Page 197 of Marked By His Hunger

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With me.

What the fuck was I thinking?

I let out a rough breath, pacing the length of my chamber atop the tower, where ancient stone met wind and sea and isolation. The Draugr did not date.

The Draugr did not court.

The Draugr fed.

Survived.

Endured.

And yet—for the first time in my cursed existence, the hunger had been quieted.

No.

Not quieted.

Satisfied.

Truly satisfied.

The difference was staggering.

Losing my virginity would have been enough to shake me to my core, a ridiculous milestone for a creature like me.

But what we had done?

What I had taken?

What I had given?

That was something else entirely.

I had bitten her.

Drunk from her.

From the vein.

Her blood—Gods.

I braced my hands against the stone wall as the memory slammed into me.

Sweet.

Spiced.

Alive.

It had not been sustenance.

It had been revelation.

Every feeding before her had been hollow. Necessary. Controlled. Refined through the Institute’s processes to keep me from losing myself entirely.

But Serena—she had given freely.

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