Page 83 of Bizarre Bonds
As I come for the second time, my hair and the glow on my chest flare together, pink and turquoise, both pulsing with love.The emotion fills the room, emanating from all four of my men in tandem.
I’m not sure where our path together will lead us, but for the first time, I know we’re heading in the right direction.
29
Raze
In the first faint light of dawn, a twinge of hunger prickles through me.
Not the exhilarating craving to pull Peri out of the shadows where she’s been dozing and make her moan all over again—although there’s also a little of that desire tingling in the background of my existence, as there almost always is.
No, this is the darker, bloodier hunger I’d rather never existed.
If I don’t eat raw flesh soon, I won’t be able to concentrate on Peri’s brilliant plan.
No one else on site is alert to notice me slink out of the trailer through the shadows. At least, it appears that way at first.
I’ve only made it about a hundred feet from the makeshift film set when I sense my lover floating after me through the shadows.
I whirl around, tension I don’t want to unleash at her jittering through my essence. “What are you doing?”
Peri sidles closer with an air of curiosity that carries through our deepened bond. “You’re going hunting, aren’t you?”
I can’t stop my voice from turning gruff. “I need to eat. I don’t want to screw anything up today because I wasn’t at my best.”
A flicker of confusion quivers through her curiosity. “I wasn’t saying you shouldn’t. I’d like to see how you do it. If that’s all right.”
Even more tension coils inside me. “Why would you want to see that?”
She nudges me gently through the shadows. “I told you I love every part of you. I’d like to know as much about you as I can. I promise it won’t upset me. I understand that you’re going to have to kill an animal. That’s how you’re built. You shouldn’t have to hide it.”
I waver in indecision, but the warmth of her presence and her words melts most of my hesitation. Only Peri could turn vicious bloodshed into an act of adoration. “If you’re sure… I was planning on being quick about it. I just need to find viable prey.”
“I’ll stay quiet and out of your way. Don’t worry about me.”
Easier said than done. Although when I start forward across the patchy field again, the twisted feelings inside me have softened.
Thisiswho I am. I’ve never had any choice about how I fuel myself.
If even Peri, who’s spent so much time trying to spread contentment, can be okay with that part of my nature… why should I fight it?
I prowl across the terrain near our work site for several minutes, careful not to venture too far. Peri’s with me now, but she can’t roam very widely without putting herself and the men I share her love with in pain.
Finally, my predator senses snap to alertness. I glance around to confirm there are no humans nearby to notice me and then emerge into the early-morning sunlight in my basilisk form.
A flick of my tongue to scent the air confirms what I already suspected: there’s a wild rabbit nearby.
As I creep closer, my clawed feet padding across the ground ever so quietly, I spot it. The brown-furred creature is nibbling on some grass not far from a hole that must be its burrow.
It won’t notice my scent. I’m not a natural predator in these parts—and my body gives off a different impression than a mortal predator’s would. Besides, I don’t have to get all that close to claim my meal.
I approach even more slowly. When I’m still several paces away, I pause and concentrate the searing energy behind my eyes.
Kill. Kill. Kill.
My eye sockets sting with the energy piercing through them. The rabbit jerks in a sudden spasm and topples over on its side.
Before it’s even hit the ground, I’m lunging forward. The part of my brain that craves fresh meat also craves the thrill of the pounce, even if I temper the violence by ending the creatures’ lives before I tackle them.
