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I wanted to say it was torn out by you, along with my heart, but it would only widen that satisfied smirk. “Where’s that vulture mother of yours?”
My gaze ran to her chest, pausing at the contours of her breasts under her silk top, her nipples visible through the fabric. She tilted her head, biting her lip. “Around somewhere, probably cozying up to your father.” Her nose wrinkled.
“You still hate her,” I observed, finding my resolve after the shock of seeing her again dissolved. “Some things never change.”
“She’s my mom.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Her long lashes lowered, her gaze flitting from my lips to my eyes, opening an ache in my chest. “Speaking of parents we don’t like, I see you’re back to sucking up to Kalon.”
The corner of my lip twitched, a tell she would have noticed. “He’s my father,” I repeated her words back. I refused to be a part of this game again. “I heard you have a boyfriend now. Astor.” I spat his name like venom.
She licked her lips, flashing her pearly whites. “So, youhavebeen asking about me.”
“Don’t flatter yourself, sweetheart. People talk. It’s hard not to hear about the pandering idiot you turned. Wasn’t he Seraphina’s man before yours?”
Her expression hardened. “She was nothing to him. He chose me.”
“I suppose we all make mistakes.”
Her eyes narrowed, her full lips parting as the softness which once melted me returned to her gaze. I wouldn’t be pulled back in. I couldn’t. The thin boy I’d seen around the castle with a mop of honey-brown hair walked over to us.
I almost laughed, but caught myself. “That’s him?” I asked before he reached us. “I see now why you missed me.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but he was already at her side, extending his hand. I laughed at his gesture, forcing a puff of air through my nose. Then, before he could speak, I gave her one last glance and walked away. So much for her stance on monogamy and how it wasn’t in our nature. It took all my restraint not to turn and look at them.
Knowing he was fucking her was enough to make me snap, to carve his heart from his chest and eat it in front of Gwen, but I kept moving. Doing that would only show I cared, and I couldn’t, not after all this time.
We’d both moved on, and it was a good thing. I had a new prize to turn my focus to. The princess—and the crown that came with her.
Swallowing thickly, I searched the feeding room for a mortal to fuck and feed on. Anything to erase the image of Gwen and Astor forming in my mind. Images of them enraptured in a mess of limbs plagued me, balling my fists. What did he have? Besides being someone she could boss around?
The room filled with soft, humming music, vibrating the tables slathered with wanting mortals, begging for another hit of my venom—and who was I to not oblige them?
A new batch had been brought in, and one caught my attention with sapphire eyes and thick, supple thighs. The lacy fabric clung to every curve. Her eyes widened as she basked in my appraisal.
She would do.
Sliding her hair over one shoulder, she bared her neck to me. Her siren stare lured me to the nook she sat in, her body draped over a cushioned sofa. A thin sheath of net hung over the alcove, an illusion of privacy. The smell of blood mixed with arousal thickened the air, and I pressed my thumb against my lips. Moving the net curtain back, I towered over the mortal.
“Your name,” I commanded.
“Alana,” she said back, her voice cracking.
“I’m Niall.”
“They rarely tell me their names,” she admitted, her hand dancing below her navel.
I let out a low chuckle, tilting my head to take her in. “I want you to know what name to scream when I take you.”
She tensed, and I touched her neck, my fangs elongating as the thrum of her heartbeat sounded in my ears. Then, wrapping my arm around her waist, I tugged her closer, sliding her form against mine. Thoughts of Gwen shoved unwantedly into my head, muddying it as I glowered at Alana. She was beautiful, enough to pass an afternoon, but Gwen kept fucking up my process.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” I said, suffocating the silence. “Well, only a little.”
Cupping her cheek in one hand, I forced her head to the side, revealing her throat. I closed my eyes as I sank my fangs into her skin, relishing in the familiar gasp that usually escaped their lips before they were overcome with the effects of venom.
The heavenly nectar of her life source coated my throat, trickling deep into my stomach. This one ate well, altering the usual tang found in the mortals’ veins. She was a perfect specimen to feed on. I would ensure I kept her that way, and maybe move into a room under my lock and key.
