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All the skin is missing from my fingertips, and it looks like some of the bone has been ground away.

My feet aren’t much better, especially because there appears to be several thorns and broken twigs sticking out of them. The tips of my toes are split open, some nails are missing, and I wouldn’t be surprised if all the skin is gone from the bottom of them, too.

“How?” I croak. How did I not feel any of that?

But Raphael doesn’t answer. He just carries me to the kitchen.

I hear multiple pairs of footsteps following behind us, though their owners remain silent.

Walking over to a chair, Raphael sits down while Andrei walks over to what looks like a door for a pantry.

Opening the door, Andrei peers inside it before yanking out a woman. By the neck, he drags the woman over to us. Then he pushes her down to her knees and steps away.

“Thank you, brother,” Raphael says between clenched teeth.

One arm tightening around me, Raphael grabs the woman and pushes her neck into my face. “Drink.”

What?

I’d blink in confusion, but my eyelids are too tired to even do that.

“I saiddrink,” Raphael repeats angrily.

Instinct taking over, my eyes immediately lock on the pulsing vein in her neck and my fangs sink into her skin.

Blood fills my mouth.

Blood that doesn’t taste nearly half as good as Raphael’s…

But it’s tolerable enough to return some of my strength.

I suck harder on the woman’s neck, and she suddenly moans as if what I’m doing is pleasurable.

I jerk back in surprise. “What the heck?”

Behind us, Caden bursts into laughter.

Raphael sighs, and I sense some of his anger fading. “I’ll explain later.” Shoving the woman’s neck back into my face, he orders again. “Drink.”

Squeezing my eyes shut, I bite the woman again. Doing my best to shut out her moans of pleasure as I drain her down to her last heartbeat.

Literally yanking the woman off my fangs, Raphael says, “We need another.”

“Coming right up!” Caden says cheerfully, causing Raphael to growl that beastly growl of his again.

I hear Caden burst into another fit of laughter before he drags a body over to us.

Knowing what’s about to happen, I reach out to Raphael.

“Please!”I beg through our bond.“Let me drink from you. This is disgusting.”

“I’d spank you if I thought it would have any effect,”Raphael snaps back.“But I suppose this will serve as a good enough punishment for your careless actions.”

I shake my head.“But I didn’t know what I was—”

“You were ordered by Asher himself to come back inside and ignored it!”he roars.

Cowed by his rage and filled with shame, when he shoves a new neck into my face I start drinking before he orders it.