Page 50 of Plug and Claim

“What?”

“See for yourself.”

Kira managed to lift her head and gazed blearily around her.

Nathaniel rotated slowly on the spot, showing her the empty stage, then walked through the part in the curtains. Her heart shattered to realise that both the stage and the gym were empty. The pack had fled. Abandoning her to the mercy of the vampire, letting him feed on her even though she’d been mere seconds away from being one of them.

“They abandoned me,” she whispered, angry tears flowing down her face.

“There, there,” he said, his breath warm in her ear, making her shudder. “I will never abandon you, pet. You will always belong to me.”

Chapter 18

Drained

Nathaniel

Nathaniel carried Kira in his arms across the grounds and back to her dorm.

There was no sign of the Poplarin Pack, but there were other students about. They all stared as he passed. The vampires looked mildly surprised, whilst the wolves glared at him in horror when they saw Kira’s limp form. She’d passed out almost instantly from blood loss.

Guilt stabbed at him.

He’d taken too much.

Condemning whispers filled the corridors as the wolf packs followed him, albeit at a safe distance.

He deserved their condemnation.

He’d abused his privileged position. Not only had he bitten one of their own without consent, but as far as they knew, he’d drained her within an inch of her life.

But there was nothing they could do. That was his right as a vampire, regardless of whether he was a prince or not, and regardless of the new protections Susie had fought for. They should have protected Kira, but the academy answered to the real world outside its walls. The society his father had created favoured vampires to a disproportionate degree and rendered the wolf shifters as second-class citizens. As for the humans, they were hardly mentioned at all in their laws.

Although the law gave him the right to drain a wolf, it was not morally right, and as he glanced down at Kira for the hundredth time, he felt another pang of guilt. She was fierce and had dared challenge him when Mark had admitted defeat. The rest of the pack hadn’t even tried. They were followers, not leaders.

But not Kira. Nathaniel admired her for the way she’d stood up to him. She was so strong.

Look at her now.

A knot of guilt formed in the pit of his stomach. It wasn’t fair that he’d taken so much, and left her so little.

She’d given her blood so willingly. He hadn’t expected that. He’d only meant to bite her, to taste her only briefly before he withdrew his fangs. Her eager offering of her blood, her soul, herself, had astounded him as much as it had surprised her.

He should have refused.

He should have ended things before they’d begun.

But beneath her prickly exterior, she was as sweet as her blood, like a nectar that coated his tongue and refreshed his soul. Perhaps she hadn’t known what she was doing, but she’d teased his heart and made it ache.

Now, he ached with shame.

Yes, he was a monster. But he would never hurt her again. Not unless she begged him to.

He was surprised to find Susie in Kira’s room when he arrived.

“Susie,” he greeted, elbowing the door open and crossing the room to the small bed.

Susie paled when she saw Kira’s unconscious form and rushed to her side. Grabbing Kira’s limp hand, she appeared to check for a pulse before rounding on him, her normally friendly face turned ashen.