Page 100 of Mortal Blood
Jax stood again, taking his place at Cole’s shoulder.
“If any man or woman here challenges my right to lead,” Cole said, staring out at the sea of faces, “say so now.”
There was utter silence for a long moment, and then Jax threw his head back and howled. One by one the pack joined him, then dropped into crouches, bowing their heads, until only Jax, Cole, and I were left standing.
I reached out and squeezed his hand. We’d made it throughthe challenge. There would be a thousand things to worry about tomorrow. But for tonight, the danger was over, and we would celebrate.
Chapter Thirty-One
“You can dothis, Cali.”
I side-eyed Ling.
“Don’t look at me like that, girl. Iknowyou can do this.”
“She’s right,” Cole murmured. “You can do this.”
“I’m pretty sure we’ve established I cannotdo this,” I said. “And you should be resting.”
“I’m fine,” he promised, his eyes meeting mine across the small library table Ling and I had laid claim to at the start of last year. “And stop trying to change the subject.”
I searched his face for a long moment, but if he was hurting, he didn’t give any sign of it. The pack doctor had checked him over after the fight, and told him his injuries would heal…in time. Because technically they’d been inflicted by his alpha, and Cain had intended those injuries to stick, and not even weird wolfy magic could fix them. Which meant he’d have to let his wounds heal up naturally, which would take time. Time we didn’t have, since our end of year assessments were due to start tomorrow, and if last year was anything to go by, then we were all going to be at our best.
Which was why we were here.
“Just focus, Cali,” Ling urged. “Youcando this.”
I blew out a breath. “I really hope so.”
“Me, too,” Sam ventured from where he was perched on the table. I snorted.
“Yeah, I guess you have a little more to lose than me, huh?”
“Hey,” Cole said, crossing to me and squeezing my shoulder gently. “No-one’s going to lose anything.”
He leaned over and pressed his lips to mine. I leaned into him, and then a wince flashed across his face. I pulled back, arching an eyebrow.
“Fine, huh?”
“Fine is relative,” he said with a shrug.
“Sit, now,” I ordered him, and he snapped off a salute, then winced again. I didn’t bother to hide my smirk…which quickly fell away when I looked down at Sam. We’d tried this every day for the last week, and every day for the last week I’d had to be stopped from feeding by Cole or by Ling before I went too far. Jax, once, too—but he’d muttered something about being traumatized and ducked out of my training after that. I couldn’t say I blamed him—I’d have ducked out of my training, too, if I could. There were a million things I’d rather be doing, not least amongst them keeping an eye on my mom, but if I didn’t pass my feeding assessment, I’d be held back a year, and that meant Cole would be, too. And the last thing either of us could afford, now more than ever, was to look weak. Especially with the deal I’d made with Ezekiel, the one I hadn’t been able to bring myself to tell anyone about—not even Cole. Because I didn’t know what losing me would do to him after everything he’d been through already, but I had to do everything in my power to make sure he looked strong enough to discourage his rivals from taking a shot while he was getting over me.Fuck, the thought of even a day without this man by my side...
Hence my private feeding lessons. I’d never managed to stop feeding by myself, not a single time, and it wasn’t like Ling could use her little blood-tastes-like-ass trick when I was being assessed.
“You ready for this?” I asked Sam, and he nodded, turning his head slightly to give me better access to his throat.
I took a deep, steadying breath. Ling was right: I could do this. She wouldn’t let me take things too far. Cole wouldn’t let me take things too far. And Sam…well, there wouldn’t be a whole hell of a lot Sam could do, even if he hadn’t spent the last few years being conditioned into obedience. But the others wouldn’t let me hurt him. You know, excessively. Because unlike certain asshole vampire princes I wasn’t talking to right now, I didn’t have the hang of that whole endorphin thing that stopped the unfortunate I was feeding on from feeling pain.
Ling cleared her throat.
“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered. “I’m doing it.”
I stepped forward, lowering my head to Sam’s exposed neck. My fangs elongated without any conscious effort from me as the scent of his blood filled my senses, and then instinct took over. The moment my teeth pierced his skin, the rich, metallic taste of blood flooded my mouth.
A rasping groan clawed its way out of my throat and I gripped Sam tightly, sucking greedily at the wound. The exquisite flavor overwhelmed me, wiping every thought from my mind except the all-consuming need for more. Dimly, I heard Sam’s pained grunt, but it barely registered through the haze of bloodlust.
I fed ravenously, gulping down mouthful after mouthful of the hot, vital fluid. Already I could feel its restorative power flowing through me, filling me with preternatural strength and vitality, giving me the edge I craved, the edge I needed almost as much as the blood that gave it to me. Sam sagged against me, his hands scrabbling weakly at my shoulders, but I only tightened my hold. His heartbeat pounded in my ears, spurring me todrink deeper.
