Page 23 of Trapped for Her Blood
There must be forty vampires, maybe more, crushing to reach the front of the small arched room ahead of me, and their collective target looks like a wall of bars. Are the humans on this side of the gate or the other?
If they’re outside the gate, how will I make my plan work?
Gracen, the vampire I met when I first woke, pushes her way out of the crowd, wiping blood off the edge of her lip, a grin on her face. Someone pushes her, jockeying for position. She winds up and kicks him in the groin.
He lunges at her, but she ducks, disappearing and reappearing about ten feet away, laughing.
The male’s face is painted with anger, but he turns his attention away from her and back to pushing through the throng toward the gates.
Gracen turns toward me.
I pull back out of sight.
But she’s directly in front of me before I can even blink. “You have a death wish, don’t you?”
I raise my chin. “How long does the feeding last? Where do the humans go after?” I may as well try to use her for information.
She looks at me quizzically, then her eyebrows rise and she laughs. “You thought you could sneak out with our dinner?” She rolls her eyes as if it’s the stupidest thing she’s ever heard.
“Why is that so funny?” I ask. “Do you have a better idea?”
She leans against the wall beside me. “Any idea is better than you being here. Forget escaping. Not possible. I should know. No one ever has. And as a human?” She laughs again, and the sound ices through me.
“Fuck,” she says, “if vampires can’t get out, best you can hope for is finding a way to avoid starving to death. Maybe the shifters will feed you? They get food from somewhere.” She shrugs. “That’s probably your best bet.”
I frown. “Please. Can’t you help me sneak into the group of humans?”
She shakes her head, her eyes showing their first hint of compassion. “They’re on the other side of the bars.”
A couple of vampires, a male and a female, stagger out through the entrance, arms around each other. The female spots Gracen, who mercifully turns her body to at least partially block the view of mine.
“We’re gonna go fuck,” the female vampire says. “Want to join?”
“Nah,” Gracen replies. “You two go ahead.”
Gracen faces me, a warning in her eyes. “Unless you want to get drained and used as a fuck toy, I suggest you get out of here. Now. Where’s your supposed mate, anyway?” She shifts back in front of the entrance as she asks this question, and then gestures toward someone.
Her posture stiffens and she turns toward me. “Run!”
I do as she suggests, but before I take three steps, a group of at least ten vampires is blocking my path. They all bear their fangs, snarling, pushing at each other, but Gracen steps between us.
“Hey, guys. Come on. One at a time or she won’t last.”
“Ember!”
Turning, I find Zuben at my side. But the joy that flashes in his eyes is short lived, quickly replaced by fear, as if he’s just figured out what’s about to happen. I am about to be either fucked to death or eaten. Likely both.
“Me, first,” a tall thin vampire says. “I haven’t fed in six moons.” He’s deathly pale and looks weak compared to the others, but feels strong as he grabs my arm.
Zuben slaps his arm away and pulls me tightly against him from behind. “She ismine.” The ferocity in his voice takes me by surprise.
“Fuck you,” says one of the others. “You already fed. I saw you take a vein.”
“Yeah,” says another. “Lots of us didn’t get to drink.”
“This woman is not a donor,” Zuben says firmly. “She’s mymate. Fangs off!”
More vampires gather, no doubt drawn by the commotion. Zuben and I are quickly surrounded, the group closing in slowly, as if there’s no hurry, as if the conclusion to this stand off is inevitable.
