I hesitate a breath too long and instantly she sees the crack in my confidence.
“Riven,” she whispers, this time with more fear than frustration. “Have you still not fed?”
The moment stretches and I shake my head once, slowly. “I told you I’ve been on a cleanse, darling.”
She blinks, frowning down at me. The silence that follows is dense and aching. She bites her lip, her thoughts clearly racing behind her eyes. “Youneed to be at full strength for this kind of fight, Riven.”
“I know.”
“And you’d still go into it like this?” she retorts with a sass that makes my cock twitch.
Ever since I invaded the wraith’s castle to seek her out, her banter and wit all but sealed my infatuation with her. She’s never been afraid to challenge me and show her own grit, even when she knew nothing about herself.
“If the alternative is drinking the blood of someone I don’t want…” I trail off. “Then yes.”
Her narrowed gaze flicks down to my mouth, then to my chest, and then back up again–like she’s trying to make sense of something she doesn’t quite have words for yet. The pulse in her neck flutters, and I feel it like a drumbeat in my veins.
“You need blood,” she says softly, more statement than question.
“I need you,” I answer before I can stop myself. Then quieter and more measured, I tack on, “But yes, blood would help.”
Her jaw tightens before asking, “What blood did you drink before? Do you drink from each other?”
“We trade with those outside of our faction,” I answer. “Most of the time, we buy blood from donors of the magical factions. Fae blood is the most coveted since elemental magic carries a charge that makes itaddictive to some. Shifter blood is the most unfiltered with toxins, given how they live directly off the lands. Wraith blood is satiating, but some fledging vampires find their minds dazed while drinking it, as if the owner of the blood’s shadows entered them.”
Her brows draw together, lips parting slightly. “What about humans? Was there ever an exchange there?”
I hum in memory of our most fruitful relationship.
“We had contracts through the human government. Regulated blood donation programs–voluntary, monitored, and compensated. It was one of the terms negotiated in the original treaties and worked out well for both parties as they needed money to build their new, independent lives.”
Her head tilts sideways as she mutters, “And that ended when…”
I reach up to brush a fallen strand of hair behind her ear. “When the rebellion overtook the government, the supply lines dried up.”
Her throat works as she swallows. Her hand lifts between us and turns her wrist palm-up, extending it toward me. “I want you to take mine.”
My body coils tightly as I fight the predator inside of me that sees a thumping vein offered willingly. While I’d love nothing more, I didn’t tell her all of this for her pity.
“Wren,” I manage, my voice low, scraping againstthe last thread of control I possess. “Don’t do this because you feel obligated. This isn’t a casual thing to me. Feeding from you, it’s not just about blood, it's about a bond I want to nurture and respect.”
She watches me, unflinching. “I know.”
“Youdon’t,” I say, sharper than I mean to. I exhale, trying to temper the hunger into something that won’t frighten her. “You don’t know what it will feel like and what a direct bite does to people. It’s why our donations are typically done through a blood draw, with bags shipped to us, not from the source itself.”
“Then tell me.” Her voice is quiet, but firm, so unafraid despite everything I try to tell her.
Her wrist stays extended, suspended between us like there’s nothing I could say that would change her mind.
I lift my gaze to hers and let her see all of it–no mask, no pretense, no softened version of the predator within me.
“My bite doesn’t just feed me, it consumes the donor.” I shift slightly, the bed creaking beneath us, and take her hand in both of mine. “There’s a rush of euphoria so intense it manifests as a physical need in the donor. More importantly, while the vampire venom floods their system, it gives the vampire access to their thoughts and feelings, and a chance to alter them. Most people don’t remember what they say or what they do while under theinfluence.”
Her breath catches, but she doesn’t pull away.
“The stronger the magic in their blood, the harder it is for the vampire to control the donor. I don’t know what my bite would do, considering we don’t know the extent of your power.”
Her lips part, yet words don’t come. I can see her heartbeat in her throat again, fluttering with what I think is uncertainty to my admission.
