Page 44 of Bite Marks & Broken Hearts

Though twenty years wasn’t nearly long enough to forget how thoroughly love could destroy you. For over twenty long years, I’d starved myself of any human touch, intimacy, or sex. After James… I’d sworn that was the end of anything like that for me. The pain of loss had carved too deep a wound. I’d told myself I could live without those things—hadto live without those things.

The hunger gnawing at my insides was proof enough of why. That monstrous part of me wanted nothing more than to sink my teeth into Flynn’s throat, to taste what I’d been denying myself.

Flynn didn’t even know what I was. Didn’t know that every time he stepped closer, my fangs threatened to descend. Didn’t understand that the hunger I felt wasn’t just intense physical attraction, but something far more dangerous.

“Well?” Flynn said, his voice warm like melted honey, sweet with promises. His fingers found my tie, smoothing down the silk with a touch so light it was almost reverent. “Tell me about yourself, Sebastián Salazar.”

Oh, Flynn. You deserve so much better than lies.

Igripped the railing tighter, steeling myself to put some distance between us before my control slipped completely. The phantom warmth of his fingers against my chest was already too much.

“I think we sh—”

Something darted at the edge of my vision—my only warning. Before I could react, a figure launched itself at Flynn from the shadows, slamming into him with inhuman force.

Flynn let out a strangled cry as he was wrenched backwards, the assailant’s arm locking around his throat. His head snapped back, hair gripped in a vicious fist, exposing the creamy column of his neck.

Fangs glinted in the dim light, poised to tear into Flynn’s flesh.

It took me a disorienting second to recognise the fledgling vampire restraining him—Eliza, a reckless newborn I’d been monitoring. One of Marcus Vale’s clan. A constant thorn in my side, they were a group of feral vampires who rejected my ideals of civilised existence. I’d still never met Marcus Vale, only dealt with the fallout of his actions.

“Why are you allowed such pretty things when you claim the rest of us should suffer?” she hissed at me, her words slurred with frenzy. “Tell me!”

Eliza’s grip tightened on Flynn, her gaze wild and unfocused. She nuzzled against his throat, panting like a rabid animal scenting its prey.

The scent of Flynn’s fear cut through the night, sharp and cloying. My fangs descended instantly, the predator in me roaring to life at the threat.

Time seemed to grind to a halt as my gaze locked with Flynn’s. Terror flooded his eyes, raw and visceral, as he took in the full sight of my extended fangs, his heart pounding like a captured rabbit.

The world ceased to exist beyond the two of us.

In that infinite moment, I saw every flicker of emotion play across his features—shock, confusion, dawning realization. Eliza’s grip was an iron vice around his throat, yet Flynn remained perfectly still, paralyzed by the monster I had become in front of him.

My own reflection stared back at me from the depths of his eyes—a twisted, inhuman thing. A predator, poised tostrike. The truth about what I was had never felt so real as it did seeing the naked fear etched onto Flynn’s face.

Well, he’d already seen the truth of it now.

I had nothing left to hide.

In a blur of motion, I launched myself across the marina’s walkway, crashing into Eliza with enough force to send her reeling. Her sharp nails raked across my cheek as she lost her grip on Flynn, but I barely registered the sting.

Flynn crumpled to the ground with a cry, scrambling back against the railing. His eyes were wide, one hand clutched to his throat as if he could still feel Eliza’s grip there.

“Flynn!” I barked his name, the sound tearing from my chest with more desperation than I intended as I stepped in front of him. “Stay there.” I couldn’t have him running off—Eliza’s associates could be waiting around any corner.

I didn’t dare look at Flynn again, focusing every shred of my being on the threat before me.

Eliza whirled, lips peeled back in a snarl, every muscle tensed to attack. “Well,Black?” She spat the name I used when dealing with her kind. “Wait until I tell Marcus about this! You strut around London telling us to control ourselves, trying to suggest we drink frombags, to deny our nature, while you keep a pretty pet for yourself? I’m still waiting for your answer! What makes you so special that you get to feast while the rest of us starve? Or do rules only apply to the rest of uslesservampires?”

“Eliza!” I snarled, unable to control my anger. How dare she manhandle Flynn like a ragdoll, and how dare she tear away any chance for me to tell him the truth in my own way? “You need to calm down. That man is an innocent human. He knows nothing of the world of vampirism, and you’re scaring him.”

“Innocent?” She looked behind me to Flynn, then her eyes locked challengingly on mine. “You expect me to believe you haven’t had a taste? Or are you saving him? Keeping him fresh?” She laughed maniacally, the sound awakening an urge to rip out her tongue and end her tauntspermanently. “Maybe I should show you what it’s like to have something precious taken away. To be forced to watch while someone you care for is slaughtered.”

Jason.That was the true reason for her rage tonight. She was grieving her fledgling lover who’d torn out a homeless man’s throat just two weeks ago. I’d been forced to put Jason down while she watched in the corner, restrained. I’d given Jason two warnings about controlling his bloodlust, more chances than I usually allowed. But the third victim… I remembered finding the body, blood painting the warehouse walls. There had been no choice after that. The weight of signing his execution order still haunted me, as did Eliza’s screams. Now here she was, wild with grief, revenge, and hunger, threatening to make me understand her loss.

“We’re done being controlled by you, Black!”

I moved before she had the chance. One second I stood across from her, the next I had her pinned against the railing. She struggled, so I slammed her head into the metal, her skull smashing it with acrack.

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