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I groaned, shifted my position.
Blood.
“Hungry,” I whispered. Sand fell into my mouth. I tried to wipe it away, but my arms were trapped by my sides. More dirt encrusted my eyes.
And I needed air—now.
I clawed at the sandy soil, desperate to emerge. Twisting and kicking and shoving at the fine, smothering grains until my hand shot out of the darkness into the air.
“Mila.” A man’s voice.
Fingers closed on my wrist, dragging me up into the daylight. After the blackness, even the fading sunlight was too bright. I blinked, trying to see from beneath my dirt-encrusted eyelids.
The man’s eyes blazed into mine, the green surrounded with a brilliant blue.
Gabriel.
I tried to say his name, but my voice came out as a croak.
He set me on my feet and then his hands were all over me, brushing away the sand and dirt, while his mouth was against my face, saying a guttural prayer.
“I need—” I wheezed. My fangs elongated in my mouth, cool and sharp.
He nodded against my cheek. “You’re hungry. Here.”
He drew my mouth to his throat. His musky forest scent was strong, familiar. I needed to taste him like I needed my next breath.
I opened my mouth wide—and fed. Blood flooded my throat, rich, life-giving. I drank deeply while he stroked my nape, murmuring broken words of love.
Energy surged through me. When I lifted my head, his beloved face was incredibly clear and detailed, like someone had turned on a thousand-watt light.
I set my hand on his chest. “I can hear your heart,” I said, awed. “Beating. And”—I darted a glance around—“a seagull. There.” I flung out my hand to point far offshore where the setting sun sketched a crimson slash across the twilight sky.
“Mm-hm.” He smiled down at me, eyes wet with tears. “You—” He broke off, shook his head.
I stepped back and flexed my fingers. Stretched.
It was my body, and yet different. Stronger, more flexible, more aware.
“I’m a dhampir?” I raised my eyes to his, equal parts stunned and thrilled. “I did it?”
“Yes.” He lifted me into the air, swung me in a circle. “You did it,cher. You. Fucking. Did. It.”
I tilted my head to the sky and let loose with a loud whoop. When he set me back down, I crinkled my nose. “I smell something. Something rank.” I glanced at the wolfdogs, who sat five yards away, eyeing me with interest. “Daisy and Diesel—they rolled in something, didn’t they?”
He chuckled. “Yep.”
“Dead fish.” I rubbed my nose. “Jesus. Is it always like this?”
“You learn to focus on what’s important,” Gabriel said. “The rest you ignore, like you did when you were a human.”
I brushed at my filthy dress and wrinkled my nose again. “I think I’m smelling myself, too.” I reached behind myself to undo the zipper. “I’m going into the ocean.”
“Now? But my parents are waiting to congratulate you. I think Mom has a little party planned.”
“Now.You can tell them I had to clean up first.” I dragged off my dress, held out my hand. Beneath, I wore nothing but the tiny red bikini that he’d bought me that first day in Montauk. “And later?” I leaned close. “I brought that red-mesh thingy. Just in case.”
His brows shot up, and then he gave me a wicked grin. “Hell, they can wait another few minutes.”
