Page 75 of Marked By His Hunger

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In the professor’s eyes I saw my reflection—the Monster I had become.

He turned his head and I howled with rage.

Gazing too long into a Draugr’s DeathFace drove mortals mad.

Good.

Let them be afraid.

The pull toward the village intensified.

She was close.

Crying?

No. Not yet.

But her emotional state flickered like a candle in wind.

“Go easy on her,” MacLeish said.

I snarled. “You think I could be gentle with the first woman to ignite Bloodlust inside me?”

“She ignited more than that.”

He was right.

And that terrified me more than the hunger.

Because the hunger I understood.

This? This was something else.

The professor’s voice followed me as I leapt from the roof.

“Claim what is yours by right, Raven.”

Claim.

Mine.

Mate.

The words lodged in my throat like broken glass.

I dropped into the shadows of the village, cloaked in magic.

She walked with a group of students—laughing uncertainly, nervous energy radiating from her.

Purple magic flickered faintly around her like distant lightning.

Violet.

Necromantic resonance.

That explained the depth beneath her scent.

She was touched by death.

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