Page 148 of The Hunger
“Aubrey, that’s enough,” Raiden said sharply.
“She still has her claws in him. Don’t you see? He’ll stay hidden until she calls out to him. This is all part of her plan.” Her burning gaze held mine. “Call him. Now.”
I laughed.
“And then what? Do you think he’s going to lie down for you and beg you to ride him like the dog in heat you are?”
“Aubrey, release her now or I’ll command it.”
She snarled at both of us but released my hair. I stood as soon as I was free, whirling around to face her. Anger fueled the moves even as shivers stole my strength.
My gaze raked her naked body, and the crazed sexual energy rolled off of her. I didn’t care that it was Aubrey. It didn’t matter that I never wanted to know what crazy tasted like.
I was too cold and so very hungry.
“Walk away, Aubrey,” I warned.
“I don’t think so. I can smell how hungry and desperate you are.” An evil smile curled her lips, and she slid a hand down her bare stomach.
My cheeks heated to crimson, but I couldn’t look away.
“I’ve always wondered. Does a succubus smell sex like a wolf does?”
She toyed with herself. I could sense her growing energy, and my stomach cramped with need.
“Stop her, Raiden. Now.” The words were barely audible through my clacking teeth and pain-tightened throat. However, Raiden’s next words only provoked Aubrey further.
“He’s closer.”
Aubrey strode toward me, grabbed the back of my head, and kissed me hard.
I groaned into her mouth, not because I liked it but because the pain in my middle was tearing me apart. The sharp talons of my hunger ripped at my insides, pushing that dark thing inside of me to the brink of frenzy. It whispered to me that I’d die if I didn’t eat soon. It slithered against the barrier, stretching it taut as its need to escape the confines grew.
A snarl echoed nearby, and Aubrey tore her mouth from mine.
“Back away, Aubrey.”
The sound of Fenris’s voice was a mix of pleasure and pain. I hungered for him but couldn’t sense him. Couldn’t taste him.
Turning my head, I found him standing near the edge of the trees where the pair had mated earlier. A whimper of pain escaped me, and I shook harder, noting the difference in him. Gone was the playful friend with the easygoing smile.
Jaw clenched and muscle ticking in his temple, he glared at Aubrey, who still held me by the back of the head.
“She’s weak, Fenris, and not meant for you. But I am. Mate with me. With me at your side, Uttira’s pack will be the strongest our race has ever known.”
I snorted.
“Strongest,” I rasped. “No one wants to follow you, Aubrey. They want you to leave.”
She snarled at me and twisted her hand in my hair until I fell to my knees in front of her.
“You asked how I’ll manage this,” she said softly, leaning down to me. “With strength.”
Her hand closed around my throat, and the first stab of her claws bit into my skin. The rapid thumping against the ground was the only warning Aubrey had that Fenris was coming for her.
“Fenris, stop.”
The way Raiden’s words carried in the clearing and the power behind them halted Fenris in his tracks. The anguished sound he made broke me.
