Page 4 of Dark Cravings

Castor seemed annoyed by the remark, but he came to stand closer, and I went completely still, afraid to deter him. He studied me, his eyes narrowing slightly in curiosity. "It's strange for an alpha to allow himself to be caught by such a low-level hunter. He must be defective."

Ouch. Even an insult sounded sweet in his low, silken voice. It was deep, but elegant. Masculine and beautiful, just like the rest of him.

“That would explain why he looks like someone left him in a dryer for too long,” Arrow mused.

"See if he'll let you touch him," Father Marius said, his voice laced with curiosity.

Castor frowned as if he didn't appreciate the suggestion, but whether it was because he didn't want to defy an order from the man who was clearly their superior, or because he was interested in the results himself, he reached out tentatively.

I couldn't help but sniff the air around him. As similar as my fixation on his scent was to the way I responded to the scent of blood, there was something different about it. It didn't fill me with rage and the desire to consume, so much as a different, softer kind of hunger.

His hand rested against my forehead, and I strained against my bonds to lean into his touch, not oblivious to the pain so much as willing to endure it in exchange for this thing I suddenly needed desperately. The moment his hand made contact with my fur, warmth spread out through my veins in a similar way as the poison had, but this was sweet. Euphoric.

He pulled his hand away all too soon. A high-pitched whine escaped me in response, and I leaned for him.

Castor blinked slowly at me, folding his hands behind his back once more. Everything about him was elegant, from his tall posture to the black frock that accented his lean, muscular build.

"How interesting," Father Marius remarked, looking at me like a scientist studying a rat. I got the feeling that was all I was to these people, best-case scenario. "He must recognize that you saved him. Like a baby bird imprinting."

Arrow gave a harsh laugh. "Shifters aren't complex enough to imprint."

Shifter. Was that what I was? It didn't sound quite malignant enough, considering what I had done and what I had become capable of from the moment the other monster's curse became mine.

"He still doesn't seem very sentient," said Castor. He tilted his head slightly. "Can you understand me?"

I bobbed my head in what I hoped was a close enough approximation of a nod.

His eyebrows lifted slightly, as if that response surprised him. "Shift back into your human form, then, so we can talk to you."

That was something I wasn't even sure was possible, but when the command came from him, I instinctively wanted to obey. When I had been trying for a few minutes with no luck, his interest returned.

"So you can't shift," he said, more a statement than a question.

"How useful is his blood gonna be if he can't even shift?" Arrow challenged.

My blood? That was what they wanted with me?

They didn't smell like vampires, though. I had encountered one, or at least, that was what I assumed the human-looking creature who had been hunched over a body in the alleyway was. I'd chased him off the kill easily enough. These people didn't smell like that, though. They smelled human. Alive.

Father Marius and Castor both seemed to be considering the other priest's question.

"Put him in the dungeon," Castor said after a moment's contemplation. "A few days without food and water, and his body will revert naturally to conserve energy. Then we'll see if he's of use."

I whimpered in response to his cold declaration, and the fact that he'd already turned to leave. He paused to look back at me over his shoulder, something like amusement glinting in his silver eyes. He looked as if he was going to say something, but instead, he shook his head and left me alone with the other two.

I watched the door forlornly, but when I sensed someone moving closer, I looked up just in time to see Arrow standing at my side, a syringe with a needle the size of a straw in his hand and a sadistic grin on his face. "Nighty night, Spot."

Another snarl rumbled through my chest as he plunged the needle into my jugular, and the thrashing only made it worse. Soon, whatever he'd injected me with had spread through my veins enough that I felt my head growing too heavy to keep up, and I collapsed. Father Marius came to stand behind him, both men watching me callously as the darkness closed in.

ChapterThree

CASTOR

Three Days Later

"Hey, Father Cas," called Oliver, one of the younger deacons, as I passed by the training room. "Is it true that mutt you brought back imprinted on you?"

I stopped walking and looked into the room, savoring the way Oliver's expression shifted. The other hunters at his side stepped back, giving me nervous glances.

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