Page 128 of Sweet Venom

The doors to the manor opened before I even reached them, I stormed through, my pace fast, urgent, as I made my way to my room.

Once there I kicked open the door with my foot, moving swiftly inside, and laid her down gently on the bed. She winced as I adjusted her, and I immediately went to work.

“Stay with me, Little Fox,” I muttered under my breath, not sure if she could hear me. I grabbed a towel, soaking it with cold water and carefully pressing it to the wound, watching the blood turn the cloth dark.

Her lips parted slightly, her voice weak as she tried to focus on me. “How… how do you know how to do this?” she whispered, her eyes half-lidded.

The question, soft as it was, felt like an arrow to my chest. I didn’t want her to see the darkness in me, the part of my past I had hidden for so long, but she had a way of pulling the truth out of me without even trying.

I paused for a moment, my fingers hovering over her wound as I looked into her eyes—eyes that held nothing but trust in them despite the blood and the fear.

“I had to tend to a lot of my own wounds before Mom found me,” I answered quietly, my voice low and steady, but it carried the weight of years I’d never spoken of to anyone.

She blinked slowly, processing what I said, but before she could respond, I focused back on cleaning the cut, gently dabbing the wound with antiseptic. The sting made her wince, but she didn’t pull away. She trusted me to take care of her.

“Azariel…” she murmured softly, her hand weakly reaching out, the fingers brushing against mine. It felt like the world stood still in that moment, and I couldn’t bring myself to look away from her.

“I’m right here, baby. I’m not going anywhere,” I said firmly, my voice hoarse with the need to reassure her. “I’m always here.”

I worked quickly, wrapping a clean bandage around her head, trying to keep my hands steady even as the thoughts of what could’ve happened—what almost happened—raged through my mind. But as I finished, I looked down at her, and the fear I had felt was slowly replaced by something else. Relief.

She was breathing. She was okay. She was with me.

Her eyes fluttered open again, her gaze locking with mine. “My hero,” she whispered, the words barely above a breath.

A soft chuckle escaped me, though it was rough with emotion. “Not quite.”

She smiled then, her face soft despite the blood on her skin. The smile that had always been so sweet made it all better. And I would do anything to keep it on her lips forever.

I brushed her hair from her face gently, my thumb grazing the soft skin of her cheek. “You don’t ever have to be afraid again,” I whispered, my voice thick with sincerity. “Not while I’mbreathing and even when I’m not. You don’t ever have to worry again. I got you.”

Her eyes searched mine for a long moment, and it felt like time slowed down, the silence in the room growing heavy. Then, her lips parted again, and this time, there was something different in her voice—something raw, something unspoken that I felt deep in my bones.

“You’re... you’re everything to me, Azariel.”

I swallowed hard, the words hitting me like a punch to the gut. She had no idea how much those words meant. How much she meant. And how deeply I felt the same way. She was everything that mattered to me.

But instead of saying anything back, I bent forward, my lips pressing against her forehead in a kiss that was gentle—possessive, but gentle.

“I’ll never let anyone hurt you again,” I promised, my lips lingering against her skin.

And in that moment, I knew I held my heart outside of my chest in my arms right now. She was in my heart and in my blood and I would burn this world down before I ever let anything tear her away from me.

Chapter

Thirty-Three

TWISTED SOULMATES

Azariel

“Your love tastes like venom… and I drink it like wine.” —P

Two days.

It’s been two days since Poe got hurt.

Two days that she retreated into herself and barely said a word and when she did it felt forced. It’s also been two days of fucking nightmares. I relive that day in my mind but instead of getting to her in time before that fucker hurt her more than he did— I didn’t make it. She had no light in her eyes. Nothing. And me? I was the boy with a number for a name who delivered the pain.

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