Page 94 of A Hunt Bound in Blood

Her eyes glazed over again, and again I shoved my hands through my hair, my heart racing faster. Fuck. This wasn’t good. She wouldn’t make it to the next two landmarks, let alone the ship, in the state she was in. How had it gotten so bad so quickly?

“The sun—it hurts.” She whimpered again and attempted to curl in on herself, but at the movement she let out another yelp of pain. “It wasn’t this bad before. I thought I could make it. To hunt. I was going to tell you. I thought I could make it.”

Fucking fuck.

My entire body trembled as the seriousness of the situation swept over me. She needed blood. Any blood. A lot of it. But from where we were on this hill, I couldn’t make out a single living creature. The drakes had either wiped out or scared off everything that could help her.

I kicked myself for not seeing it sooner. All her questions about where the animals were. So many days, and she’d borne her thirst without complaint. The fool.

But there had to be something. We weren’t so far from the edge of dragon territory, and then there might be a deer or a rabbit or a fucking squirrel she could feed on.

“I’m going to fly you out of here, all right?” I pulled off my shirt, tucked it into my pack, then flexed my muscles to shift out my wings. The black feathers swept upwards, creating a smidge of shade over us both. But when I tucked my arms under her, Glory let out a scream so piercing I immediately jerked my hands back, terrified she would shatter in my grasp.

“What do I do, Glory? How can I help you?” I didn’t know what I was saying as the words spilled out of me, my pulse rushing so loudly in my ears I lost perspective on anything other than the dying woman before me.

“Flask. A bit of your blood. In the flask.”

My blood without the risk of securing the bond.

I grabbed the flask and used my sharpened teeth to slice through my arm. Blood dribbled into the container. Slowly. So slowly. As soon as I couldn’t see the bottom, I set the flask to Glory’s lips and she drained it, her moans of bliss morphing into a groan of frustration when it disappeared too quickly.

Her reaction to my blood created a longing so fierce I couldn’t breathe. I’d seen her drink from her flask and watched her drink the mixed blood-wine with the fury, but I’d only ever seen that expression on her face when she’d drunk from me. The realization that only I could do that for her was a heady one. As was the realization that I didn’t want her to find anyone else who satisfied her the way I did. I was the only one who should fill her. My cock. My blood. Mine. My possessive demonic nature had laid claim to this woman, and as that truth landed, I sat back on my heels to process what it meant.

She’d made it clear these past few days that all she wanted was to return home. I couldn’t rely on her reciprocation, but did that matter? If I returned to Karhasan, I would be forced into an arranged marriage where the leanings of my heart would be irrelevant. Glory would be my secret. My personal torment.

So be it.

My blood would be what saved her, but she would never get what she needed if I spilled it one drop at a time.

Vaguely I was aware that I was making excuses. That despite everything I knew would come of it, I was moving towards the solution I craved: for her to sink those teeth into my neck. The idea slithered inside my skull and choked every other thought with a sense of inevitability. I hesitated to suggest it, knowing she would fight me. Knowing I shouldn’t want it. Glory had told me what would happen with a second bite. A permanent bond, our emotions tied together. More commitment than I’d ever wanted. My head surged with panic, all too aware of what that bond would mean for me once I travelled beyond Golthwaine’s borders. But my heart twisted the other way, fighting against any other option except saving her. As far as it was concerned, if my options were giving myself to her or watching her expire, there were no fucking options.

“Drink from me.”

It wasn’t a request, not a kind plea. It was an order. I was a fucking prince of demons, and she would heed my command.

Her eyes flew wide, coming into exhausted focus, and although her fangs flashed, she recoiled. “I won’t.”

My breaths came quick and heavy, desperation washing over me in waves. Beneath my fear was a tinier prick of hurt. A sense of disappointment. Rejection.

“Are we really going to have this argument again?” I cupped my hand under the back of her neck and hefted her towards me, forcing myself to ignore her cries of pain. Her agony would only get worse the longer we waited. Although I limited my touch, I needed her closer, needed to feel her heart against mine even though hers beat too slowly, as though every thump were stealing what was left of her strength. “This isn’t a conversation, Glory. You’ll do it.” Or you’ll die. I didn’t say it, but she had to know. Her body was giving out as I watched.

“No.” Her gaze turned pleading. “The bond. You’ll crave my bite. I’ll crave your blood. It’ll be—it’ll be forever.”

I swallowed around the lump in my throat, stung that she would rather push me away than save herself. “Would it be the worst thing, being bonded to me?”

Maybe I should have been afraid of the unfamiliar ache in my chest that reminded me far too much of hope and a desire for her to admit she wanted me. Yet the fear never came, even as I understood just how monumental such a change would be. Even after the temporary bond had faded, I’d thought about this possibility, was tempted by it. Knowing how much I would crave her after a second round—knowing I would be moving beyond her reach in my return to my father’s side—knowing it would be torture. But oh, it would be the most exquisite torture. I would die slowly, but each passing day would be a suitable way for a demon to go, driven by lust and need and temptation. By what was mine.

Especially when the alternative was to watch her slip away from me. I was scrabbling at water, trying to clutch the droplets that streamed through my fingers with every fading beat of her heart.

I stared into her eyes, noted the flecks of crimson that swam through the familiar hazel. The signs had been there all along, and I’d missed them because I had been too busy trying to distance myself. I could be as angry with her as I wanted for hiding her waning strength, but if I’d paid attention, we could have solved the problem before we hit this point.

A crossroads.

A decision that would either bind us together for the rest of our long lives or kill her before the end of the day.

I watched the battle wage behind those blood-touched eyes. I tasted the emotions running off her. Fear. Guilt. Desperation. Desire. So many. Too many to interpret. But buried beneath them was the faintest spice of longing. Was it only for my blood, or for what the bond would offer? Could I allow myself to wish for it?

“You don’t have much time to delay, Buttons. The ship is coming in a week and we don’t have the amulet. You want your library, don’t you? Your days of peace and quiet? You won’t get any of that unless you feed.”