Page 50 of Bonded Through Bite

I’m soaked.

My mind replays every second when Santiago almost choked me. He never hurt me. There wasn’t even a second of pain. But he mastered my body fully. And some primal part of my brain woke up involuntarily.

“You are all right. Safe, Samantha,” Rafael whispers over and over. “He didn’t mean to scare you. San would never hurt you. You’re safe, but if you want him gone, say the word.”

“I’m—” I stop to clear my throat to sound more convincing. “I’m okay.” When Rafael doesn’t ease up, I run my hands up and down his back, trying to reassure him. “It’s all right, angel.”

He rears back and I smooth my hand over his cheek and trail my fingertip over his lower lip.

“What did you just call me?”

I think I blush. Or I’m getting a very localized rash. “Angel,” I whisper. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I’ll⁠—”

His lips cut off my ramblings. Rafael kisses like he wants to inhale my soul and it doesn’t take much to get me on board. Vampires can kiss for a long fucking time before coming up for air. The only thing holding me back from losing myself fully in the kiss is the pained look on Santiago’s face when he backed out of the room.

“I need to go after him,” I whisper when Rafael finally pulls back.

“Call if you need me,” he replies and reluctantly lets me go. I’m not sure what I’ll say to Santiago, but I need to fix this, so I pull on Rafael’s shirt and head after him.

Chapter Eighteen

Santiago

There’s a storm brewing outside that matches my mood. Lightning flashes across the dark sky, the tempest rattling the house as it hits. Quietly, I ease the door open and slip outside. The air feels charged and bitingly cold. I’ve always loved thunderstorms, their violent beauty and strength, and now I want to stop thinking for a second.

I fucked up.

If there’s a spell to turn back time, I’d give pretty much anything for it right about now. My hand trembles when I pull my hair tie free. Wind whips my hair around and I let it. The look that was on Samantha’s face still churns my stomach.

Fear. I never want to see that look on her again. Never want to smell that feeling entwined in her scent. Never want to hear that heart-wrenching whine.

I didn’t think. I just went full domination on a new changeling. And I’m not her maker. Rafael would have been fully justified in tearing my head off there and then.

She doesn’t act anything like a new changeling and I forgot. I wanted her pinned under me and I was curious to see how she would react. I expected a fight. Or her getting turned on. Anything but the reaction I got.

I need a fucking note with the number of days she’s been awake glued to my nose.

Not that I think I’ll ever step a foot into that house again. I should probably leave, but with Patricia around… I can’t. I still want to grab Samantha and cart her away to safety.

But it seems the one she needs protecting from is me.

The heavy rain drenches me as soon as I step out from the porch and I lift my face, closing my eyes to enjoy it. It freezes once it hits the ground and I suspect that the way the weather is acting up right now is very localized to Rosewood estate. The magical energies caused by the ley line are strong enough to create some weird weather patterns.

Something pulls at me and I pivot, my eyes automatically going to the second-floor window. Samantha’s pale face is visible, and I see her frown down at me. The urge to go back inside and beg for her forgiveness makes me grind my teeth.

I force myself to turn away and head to the forest. I need to get away for a while, clear my head.

The gardens start neat and orderly close to the house, but they turn wilder the farther away I get. The rain is not hitting a good portion of it, but the wind makes all the trees and hedges sway.

It’s impossible to miss the change as I cross the unseen border from the forest part of the gardens to the actual forest. The rain turns to snow and while the thunder still rumbles, the air loses its charge.

My clothes are soaked through and my hair is plastered down my back. The elements don’t bother me much, but it’s still taxing for my body. I need to feed sometime soon.

Like my hunger conjured it up, I smell blood. Fresh. Lots of it.

My dagger is in my hand in a flash as I scan the area for threats. Nothing seems to be out of place, so I slowly move forward. I taste the air again, but the heavy snowfall mutes the scents around. Some monsters like to use snowfall as cover when they hunt, so I keep my steps soft and stay ready for anything as I round a large tree.

And then I see the woman.