I beckoned him. "Here I am. Come and get me."
My eyes bled dark, and my teeth grew to their full length. I ignored Alice's gasp of shock. Vladimir snarled, flashing his fangs at me before he threw Alice aside and lunged for me. We clashed midair. I grabbed his neck, crashing through walls as I flew to the living room before I tossed him to the ground. His head bounced off the floor, sending cracks through the floorboard. He was no match for me. And he knew it.
I jumped on top of him and sank my fingers into his neck, digging through the tendons. His eyes bulged and his hands gripped mine, attempting to throw me off. But I remainedunmoved. With one hard yank, blood sprayed everywhere. I carelessly tossed his head to one side with a mighty and triumphant roar.
Finally.
Vladimir had been defeated. Surprisingly, without fanfare or much effort. Just like that, the BloodKin's leader was gone. He was no longer a threat to Alice.
Alice!
I turned and hurried to find her. She was still where Vladimir had thrown her, but instead of crying in hysterics as I'd expected, she was simply staring off into the distance. Her face expressionless, her eyes wide and unblinking. The only sign of life was her chest that moved up and down in rapid beats.
I approached her slowly, willing my body to return to its human-like form. Unfortunately, now that my creature had been released in front of her, it resisted the urge to turn. It was still wired from seeing my woman threatened.
I held my hand up as I inched carefully toward her.
"Alice." It came out as a command, but it had her snapping out of whatever trance she was in.
She stared at me as I cautiously moved closer, her eyes glazing over once more.
"My King," she whispered to me.
Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and her body slumped.
"Alice!"
Chapter 19
Alice - 18 Years Old
The sound of loud music and faint laughter filled the night air, growing fainter the further my steps took me. I turned around to glance back at the grand school hall, nestled high up behind the rows of tall pine trees.
Hopefully, no one had noticed my absence. After all, the party, currently in progress, was created in my honor. It was an event I'd been looking forward to for some time—my eighteenth birthday. As was tradition, our governess was throwing me an extravagant party to celebrate this anticipated milestone.
There was so much to look forward to now. I was finally getting out from under the watchful eye of my dorm mothers. I could move out if I wished, live on my own or with friends who had also reached age. I could apprentice in the city, making dresses or creating bespoke pieces, as was my chosen talent. I could even petition to move to another Territory if my heart so fancied.
I reached up and rubbed at the beating organ in my chest. I could even locate my mate now if I wished. As one of the rare Vampires to be born with a beating heart, I already knew my mate was out there. They wouldn't be too hard to track down now that I was eighteen. The question was, did I even want to?
The night before, I laid out my birthday dress—a lush midnight-blue gown—and I stayed up with a few girlfriends, gossiping and laughing. We even planned on attending an exclusive nightclub whose portal was hidden in the human world—an after-party for a select few. It was going to be a wild night; one for the ages.
So why was I out here, soaking the hem of my beautiful gown in the wet grass, instead of soaking up the attention at my party?
It started this morning. I woke up and was instantly hit by a crashing wave of continuous longing. It was a deep and powerful emotion; a knowledge that something beautiful and amazing was waiting for me. All day I'd been rubbing at my chest, the need inside me growing stronger as the hours ticked by. An anticipatory hunger started to build, and I found myself curling my toes as the longing started to increase.
During the party, I found myself constantly drifting outside to the balcony, staring up at the full moon. The wolves would be out tonight. I'd never seen one up close; we tended not to mix with them. There was a lot of bad blood there. But I'd always envisioned them running free and carelessly through the forest, bathing and worshipping the Moon Goddess. Perhaps participating in more carnal activities with their mates, or whoever they chose to fornicate with tonight.
Something was calling me. I could feel their voice in my mind, as clear as if they were standing beside me.
I was in a trance as I slipped past my friends and out the front door. The warm night air greeted me, and I felt the bloodI drank earlier singing through my veins. Perhaps there was something to be said about the moon affecting you because right now, I could feel a pulsing energy running through me. I felt powerful, free…and a little horny.
I'd never had sex before; the dorm mothers kept us under lock and key until we were eighteen. Once we reached our optimal age, we were free to find our mate or fuck whoever we wanted. I had zero desire for romantic entanglements, except for a brief flirtation with Hosea from the boys' dorm.
But now, as I glided through the dewy grass and the silk of my dress swished between my legs, I could feel the unmistakable slap of arousal deep in my core.
I paused in the middle of the field, my head tilted up to the moon. It was then that I sensed it.
Sensedhim.
