Page 23 of Accidental Blood Lust
Then Cassius is there, pressing the man against the wall and whispering in his ear. The man calms instantly, his eyes drooping closed as Cassius licks the wound I caused.
Cassius continues to whisper something to the man, who finally snaps his eyes open. He looks filled with clarity, and we move away so quickly he wouldn’t have seen it happen. Wewatch him look around for a few seconds before dipping back inside the bar.
Cassius looks at me with pursed lips, disapproval all over his face. “What the fuck, man? What went wrong?”
“He tasted gross. I couldn’t do it.”
Cassius throws up his hands, exasperated. “What am I gonna do with you? Blood is life, vampire. Without it, you will not thrive and you may even die.”
“I know. I just need to keep trying and find the right one.”’
“You cannot afford to be picky. Let’s go. I’ll take you back to the compound and give you a bag of my reserves.”
“Reserves?”
“For emergencies. You never know when there’ll be another pandemic and disease will decimate the food supply. You’ll learn.”
I nod, following him like a kid in timeout. I failed horribly tonight. We walk toward the back of the alleyway, no doubt to avoid being seen as we slip into the void, but my eyes move to three men walking past us.
Cassius grips my arm protectively, pulling me slightly closer as he eyes the men suspiciously.
“What are they doing here?” he whispers.
“Who are they?”
“Fae. Up to no good if they’re lingering in mortal areas.”
I turn to look back at them and find the one in the center watching me. He’s ethereal, with fine features and light pink shoulder length hair, almost like a doll, but there’s a glimmer in his eyes that signals something dangerous.
“Don’t look at them,” Cassius says. “They want your attention. Don’t give it.”
“What could they want with me?”
“Who knows why the fae want anything, but when they do, it’s never good.”
A soft floral breeze wafts around me and the urge to turn and look again washes over me, but Cassius isn’t having it.
“Didn’t you say they could maybe help me? Maybe give me something so I could feed?”
“Not them.” Cassius shakes his head as we come to a stop. “Never them.”
With that, we disappear into the void to head back to his home, where no doubt I’ll have to face Roman again and admit what a disaster I am.
EIGHT
ROMAN
The conversation I had with Auri won’t stop bouncing around inside my head. I spent the night tossing and turning, growling in frustration and tearing my sheets unintentionally when my claws came out. Normally I might have shifted fully and let the simplicity of my wolf form chase away the thoughts long enough for me to get some sleep, but I was afraid that if I let my wolf take over, he’d head straight for Loch’s room.
When I can’t take the silence in my room anymore and it’s crystal fucking clear that sleep isn’t going to happen, I fling my shredded blanket off, pull on a pair of sweats, and stalk out into the hallway without bothering to grab a shirt. I didn’t look at the clock, but it’s obviously the middle of the night. You wouldn’t be able to tell at a glance since there are no windows in the long, winding hallways, but the silence is a dead giveaway.
My wolf nudges me to the left, in the direction of Loch’s bedroom, but I growl under my breath again and go right. The kitchen and dining room are down this way, so I guess that’s where I’m going. A late-night cup of tea might not be the worst idea. I can hear Jareth in my head telling me that the right cup of tea can solve just about anything. A smile twitches on my lips and a warm feeling spreads through me.
Could Auri be right? Could there be some complicated way to make this work where Loch and I are fated mates and Jareth is part of us simply because we all choose it? I sputter a laugh. Loch’s so damn jealous of our friendship that he’s tried to attack me twice since he’s been here, and I don’t feel that much better about him and Jareth together. How could sharing him possibly work? And that’s before even getting into the issue of what Jare will think of the whole thing. I have a feeling he might whip out the dusty book of curses he keeps on the bottom shelf if I suggest a three-way relationship.
My chest aches with undeniable longing though, and a wolfish whine vibrates in my throat.
I step into the dining room, and I’m surprised to find Cas sitting at the head of the table, sipping blood from a wineglass and reading a book. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn’t smell him.
