Page 50 of Wicked Dove
Panic takes hold, desperation clinging to every ounce of me as I lunge toward them.
His teeth are right at her throat as I collide with him, and instead of sinking his little bloodsuckers into her flesh, it’s my wrist he feasts on.
I scream, the hollow sound fueling the determination in my veins as I roll with the force of our contact, but to my horror, he rolls us so I’m beneath him. His knees are braced on either side of me, but he’s just as surprised as I am because my wrist slips from his mouth as he gapes at me in surprise.
We freeze, blinking at one another. It’s almost as if I can see through the haze of panic to witness his emotions playing across his face.
He’s torn.
He just harmed me, a warning they were insistent on listening too, but the way his tongue dances over his bottom lip, my blood dripping from his chin, he’s ready to fuck it all to Hell. His grin curls, his eyes darkening, and I know he’s made his decision.
“Back off,” I snarl, not willing to risk him inching closer as I try to shove him off.
My palms slam against his chest and he freezes as a gargled whimper of pain rips from his throat. His skin pales at my touch as he falls sideways, and I move with him, unable to retract my hands as I mirror his position from moments earlier.
His cheeks hollow out, just like Kael’s did, but something’s different. There’s something inside of me that’s… desperate. Myeyes narrow as pain echoes in my mouth, and I cry out at the sudden burning sensation.
Blinking down at him, my gaze latches onto his throat, watching as his pulse flickers beneath the surface.
It’s enticing.
It’s mesmerizing.
It’s my target.
Leaning closer, my body moves on its own as I bring my mouth to his throat. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, but I can’t stop.
My teeth rake over his flesh, but before I can consider what he might taste like, I’m ripped away.
My senses flood me all at once.
Someone’s screaming and sobbing, someone else is snarling and grunting, while my body goes limp. Spent, I’m aware I’m being carried over someone’s shoulder, but I can’t make sense of who or why until I’m planted back on my feet.
I sway, my chest rising and falling in rapid succession as I try to make sense of anything, only to find it’s Kael standing before me, eyes searching mine.
Shoving at his chest, I try to put some distance between us, but the instant reminder of what happened the last time I did that has me pulling my hands back in fear.
“Calm the fuck down, Elodie,” he grunts, his words like a dose of icy cold water, and I accept them as I plant my hands on my thighs, leaning forward to focus on my breathing.
I can still hear noise around me, but nothing makes sense until the overwhelming sensations claiming me from head to toe stop and I can finally lift my head. My gaze instantly latches onto Thorne standing in front of Willow and her two friends, who are hovering over Tiran.
“What’s he doing?” I breathe, gaping at the black smoke that seeps from his hands and swarms around them.
“Retracting from their memories that you’re a crazy bitch,” Kael grunts, and I turn to glare at him.
“Fuck you.”
His eyes fixate on my mouth and I turn away in search of Ocean, who is standing a few steps to the right of me, hand pressed against her chest as she glances from Tiran to me and back again repeatedly.
“What did I do?” I breathe, fear strangling me as I wrap my arms around my middle.
“You siphoned,” Kael murmurs, and I scoff.
“What the fuck does that even mean?” I plead, moisture gathering at the back of my eyelids while I peer back at Thorne as the smoke disappears.
Tiran is back on his feet and the four of them are hurrying down the path to The Vale without a backward glance.
My chest heaves in disbelief as Rion appears in front of me, and I jump back in surprise.
