Page 56 of To Crave Truly

Fuck. Those Elite fuckers were going to find us if she didn’t do something.

I grabbed her face and forced her to look at me. Her mouth was twisted in a grimace and sweat peppered her brow.

“Lori. Say his name. Call Mordecai.”

She snarled and snapped her fangs. “No.”

Stupid stubborn woman. “Think of them. Your men. You can still save them but not if you don’t save yourself.”

She whimpered again, and she knew I was right. Knew that she had to live another day so she could win this fight.

Another convulsion ripped through her, and she screamed his name. Then she collapsed, her body no longer able to bear her weight.

A portal appeared to my left, a bright shiny beacon to guide us back to the monsters. I picked Lori up, bridal style, and placed the box between the two of us. Her head lolled backwards, her hair tumbling over my arms.

Then I stepped into the portal and hoped she hadn’t left it too late.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Lori

Pain. So much pain.

And hunger. Like a thousand knives twisting in my gut.

My head pounded and it was like someone was swinging a hammer around inside my skull.

“We’re nearly there, Lori. Hang on,” Iver said quietly, but I could hear the panic in his voice.

My body shook with another round of tremors. I felt cold and clammy but also hot at the same time. Like a fever was raging through my system and I was thirsty. So, so thirsty. My gums ached, my stomach clenched, and I just wanted it to end.

“Give her to me,” Mordecai barked. My body was pulled from Iver’s grip, and the world shot past me at high speed.

“You fool,” he mumbled, more to himself than to me. “Using all that power when you were on the cusp of bloodlust.”

I could sense his disapproval, but I didn’t have the energy to argue with him. I was dying.

“Here. Drink.”

His hand cradled the back of my head, and he brought my mouth to his neck. The moment his blood hit my tongue I felt instant, sweet relief. I moaned at the satisfaction, at the delicious taste of him. The scent of him filled the air, tantalising and dark.

“That’s it, little one,” he crooned while stroking gentle patterns on my back. If I had more energy, I’d slap his hands away, but as it was, I’d have to lie here and not find it comforting. Not one little bit.

Fuck, who was I kidding. It soothed me in a way that I was sure was only something that he, my Sire, could do. I fisted my hand in his hair and yanked his head to one side. He gasped at the rough treatment and nope. I wasn’t going to find that hot. It just gave me better access to his neck, and I sank my fangs in deeper.

“Yes,” he groaned, his fangs causing him to elongate the ‘s’.

He had one hand on my waist and his fingers tightened as I drank deeper. My thoughts were all twisted when it came to Mordecai. On one hand, I hated him. For what he was planning, for what he’d done to me, but I couldn’t deny this connection we shared. Was it just because he was my Sire? I dreaded to think it was something more. And I had to admit, part of me was glad I had so little energy, even after feeding from him. There was no denying that I wanted more and, had I the strength, I don’t think I’d have stopped myself from taking it.

I pulled my fangs from his neck, my stomach souring with the turn of my thoughts.

“Sleep now,” he said softly. “We’ll talk when you’ve recouped your power.”

A power that I knew he wanted to syphon. I needed to come up with a plan to escape. And I needed to do it fast.

Asoft heartbeat pulled me from the depths of my sleep. It was slow and steady, and I listened to the beats for a moment while I shook off the last vestiges of sleep. The chest beneath me was warm and I burrowed deeper into his embrace, rubbing my cheek along his skin. I felt so good. So revitalised. So—

“Good morning, little one.”

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