Page 91

Jericho clamped his lips together. Right now, Alex needed hope more than she needed to hear the truth.

Once they turned him loose on the city, Victor would have no choice but to end him, to deliver justice for the crimes he was about to commit. There would be no coming back from this soul-crushing deed. His death would be a dishonorable one.

Hunger wrenched at his organs, stabbing through his gut. He wouldn’t be able to hold back much longer. Dark instincts scraped his insides, clawing to get out. And there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to stop it.

He would hurt her. Gods, how he would hurt her. Images burned through his mind. Hands tearing her clothes. Claws ripping her flesh. And to his horror…some primal part of himcravedit.

His heart withered in his chest.

There was only one way to protect her from the rogue’s violence.

He inhaled a deep, ragged breath and opened his arms.

Alex crawled into his lap. She clung to his shoulders and pressed her face into the bend of his neck. For a long moment, they held each other. Even in the maelstrom of madness, her touch soothed his burning rage.

He drew her tighter, savoring how perfectly she fit against him. The frantic pounding of his heart faltered and skipped, then eased into a slower rhythm, one that matched Alex’s pulse.

His breath caught, and he squeezed his eyes shut. No, not now. Two hearts beating as one.Duo corda, amor unus. Something that was only possible when a vampire had found his true mate.

Alex feathered a kiss to his lips, seeming fearful anything more might unleash the beast lurking inside.

Tears blurred his vision, and he trailed a fingertip over her cheek. “Dear gods. Please, don’t make me do this,” he cried, whispering his prayer.

Perhaps this was his punishment for cheating fate all those years ago.

Liam should have left him to die.

He swallowed the thickening lump in his throat. “I’m sorry I failed to protect you. You never should have been involved in any of this. Now we’re both paying for my mistakes.”

She pressed her palm beneath his jaw, forcing him to meet her gaze. “My choices are my responsibility. For years I stumbled through life with no sense of direction. But every twist and turn of that path led me to you. Had I not made the journey, I’d have missed out on the beauty of loving you. For that, I have no regrets.” Tears welled in her eyes, drowning the beautiful gold and green flecks. “No measure of time would have ever been enough. And I’m grateful for every minute we had together.”

“Alex,” he groaned her name in a pain-filled lament.

She swept her hair over her shoulder and cupped the back of his neck. “Take all of me, Jericho. Everything I am. I’m yours. Heart and soul.”

Vengeance rumbled in his veins. Alex already had his heart. His oath was all he had left to offer, his oath and a gentle passing. “Somehow, I will make them pay for this. Every last one. Tonight, they don’t just create a rogue. Tonight, they create their worst nightmare.” First, he’d avenge her… Then, he’d seek his death.

With trembling lips, he pressed one last kiss to her neck, then pierced her tender flesh.

Her gasp feathered his skin, and she sank into him, surrendering to the effects of his bite. The sweet, rolling tide of her essence washed over him, permeating his soul. Her strength, her beauty…her love. He drew her essence deep into his core, connecting with her spirit, bonding with his prey as all vampires did.

Briefly, the madness lessened, but the glimpse of sanity only added to the horror of what he was doing. He wrapped her in his arms, hating what he was and the monster he would become with every fiber of his being. While he eased her suffering, he condemned himself to hell.

Her fingers slid over his nape in a soothing caress. “Shhh… It’s okay,” she whispered in a thready voice.

With every pull at her throat, he surrendered a piece of his humanity to the rogue. The strength of her faerie blood raced through his veins, and the darkness inside of him responded. His body grew stronger, more powerful—while hers began to fail. Sanity fled.

This female was his.

And he wanted—everything.

Her grip on the back of his head weakened, and her arm slid from his shoulder. As her heart faltered, the madness rushed over him.Thump. Her warmth receded, leaving him cold—empty…Thump.

One soft exhale.

And he was alone.

The building trembled with his roar.