Page 23 of Claim the Twilight
“Yes, I suppose it is. A vampire juice box.”
I arched a brow at the small pile of bags on the tray. “A little excessive, don’t you think?”
He stroked my cheek with his fingertips. “Maybe. But better to have too much than not enough. Now drink, Little Silver.”
I expected the blood to have an iron tang, and yes it did, but the tang was an undertone to the potent sweet nectar that flooded my mouth. The hunger which had been simmering beneath my skin expanded and pushed outward, consuming me, forcing the world to melt away so that all that mattered was the thick, rich liquid sliding down my throat. Each swallow filled my body with a pleasant buzzing heat until the gnawing emptiness in the heart of me abated, leaving me full and sated. It was as if I’d been sleepwalking and was now finally awake.
“Better?” Ezekiel asked, a small smile playing on his lips.
I blinked up at him, rising from the haze that had clouded my mind, then followed his gaze to my lap, where three empty blood bags sat. When had he given me the other bags?
“It’s all right.” He gathered up the empties and placed them on the tray Matthew had carried them in on. “It’s your first feeding. You needed it. We’ll make sure you get regular feeds over the next week. You’re more lucid than most newly turned vampires would be, which could be due to your genetic make-up.”
“The seventh daughter thing?”
“Yes. I believe so. But we don’t want to risk the hunger sneaking up on you. Ignored, it can take you by surprise, and then?—”
“Someone could get hurt.”
He nodded. “I know you wouldn’t want that, but I’m here to help. I’ll make sure you feed.”
I licked my lips, my thoughts clearer, sharper. The need for action made my muscles itch. “We should get out there and help look for Loviator. Have the white wings been in touch?”
He shook his head. “Not yet, and there’s something you should know about?—”
A crack sounded, and a shaft of blinding white light lanced into the room between us and the exit. I shot out of my seat, but Ezekiel barely flinched.
“It’s all right,” he said.
I moved closer to him as the light dimmed and three figures materialized.
Ordell, Lorenzo, and Kaster.
The trio stood frozen, staring at me as if they’d seen a ghost, and my gaze flicked to the wings rising behind Kaster—white and speckled with gray. I’d barely had time to register what I was seeing before Ordell rushed me, sweeping me off my feet and crushing me to him, enveloping me in his sweet evergreen scent.
I folded against him, wrapping my arms around his neck as he squeezed me tightly, his nose pressed to the spot below my ear, his lips following suit before moving across my jaw to my face, which he peppered with kisses. Our mouths met briefly, crushing together in confirmation that this was real. He was here. My stomach trembled, and heat bloomed low in my belly.
He pulled back and cupped my face. “I couldn’t feel you…My beast couldn’t…and then Kaster told us you were dead.” He threw a sharp glance over his shoulder.
I followed his gaze to Kaster’s stunned face but was distracted by his wings.
“Orina did die,” Ezekiel said. “But she had my blood in her veins, enough to turn her.”
Ordell captured my gaze once more. Eyebrows pinching, he leaned in and grazed my jaw with the tip of his nose, inhaling me again. When he pulled back, his eyes were filled with shadows. “Are you all right? How are you…feeling?”
The hesitancy and shift in his expression left me cold.
Was he disgusted with me now? I blinked back the threat of tears. “I’m fine, but arewefine?” I was a vampire now, and the connection his beast had formed with me had shattered with my mortal death. Did he still want me with the same intensity as before? Heck, did he want me at all?
“I love you,” he whispered. “I fucking love you so much, whether you’re human or not. I don’t fucking care, as long as you’re you.”
I relaxed against him, secure in the knowledge that even now he could read me so well. “What about the beast bond? It’s gone now, so?—”
“I wanted you before the bond. Loved you before it. The damned beast was a complication.” He cupped my nape, his thumb resting on my jaw, running back and forth in a soothing motion. “You’re alive, that’s all that matters to me.” He kissed the corner of my mouth, his lips lingering against my skin for an aching moment before he released me, stepping aside to look at Lorenzo.
Lorenzo locked gazes with me, and a gentle pressure wrapped around my waist. My heels left the ground, and I bit back a squeak as I was lifted into the air, toes grazing marble, and drifted across the room into Lorenzo’s waiting arms.
“Show-off,” Ordell muttered.
