“On an important mission.”
“That doesn’t sound at all worrying. Alone?”
“Why?” I huffed at his lack of confidence in my abilities. “I can take of myself.”
“History says otherwise, but whatever.”
I walked another ten steps before screaming when Kenji blinked into view directly in front of me.
“I nearly had a heart attack!”
“Except you’re still alive.” He rolled his eyes and stretched before cocking his head to one side, ears twitching.
“Is there a monster coming?” I tensed, preparing to cast defensive magic. Or something that might hurt a monster. Defensive magic was a second-year class, but I’d held my own against the demon that one time. I wasn’t completely useless.
“No, but your bear mate wants to kill something.”
“Little mate, where are you?” I huffed crossly. These guys were so co-dependent. It wasn’t a good look for any male.
“I’m on a mission,” I repeated with much eye rolling.
“That tells me nothing. Do not move from your current spot. I will find you.”
“Oh my stars,” I muttered under my breath. So much for going it alone. Since my bear was already tracking me, I kept going. He’d catch up.
I set off again with Kenji on my heels. Five minutes later, we reached a dead end.
What a waste of time. Had I really come all this way for nothing? Feeling like a fool, I rested my hand on the smooth rock and muttered a few choice curses. But before I could step back, the rock transformed into a door. Glowing symbols lit up, and the ring on my finger, which I’d carried with me since we left campus, glowed brightly.
Something instinctive compelled me to press the ring against a small hollow in the middle of the door. I heard a metal grinding sound and then the door swung open.
Kenji trotted through the gap without waiting for me, so I rushed after him. Once inside, the door slammed shut behind me, leaving us both trapped in a room cloaked in shadow. I stared at the fireplace to my left, the grate cold, and also at the bearskin rug that covered the stone floor.
The chessboard on the table between two wing-backed chairs sat waiting for the players to return, a film of dust clinging to the ivory pieces. On my right, cobwebby books sat stacked on a bookshelf.
I recognized everything in the room, but the air smelled stale, like nobody had been here for months.
A faint whisper drew me across the room. My toe brushed against the edge of the rug, and I cringed.What a horrible thing.Thank the goddess Maverick wasn’t with me. I doubted he’d enjoy seeing one of his kin acting as a decorative accent piece.
The next door was closed, but when I pushed the latch, it swung open to reveal the same dark-timber four-poster bed I remembered from my dreams. The male I’d seen back then lay tangled in the sheets, his outstretched arm thin, the skin translucent.
“It was nice knowing you,” Kenji said, refusing to enter the room.
Was he seriously questioning my judgment in approaching a starved vampire?
I cocked one eyebrow at him, and he bared his teeth in return.
The vampire stirred. Two red eyes flashed open, and before I could say a word, he was on me.
For a vampire at the edge of death, he was surprisingly strong. He threw me sideways, and I hit the mattress with a bounce. The sound of yelling and fists hammering on the outer door caught my attention, but there was nothing I could do. My vampire prince had me pinned to the bed.
“Little mate!” Maverick’s panicked voice ricocheted around my mind, but I lay mute as Rasmus sank his fangs into my neck. Every cell in my body burned. I couldn’t move, but I also didn’t want to. The vampire had me in his thrall. He needed me.
No wonder people whispered about vampires feeding while fanning themselves.
I gasped as he took my precious blood, each pull on my vein weakening me further.
My heart rate slowed as my desire grew. Rasmus’ erection pressed against the apex of my thighs, and I whimpered as he withdrew from my neck and licked the wounds. When I dared look up, the male’s beauty nearly blinded me.
