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That is exactly what worries me. My dreams were plagued with images of me draining the whole town dry and going on a blood-fuelled rampage. Why I was twenty feet tall and stomping around like Godzilla, I don’t know, but it’s a fear nonetheless. All of this is new to me, so who am I to know what’s real or not?
“How do I stop myself from draining my donor?”
While I think it’s a perfectly acceptable question to ask, it seems to shock him, so much so that he stumbles to a stop and looks at me with a frown. He glances around the corridor as if he’s expecting someone to jump out at him at any moment, and he looks paler than usual, even for a vampire. “Isn’t your mentor here to guide you?”
As if summoned by the mention of him, a familiar, rich voice floats down the hallway. “Emmy.” His voice sets off some sort of a reaction in me, like a gentle caress down the length of my spine. I’ve only known him for a matter of days, yet my body responds like he’s a cherished lover.
“Zane.” I want to say more, but all that comes from my mouth is his name on a breathy sigh.
Smooth, Emmy, real smooth. I sound like a lovestruck teenager, which I am most definitely not. That has me thinking, though, just how old is he? From what I’ve learned, vampires can live for centuries, meaning that I could be fantasising about an old man right now. I must look like a child to him. His satisfied smirk shakes me out of my stupor, and I roll my eyes at him. He knows I’m thinking about him, but I bet he doesn’t know I’m actually wondering how old he is.
“Happy to see me, jailbird?” His long legs eat up the space between us, and I shake some of my hair forward in an attempt to hide the blush on my cheeks at his new nickname for me.
“In your dreams, Grandad,” I retort with a smile of my own, attempting to look welcoming but not swooning.
A choking noise pulls my attention to Merrin, who looks as though he’s about to have a heart attack. His eyes are wide as he stares at Zane as though he’s expecting him to react poorly.
“I’ll leave you with…” Merrin mumbles as he backs away, cutting himself off completely when he gets a certain distance from us and flees the hall completely.
Shocked, I watch the male disappear out of sight. What was that all about? He looked terrified, but he was fine when it was just the two of us, so it must have been Zane’s arrival that changed everything.
“You scared off my guide,” I say accusingly, turning to glare up at him and placing my hands on my hips.
He just snorts and walks past me. “I’ll take you to the feeding room, don’t worry about him.”
Oh no, he’s not getting away with it that easily. Jogging to catch up with him, I poke him in the arm until he looks down at me with exasperation. “Are you going to tell me what that was all about?”
Humouring me, he shrugs his shoulders slightly. “I have a bit of a reputation, but you don’t need to worry about that.”
Is that why Merrin would barely look at me when we were alone, because he was afraid of my mentor’s reputation?
I’m about to tell him that I can make my own damn decisions about what I do or don’t worry about, but Gabriel chooses that moment to enter the building. You might ask how I knew it was him before I even saw him, and I wouldn’t be able to answer you other than to say I just knew. Something in me recognised his presence, much like it did when Zane appeared—not to mention Officer Hart as well. Well, whatever part of me it is, she needs to calm the fuck down.
When I glance at the side door that leads to the small garden space, he practically fills the whole doorway, although it doesn’t stop me from wincing against the bright light of the sun. The second my eyes adjust, I realise he’s topless.
Holy moly.
His body is hard and chiselled like one of those Greek statues, and his skin glistens in a way that makes me want to touch it. Is it as hard as it looks, or soft and subtle? The gorgeous, golden-brown feathers that make up his wings seem to shimmer with their own luminescence thanks to the way the rising sun shines down on him.
My fangs slide from between my lips, breaking whatever spell he has on me and alerting the two males to the fact that my lady parts are doing the cancan at being in their presence right now.
Smirking at my obvious flustered state, Gabriel steps farther into the hall, the doors closing behind him and blocking out the sun. Zane stiffens behind me, and the two males seem to size each other up. I should say something to stop their ridiculous posturing, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t enjoying practically being sandwiched between them. It’s not every day something like this happens, so I shamelessly make the most of it.
“Zane, I’m surprised they managed to convince you to agree to be a mentor. I suppose when it’s that or more jail time, then this is the better option.” Gabriel’s smooth, accented voice rolls over me, and I enjoy listening to it so much that I almost don’t catch what he said.
More jail time, meaning Zane has been imprisoned before. This doesn’t actually surprise me much, and if anything, it only intrigues me more. What is it about a bad boy that makes me so hot under the collar? Gabriel is clearly trying to get a rise out of Zane, but I don’t understand why.
The feathered male’s eyes flit over to me, a seductive smile lighting up his whole face. “Although, if I had been partnered with a sweet thing like this, then I would have jumped at the chance too.”
“Gabriel,” Zane bites out, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “It comes as no surprise that you’re locked up again.”
“The two of you know each other.” I’m stating the obvious, but I feel nosy as hell and don’t want to ask outright, hoping that one of them will fill me in.
“Oh yes, Zane and I go way back.” Gabriel’s smile becomes feline as he pins his intense stare on the other male. “Isn’t that right, old friend?”
Fangs flashing, Zane takes a step forward, placing himself in front of me as he faces down his apparent rival. “Stay away from Emmy. She doesn’t want to get dragged into any of your shady business.”
There is no way in hell that I would ever disagree with anything Zane said to me in that voice, the anger in it making the hair on my arms stand on end. I knew he was dangerous before, but now I know with every fibre of my being that this male could rip me limb from limb before I could even scream for help.
