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As always, I feel small and vulnerable in his grasp. The familiar mix of excitement and fear swirls inside me. It has been too long since I was close to him and, now I’m in his arms again, my entire body wants to surrender to him. Every fiber of my being tells me that I am his, and he is mine, and that he can do whatever he wants to me.

Instead of sinking his teeth into my neck, Kole turns my face toward him and steals a long lingering kiss. I sigh into his mouth. Despite everything, I still love him. I still need him.

His large hands explore my back as he lifts me onto his lap. I wrap my legs around his waist, and his lips move from my neck to my chest. They travel across my chest, licking my collarbone, caressing the raised skin beneath the tattoo he gave me.

When I am sighing, wet, and desperate for more of him, he smooths my hair away and exposes the pulsing vein on my neck. Without warning, his teeth sink into me. As they puncture my skin, I cry out and grab the back of his head.

I want him to drink from me. I want to feel him sucking and lapping and devouring me, but with a roar that makes it sound like it’s physically painful for him to do so, he pulls away and pushes me toward Tanner instead.

Wiping his mouth, and panting, Kole sits back and digs his fingers into the sand on either side of him. Mack and Luther move to take hold of his arms as if they’re worried The Hunger will take over and he’ll be unable to stop himself from coming for me.

He watches with wide, ink-black eyes as blood trickles down my throat. It drips down between my breasts, causing Kole to shudder and slam his eyes closed.

Tanner approaches me slowly. He stares at the bite on my neck, then looks at Kole. “How much?” he asks. “How much should I drink…?”

“Until you feel your magick growing,” Kole replies, eyes still closed. “Drink until you feel her blood changing you.”

Kneeling in front of Tanner, I brush his hair from his face and kiss the bridge of his nose. “It’s alright,” I tell him, meeting his eyes. “we’re doing this for Sam.”

“Not just for Sam,” he says softly. “The voice said we need him. We’re doing this for all of us.”

I nod and slot my fingers between his. “For all of us.” I slide my other hand around the back of his neck and bring his lips toward my neck.

I feel the warmth of his breath on my skin, then his tongue. He licks the blood from my chest and follows it up toward the leaking wound Kole left behind. Then he seals his lips over the holes and begins to suck.

The sensation makes me gasp. My eyes widen, and I press on the back of his head, urging him closer. At first, he is gentle, but then he is not. He grips my shoulders hard and sucks even harder. I feel his teeth grazing my skin, his hands move to my waist, and he pulls me down beneath him, arching over me, pinning my arms to the ground, his body pressed against mine as he continues to drink.

“Tanner…” Kole’s voice reaches me, but Tanner doesn’t stop. “Tanner, that’s enough.”

Finally, gasping for breath, Tanner drags his mouth away from my neck. Blood drips down his chin and stains his teeth. “Fuck,” he breathes, standing up and staggering away from me. “Fuck!”

Leaving Kole with Luther, Mack moves to my side and helps me sit up. “Are you okay, Little Star?” he brushes a gentle finger over the wound on my neck. I can feel the blood drying on my skin already.

I nod at him and lean into his arms. “I’m okay, but is Tanner?”

Tanner yells and punches the air. “By the stars and the moon… fuck!” He is smiling and his eyes are bright. He runs to Kole and punches him on the shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me it felt like that?”

Kole stands up and grabs hold of Tanner’s shoulders, trying to center him.

Tanner tilts his head and stares up into Kole’s face. “Fuck, Kole. I can see you.” He narrows his eyes, reaching out to trace Kole’s jaw with his index finger. “I see inside you. All of it. Every piece. All the memories.” He frowns a little. “All the darkness.”

At that, Kole lets go and steps back a few paces. “If you’re going to attempt the jump, do it now while the power is strongest.”

As if he’d forgotten why we started this in the first place, Tanner becomes suddenly more stoic and says, “Right. The jump. Sam.” Then he claps his hands, rubs them together, and shouts, “I’m coming for you, buddy. Don’t worry. I’m coming.”

* * *

While my blood turns Kole into The Hulk, it seems to have turned Tanner into an overexcited teenager. He’s practically giddy, fizzing with the high of the emotions he’s feeling. Even the darker ones. Striding toward the lake, he sits down in the shallow water so it almost covers his thighs, and crosses his legs. Placing his palms on either side of his hips, he wriggles his fingers into the sand, then he tilts his head from side to side.

“Do you need a blindfold?” I ask, not daring to get too close.

Tanner shakes his head. “Not this time, Little Star. Not this time.”

Then he starts to chant. The words are familiar, although I still don’t know what they mean. We watch as he repeats them over, and over, and over.

Just when I’m starting to think something’s wrong, and that it’s not going to work, his head snaps back. His eyes are bright. They shimmer and glow, and then a white light fills them. The same white light bleeds from his fingertips into the lake, shooting like lightning rods across its surface.

Tanner opens his mouth and roars at the sky. The light crackles up and down his body like static electricity. His legs twitch. His arms lift up, water dripping from his palms. Then his entire body lifts with it.