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“Are you even listening to me? I was cast out of one species for being a crossbreed. Didn’t feel the need to endure it again.” Silence falls over us, punctuated by the rumbling of my stomach. This time, a cramp of agony flares within, and I do my best to let it pass without showing a hint of pain. Jaxon exhales loudly, peering up at me with his head hung low.
“So…no one is coming for you?” he asks. I narrow my eyes.
“Is that a problem?” A rush of movement rushes through the living area, blindsiding me through my emotional onslaught. Sawyer catches it, though, squawking and flapping his wings, but by then, it’s too late.
“Drink,” is all the warning I get before Chase shoves his open wrist against my mouth. Blood spills between my lips, and despite myself, I groan orgasmically at the taste. Danger and energy seep down my throat, igniting a fire within. So unlike Jaxon’s blood, which calmed me sensually, Chase is invigorating. Every sense is heightened, almost electrified, filled with Chase’s taste, his leathery smell, and the press of his skin on my lips. It's exhilarating, almost painful, as currents of energy pulse through my body, only magnified by the feel of his free hand slipping beneath my tank top to hold my waist.
“Chase,” Jaxon snarls low. The wrist is whipped away as quickly as it appeared, leaving me to steady myself on the bar. My chest heaves, my breath erratic. Bursts of gold leak from my eyes as I fight to get a grip, not that Chase allows me such freedom. His hands slam onto the bar on either side of mine, a rumble drawn from his chest as he and Jax enter a stare-off.
Piercing blue eyes narrow from across the breakfast bar, a warning to Jax’s snarl causing my own instincts to perk up and listen. Jaxon isn’t the kind of boss who needs to shout. Just the thinly veiled threat that he’ll fuck you up, and anyone with good sense would obey. That person does not happen to be Chase.
“What?!” He pushes off the counter, raising his arms wide and walking backwards to the keypad by the rear door. “We’re just going to have a light sparring session, that’s all.” Torsten stands, his jaw tight enough to crack.
“Have you lost your damn mind? We’re under strict orders to protect her, not attack her.” Meanwhile, I’m standing there, trying to push frustration through my giddy lightheadedness from the recent blood intake.
“She’s a hybrid, not a hydrangea,” Chase drawls. “Besides, she’ll need training for –”
“You’ve made your point. Just… go easy, okay,” Jax warns, and I scoff, more determined than ever to prove myself. Perhaps if these vampires see what I’m really capable of, aside from beating them in a race, they won’t insist on treating me, as Chase so aptly put it, like a flower.
Punching in the keycode, Chase causes the shutters to rise. The sun must have only just tipped beneath the horizon, the sky a vibrant wash of orange and pink. Jaxon and Torsten shoot from the stools into the only crook of shadow between the staircase and the overhang of the archway. Chase doesn’t retreat. Not when a hiss is drawn from his teeth, or his skin reddens and steam rolls from his tattooed arms. No, Chase smiles like a maniac, feeding on the pain.
“Come on, Aspen, time to put those fighting skills to the test.” Releasing the back door, Chase flexes his biceps before stepping out on a strangled roar. I merely watch him go, six-foot three-ish of flowing hair and inked muscle squeezed into a vest and cargos, until Sawyer squawks by my ear. Jolted back to my senses, I steady my breathing. Proving myself starts now.
“Don’t you dare interject,” I mutter to the bird, dislodging him as I stride through the back door. Sawyer hops onto the railing, strangely silent. Whether he agrees or not, Sawyer knows me better than anyone, and he’ll know I need to do this. To follow this path, stretch the beast within I struggle to control. I wasn’t finding any answers in shifter exile, and I’m ready to learn now.
The woodlands create a semi-circle around the front of the cabin, a patch of soft dirt separating Chase and I. Leaning against a trunk, a growing shadow from the tree line has started descending. Still, that crazy smile spread across his face is in place, and I match it. Chase is a fine specimen, his brown hair shifting in a light breeze, emerald eyes fully focused on me. But that smile is something else. Razor sharp fangs extend, grazing his lip.
At last, a worthy component, the voice in my head sighs.For once, I’m inclined to agree. Dragging my boots through the dirt, I inhale the pine-infused air. It feels like days since my early morning escape with Sawyer, which turned out to be unexpectedly deep and heavy. I’m ready to feel alive. Rolling my neck, I set my feet and raise my fists. Chase hangs back in the growing shadow, his brow hitching.
“Not quite,” he beckons me closer with two fingers. I ignore how hot that ‘come hither with his inked digits was. “First, I need to warm you up.”
“Wear me out more like,” I quip back, not catching the innuendo until Chase chuckles. The air shifts around my ass, but the hit doesn’t land as Sawyer swoops in, pecking Chase in the temple. Batting the bird away, the vampire knocks into my back and rushes to right me. One hand splayed across my midsection, the other cupping my breast. A throat is cleared somewhere out of sight, causing Chase to release me, but the heat remains.
“Push-ups, sit-ups, and squats. Show me what you’ve got,” Chase clicks his fingers. I grab those fingers, quickly snapping them back with a harsh crack for daring to click at me like a dog. Muffled laughter touches my ears from an unknown source as I drop to my hands, following Chase’s following orders. Every exercise he commands of me, I give without breaking so much as a sweat. Apparently, Chase thinks himself above running drills alongside me is beneath him. Or maybe he’s enjoying being in command for a change. Either way, as the midnight blanket of night falls over the sky, the ‘warm up’ only makes me more restless.
“That’s it, I’m done,” I jump down from the branch I was using for pull-ups. Sawyer remains close enough should I need assistance, but I’ll make damn sure I don’t. The moon has risen over the clearing, causing my wolf to stir within, soothing and agitating me at the same time. We’re all desperate to burn the ache from my limbs, and this pre-warm up isn’t going to cut it. “These drills are child play compared to what I’m going to do to you.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Chase agrees from across the clearing. “I’m surprised you did them for so long. I’d only wanted the moon to rise so I get your wolf at peak strength. Good to know you have a submissive streak in you though.”
The night air becomes thicker, almost alive as it fills with tension. Energy thrums through my veins, the power and intensity from his blood still coursing through me; overwhelming in all the right ways. Still, despite the power of his blood, I knew the boost wouldn’t last forever, and as I stand in the clearing facing the cabin, my skin itches with the need to move, to fight. To fully work out the ache in my bones, todestroy.
Briefly closing my eyes, I fight back the influx of emotions that would betray me in a heartbeat. But by the way Chase casually leans against the cabin wall, his 6 foot plus body encased provocatively in fitted combat pants and a tight black tank top; his tattoos and defined arms on full display in the pale moonlight, he knew exactly what the wait was doing to me. By nature, I could wait hours for the kill, for the rush that comes with the sensation of delicate skin ripping through my claws, but with the high from his blood, it felt almost impossible.
Slowly, he pulls off his tactical belt from his hips, letting it fall to the floor as he pushes away from the wooden panels, his long hair flowing down his back. His body flexes as the moonlight highlights every movement of his pale skin. His green, iridescent eyes shimmer with interest as he knowingly scans over my vibrating body. He felt what I did back in the cabin, there’s no doubt. The electric shocks between us, and even though I wouldn’t admit it, he is just as curious. Curious about how our bodies would move together, even if it were in the close heat of combat.
After reaching to tie his hair into a tight knot on the top of his head, Chase slowly pulls off his tank, throwing it onto the ground. I almost whimper as heat floods to places it shouldn’t, and I fight to keep my gaze focused on any indication of his next movement and not the pure steel that is his perfect fucking body.
I barely resist telling him to hurry the fuck up so we can get this shit started when the slightest flex of his muscles is my only warning as he leaps into the air, moving with a fluidity and elegance that contrast his size. Powerful legs propel him off the ground, launching him towards me with knees bent as fists angled towards my face. Stepping back from his aim, the wind shifts alongside my pivot, allowing my vampire to lead as I land a hit on his side. I go down to one knee, turning and letting my other knee drive into the back of his, causing him to stumble.
Chase’s eyes widen in surprise, and he grunts in pain. I smirk, but the wasted moment means I’m still on the ground—a fact he takes full advantage of, landing a roundhouse kick to my face.
“Fuck,” I curse as I use the force of the hit to propel myself back, flipping my body to land into a crouch instead of falling onto my back. Annoyed, I spit the blood from my mouth. I should know better than to make a stupid ass mistake like that. The power of his blood prevents my ribs from cracking, but I feel the last vestiges of that strength finally leave my body. I feel my eyes flash with gold, desire giving way to true anger. I hadn’t thought Chase would go easy on me, but I hadn’t fully expected to be kicked in the face, either. Chase laughs, the deep sound flowing through the air as light as the breeze but with the impact of a freight train.
“Is that all you’ve got,Princess?” Chase goads me. A growl makes its way, unbidden, from my throat. I feel something within me shift, power building, almost choking me with its intensity. A surge of energy, unlike anything I have ever felt, even with the rush of Chase’s blood. As if a dam had burst, my claws unsheathe, longer and sharper as I fully surrender to the power that’s always laid underneath the surface, my very soul waiting to be fully unleashed.
I open my senses, allowing myself a few seconds to bask in the heady feeling. Drunk on power, my eyes hyper-focus on every slight movement of his muscles. My eyes prick, catching the sound of his blood thrumming through his veins and breaths softly sawing from his lips. Even the gentle shift of his hair moving in the wind. I feel my face melt into a feral smile, my teeth sharpened as my fangs extend from my gums.
“I’m not a princess. I’m a fucking survivor, and you’d do well not to forget that.” Chase crouches low, a matching smile playing on his lips briefly. He’s downright heart-rending in his magnificence. His mouth moves, but the tones are almost too entrancing to catch, my blood responding to the heat in his voice, laced with a perfect combination of lust and disdain.
