Page 48 of Blood of a Huntsman

The Challenge

Something was wrong with Catherine, and Bash fucking hated it.

He wanted to ask, but knew she'd just tell him to bugger off.

"You had a point, by the way,” he said, mostly to distract her. "What you said worked. My thirst is getting better with some exposure to human scent. I was avoiding the issue."

"Sure, but if your thirst is anything like this, I get why you'd want to."

Ah. She was desperate for blood. He certainly could relate to that.

"More blood?"

She'd just finished her second glass, but she shut her eyes and shook her head.

"No, this isn't helping. It tastes awful, and isn't even taking the edge off." She sighed. "I just need to keep it under control."

Bash watched her with rapture, impressed and frustrated all at once.

He'd been trained as a fucking warrior and couldn't handle the thirst. Here she was, just wishing it away.

"Have you ever drunk from someone's vein?" Bash found himself asking.

Her eyes flew open.

She looked a lot better than she had four hours ago when she'd fallen asleep. But her eyes were still silver, not their usual blue.

"Of course not."

"I have. I think that's one of the reasons why I'm like this. Unsatisfied." He paused. "Chloe fed me from her wrist that day, after I'd been bitten. She had to, to save me. But the bags of blood I drink—they're nothing compared to the real thing. If you haven't tried that, well, there's no way you'd know."

Plus, there was the fact that he'd been bitten by a feral, not a regular vampire.

"Ignorance doesn't excuse cruelty," Catherine retorted. "At least it shouldn't. Just take my apology and let's call it a night."

He laughed. "All right. Apology accepted. Now, how do you feel?"

"Okay," she replied. "I have my strength back. The thirst will go, in due time." She winced, admitting, “And it would help if I didn’t have anyone with fresh blood around me right now.”

He certainly understood that.

Bash nodded. "All right. Then I'll go back to work."

It was only one in the morning; he could still replace whoever had covered his shift.

"Sure thing. I'll see you tonight."

Leaving wasn't easy. He didn't like closing the door behind him. Her scent had been all around the room, and he'd loved every bit of it. The fresh air was so very boring to him, without the hints of vanilla and seaside.

He headed south and found Mikar patrolling with the frightening, elusive vampire he'd seen earlier. Ruby.

"Hey."

"How is she?" the barbaric woman asked.

Bash was surprised she spoke at all, let alone in English. He couldn't quite place her thick accent. Old Scottish, perhaps, or maybe Irish. Something lost a long time ago.

"Well enough," he replied, then paused. "Thirsty. I think my presence wasn't helping."

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