Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 122946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
He looked unbothered by my words. “I see, then I shall not force you. Enjoy your hunt, Ms. Monroe.”
I nodded, stepping away again, not wanting to turn my back on him. He stood tall, straight, and completely calm, his grey eyes never leaving me. When there was enough space between us, I turned and ran as fast as my feet would take me, bewildered by whatever I had just witnessed. I hadn’t met many vampires. In truth, I’d only met and spoken with one other. But if I had seen or felt them in passing, they kept their distance, and none of them had been naked as far as I knew.
His body flashed through my mind again, how perfectly sculpted everyone one of his muscles were as if he were a Greek god. I wanted to laugh. That was how men were described in romance novels, but he actually was Greek, so then was he just a god? I was so lost in the thought that I didn’t hear or feel the heat until it was too late.
“Get down!”
I heard his husky voice before I felt as though twelve semi-trucks smashed into my waist. In the briefest of milliseconds, all I saw was fire before my body collided with the base of a tree. It shattered against me, and I fell to the ground with a thud.
“Are you so young you cannot even smell a witch?” he snapped.
When I looked up, my thick, curly hair was all over my face with leaves stuck in it. He stood on top of the broken base of the tree, blood dripping from his hands. His grey gaze narrowed on the freckled-face, red-haired man now on the ground, holding on to his bleeding side.
“If you could not smell him, you should have at least known, within a big coven, there are circles, and they move in groups of nine.” He licked the blood from his mouth and then wiped his lips with the back of his hand.
It was only then that I remembered the bodies from which he drank. There had been seven on the ground, plus the one he’d had in his hands—eight. My eyes shifted to the man as Theseus picked him up from the ground. His hazel eyes narrowed as he looked at the clothes Theseus wore.
“You damned sick beasts!” he hissed, and his hands exploded with fire. The witch threw a bolt of fire toward Theseus, but he was faster. Before I could see, he was behind the witch, gripping the man’s neck.
“Unfortunately, I cannot tell you that your friends put up a fight. They were all far too weak and young to be roaming alone. Then again, maybe you thought you’d only meet an uneducated vampire such as her.” He referred to me as he slowly crushed the guy’s neck. The man struggled, his hands sparking, but Theseus just bit the man. As he drank more, Theseus’s eyes glazed over as the blood rushed into his mouth. It was only when the man went limp again that he stopped and released him, shivering with pleasure before he looked back at me.
“Your rat is gone, drink.”
“I don’t—”
“I have saved your life, young one; you owe me a debt. I do not have time to wait for you to find your dinner, nor do I know how many others may be in this forest. Drink, so we may leave.” He held up the body for me.
I knew very little about vampire society, but from what I did know, I had to drink. Debts, especially those of life and death, were honor-bound. Not doing so would haunt me for the rest of eternity. Rising from the ground, I brushed off the dirt and leaves before moving over to him. He once more lifted the neck to me. I tried not to look at his face and exhaled a breath I didn’t need to hold, before sinking my teeth between his shoulder and ear.
Oh God. I moaned as the liquid entered my mouth. Hugging the body to me, I drank even more, shivering happily as the pain disappeared, and I came alive once again. It was so warm, so delicious. Then I saw it: his memories, a baby’s face I didn’t know but had meant something to this human.
When my eyes snapped open, Theseus was watching me. I let go of the body, and he fell to my feet. I wipe my mouth, looking away.
“Why the guilt?” Theseus questioned. “He was going to kill you. The stronger creature survived as is the way of the world.”
“And their family? Their loved ones—”
“Is he your loved one?”
I shook my head. “No, but someone out there will miss all of them.”
“That is someone else’s concern, not ours. Should we die because of people we do not know?” he questioned.