don’t have that gift. Neither do lycans. Or demons.
And now…
War?
A war fought in the ether between lycans and vampires, and I still don’t know who cut out those two vamps’ hearts.
Sure, those vamps were aligned with the Demon King.
But now my father says the lycans have allied with the demons.
Who do I believe?
Rogan returns. “That was Dominic. He called a meeting in my absence. Our pack voted to fight.”
“I didn’t know there was a choice,” I say.
“There’s always a choice, Hannah.”
Except when it comes to you and me.
I hear the words almost as if he said them out loud.
“What’s next?” I ask.
“We get armed. Then we enter the ether. Your father and stepfather are already there.”
“Are you kidding me? Neither of them will deign to fight. They’ll have their minions do it.”
“The same reason I can’t fight. As Alpha, I must be protected.”
I scoff. “Right. You’re going to stand back while your wolves fight. I don’t see that happening, Rogan.”
“You know me well, princess, and you’re right. I will fight alongside my people.”
Alongside my people.
The words aren’t lost on me.
Rogan will be with his people, but I won’t be. Even without the ceremony and the sacred knife, I’ll still fight with Rogan. Somehow the bond with him has voided—or at least overpowered—he bond to my king
Rogan is a wolf, and he’s always been a wolf, even before he was an Alpha. Me? I grew up thinking I was a human being. I have no loyalty to my father or the Vampire Brotherhood, only the blood bond that forces obedience.
Yet…
I feel a loss. A simple loss. It’s not huge, and I can certainly fight it. It surprises me more than bothers me.
I feel the bond to my people.
To my father.
And no matter what I do—whether it’s fight against the brotherhood and for the lycans or anything else—that will never change.
I am vampire.
I always have been—even when I didn’t know it—and I always will be.
Being Rogan’s mate doesn’t change it. Fighting against my own kind won’t change it.
Nothing will.
And for the first time in my life, I accept myself. I accept my vampire half.
I am vampire.
Sure, I’m half human, but the vampire half controls me—the blood lust, the heightened senses, the strength and the ability to move quickly.
The human part of me has been swallowed up by the vampire half.
I’ve been fighting against it for so long, and now that I must accept it?
It’s not so bad after all.
Except for the fact that I’m fighting against my people. Though I have no love for or loyalty to my father, that’s only a small part of the big picture.
I am vampire.
And I should be fighting with the vampires.
I won’t leave Rogan. He was right about there being no choice, but perhaps I don’t have to fight.
Perhaps—
“It’s time, princess,” he says, handing me a pistol. “It’s time.”
I nod, take the pistol, and stuff it in the back of the waistband of my black leather jeans.
I dressed while Rogan was on the phone with Dominic. I found the clothes in his closet, all in my size and all leather with some chainmail.
I’ll be well protected against the demons’ flaming arrows, and the vest I’m wearing is bullet proof.
But nothing can protect me from what I fear most.
53
Rogan takes my hand, meets my gaze. His green irises are mixed with gold. He’s beautiful.