Page 29 of Donovan
My fangs ached, pushing against the inside of my gums, desperate to sink into flesh, to taste blood, to end this torment.
But it was Donovan’s scent, so clear, so vivid, that made my head spin.
It wrapped around me, the lure of it stronger than anything else. No, I thought, shaking my head, trying to push the hunger back. I can’t. This isn’t me, but my body didn’t listen. My senses were too sharp, too demanding, and they didn’t care about the promises I’d made. They only cared about one thing: Donovan.
My feet moved before I could stop them, my senses pulling me toward him, toward the faintest trace of his scent, leading me deeper into the woods.
My body felt feverish. Could vampires even get feverish?
The heat that rushed through me felt like it was tearing me apart, like every instinct I had was warring with the part of me that still held onto my humanity.
My head throbbed as I pushed forward, unable to stop, my chest tight with the strain of resisting.
The bloodlust was a force unlike anything I had ever felt.
It consumed me, clouding my judgment, making it impossible to think beyond the overwhelming need to have Donovan.
But somewhere in the back of my mind, the rational part of me, the part that still loved Donovan, that still cared about him, fought to remind me that I couldn’t.
I couldn’t do this to him. I couldn’t hurt him. And then I heard a bone-chilling inhuman snarl, echoing through the trees, followed by a scream.
A scream that sliced through the haze of my thoughts and sent a shockwave of panic straight through my chest.
Donovan. The world tilted, and I felt my feet move faster, my heart racing as if I could outrun the beast inside me.
The scream was still fresh in my mind, and with it came the primal urge to protect him, to shield him from whatever danger he was in.
The bloodlust that had been gnawing at me faded into the background, replaced by a surge of protectiveness so intense it almost blinded me.
I couldn’t let anything happen to him.
I raced through the trees, my legs carrying me faster than I thought possible, my mind focused only on Donovan.
The snarls continued, growing closer, and with each one, the fear in my chest deepened. My mind screamed at me to hurry, to move faster, to get to him before it was too late.
The closer I got, the clearer the scents became—blood, fear, and Donovan’s distinct scent, so strong now, so close. My chest tightened with each step.
I could hear the snarls and growls of a creature in the distance, the snap of twigs, and the unmistakable sound of Donovan’s breath, ragged and desperate.
He was in trouble.
I couldn’t. No, I wouldn’t let him face whatever was out there alone. He was mine to protect.
I had promised him that I would keep him safe, and I had broken that promise the moment I let myself be consumed by the hunger inside me.
But I wasn’t going to let him die. I couldn’t. My thoughts were a blur of panic and rage as I closed the distance between us.
My body, still overwhelmed by the thirst, was pushing me forward, but now, it was something else driving me.
It was the need to save him, to shield him from harm, to protect him from whatever nightmare had found him in these woods.
I broke through the trees, into a clearing, and what I saw made my blood run cold.
Donovan was on the ground, struggling, his chest heaving as he tried to fight off two creatures, Vampires, as monstrous as the abomination that turned me.
Their skin was pallid and stretched tight over sharp bones, their eyes wild with hunger, their fangs elongated beyond what was natural.
One of them was perched over him, its gaping maw snapping inches from his throat, while the other lurked behind, waiting for the right moment to strike.
