Page 26 of Blood Day (Blood Alliance #7)

Cedric

Fuck .

The broken quality of Lily’s scream would haunt me for eternity. It was worse than I’d feared, my infatuation with her having pierced a part of me that very few had ever reached.

It’d taken every ounce of my strength not to check up on her over the last eight months. But it was the only way to finish Silvano’s task—which I’d wrapped up last week.

When I’d returned to the university yesterday, I’d been expecting to find my little flower safely sequestered in servant-focused courses.

Alas, no. The stubborn little brat had continued taking fighting sequences and sexual studies, thus driving home her fate.

A fate I’d felt compelled to lay out for her plainly tonight because I was livid.

I’d failed her with purpose—to protect her. And she’d disregarded all of it, walking straight into the moon chase trap .

Even tonight, she’d reacted perfectly for such a fate by standing her ground and trying to fight.

The wolves were going to rip her apart and fuck her in a puddle of her own blood.

Just the notion of it made my blood boil all over again.

So yeah, I’d reacted harshly.

But never in my wildest dreams had I imagined she’d respond in this way—fighting me one minute and screaming in the next.

Her eyes were closed now, but I’d seen the color dull in her gaze before she’d shut me out completely.

Wilting. Drying up. Dying right beneath me .

It was the nightmare I’d feared, the reality I’d known I would one day face. I just hadn’t expected it to be tonight. Not when I’d finally made it back to her.

I released her wrists, both my palms caressing her cheeks.

She didn’t react other than to lie there and continue to scream. The sound was scratchy now, her throat too damaged to function the way she desired.

“Lily,” I breathed, my thumbs tracing the hollows beneath her eyes.

Fuck, I’d missed her more than anyone else I could ever remember missing.

Being away from her had been agony. I’d finished the job as quickly as I could, my need to return to her a driving force behind every decision.

I should have checked up on her.

Except there was nothing I could have done, no way to communicate and warn her away from this path.

Maybe I could have explained my necessary absence, told her bluntly to avoid those courses. But there hadn’t been time for that conversation. And I hadn’t wanted to risk her mentioning anything to the wrong person—like her “advisor.”

Lily’s scream cracked as her throat gave out on her entirely. She went completely limp beneath me, awaiting her fate. But this was a game she didn’t fully understand.

I’d caught her.

That made her my prize.

Several others were playing with their new toys out in the desert. It was meant to be an introduction to the future and the fates that awaited them.

But I had a different plan for Lily.

A plan that had not begun the way I’d originally hoped. I’d fix it. Just not here.

I rolled off of her and up to my feet. “Stand up.”

She merely lay there, her breaths shallow, her pulse slow. It was like she’d decided to die right here, right now.

Except she wasn’t injured in any way that would allow for it. I knew this because I had been the one to take her down.

Anyone else would have made her bleed.

Instead, she’d made me bleed.

And then she’d spat out my blood as though it were foul and beneath her.

My gaze narrowed at the reminder. I could feel the evidence of her reaction hardening against my chin.

Any other situation, and I’d force her to lick it off.

But this current predicament required a different kind of approach. So I used the sleeve of my dark, long-sleeved dress shirt to scrub the evidence off instead.

Lily remained unmoving on the ground, my command clearly doing nothing for her.

“So that’s what it’s going to be? I give you a little bit of truth, and you shut down?” I stared down at her, waiting for a reply .

Nothing.

It was like she couldn’t even hear me.

I knelt and pressed my palm to her abdomen. She’d filled out a little over the last few months, her increased food regimen helping her curves.

Of course, her “advisor” had still cut down on the recommendations I’d written down before leaving.

Just as she’d disregarded my suggestions for service work and instead allowed Lily to continue her fighting and sexual course tracks.

It hadn’t surprised me at all to see a female-oral class added to her courses for this final round.

Too bad for Livia, Lily wouldn’t be taking that course.

In fact, she was done with all her classes.

I ran my fingers up her torso, going to the bruises now forming on her throat. I’d gripped her too hard, something my anger and enhanced strength had influenced. I bent to kiss her neck, vowing to make it better.

Then I pressed my lips to her ear. “We get one month together, Lily. One month where you’re mine. Now get up so I can take you home.”

Well, not my real home. But back to my temporary one.

I’d planned tonight perfectly, ensuring I captured the prize I desired and, for once, taking advantage of my right to claim a prospect.

It happened often at the Blood Universities. No one cared. It was viewed as a benefit to being stuck in these godforsaken areas and devoting our time to training human slaves.

But none of the prospects had ever appealed to me before. Not until Lily.

Except she still didn’t react, her body seeming to go cold beneath my touch .

Frowning, I pulled back to examine her.

“I know you’re awake,” I told her. “I know you can hear me.”

Her eyes opened then, the color of her irises so dull that I nearly flinched. She resembled death, her spirit utterly broken. “I don’t want to play anymore.” The words were barely audible, her throat so thoroughly abused from her screams and my hands that she couldn’t speak.

“Hmm. Well, that’s too bad, little flower, because I came back here to play with you.” I bit my wrist and pressed it to her mouth. “Drink.”

There weren’t cameras out here.

And my night vision told me no one was close enough to see or hear our conversation.

It wasn’t necessarily safe, but we didn’t have a choice.

Lily clenched her jaw, refusing my blood.

So I pinched her chin with my opposite hand and forced her lips to part.

Her nostrils flared.

“Drink or I’m going to suffocate you,” I warned. I wouldn’t actually do it. But I would find a way to force her to swallow.

Her pale eyes flashed, the first sign of life returning to her features.

Then she bit my wrist.

Hard .

I smiled. “Is that your version of a punishment?” I released her jaw to run my knuckles across her cheek. “Because I consider biting to be foreplay, sweetling.”

She growled, her hands flying up off the ground as she tried to scratch me or slap me or something . It wasn’t a thought-out attack; it was desperate and a little sad.

However, I allowed her one slap .

Then I caught her wrists and pulled them together against her chest to hold them with one palm.

Her expression turned feral as she tried to fight again.

I cupped her cheek and kissed her, grateful to see her spirit once more.

Then I pulled back when she tried to bite me again, and instead pressed my wrist to her mouth once more.

She bit down, only seeming to belatedly realize that was exactly what I wanted.

She tried to rotate her head to dislodge my wrist, but I followed her with ease before applying some pressure to hold her in place. “Swallow and I’ll let you go.”

Blue fire licked through her irises, overcoming the green.

It was a gorgeous sight watching her come back to life. This time, I would give her the roots she needed to stay alive.

She swallowed, all the while staring me down and hating me with her gaze.

I could accept that hatred. I much preferred it to her deathlike expression from moments ago.

“Again,” I said, mostly just to stoke the flames of her fury.

She’d completely broken out of her prospect mode, allowing me to see the soul beneath the beaten exterior.

And I very much liked what I saw.

Her throat worked as she complied. Then she swallowed a third and a fourth time before I could command it.

Lily’s cheeks blossomed with color, her eyes vibrant once more.

Beautiful .

I slowly took my wrist from her mouth. “Good girl.”

She snorted. “Fuck you. ”

My lips curled. “Your vocabulary has improved since the last time we spoke.” I settled back on my knees beside her and released her wrists. “I’m curious to find out what else has improved.”

She lunged upward, leading with her fist. I caught her hand and yanked her into me.

“And your fighting skills have not improved.” Although, her aim with that dagger earlier had been rather deadly.

She squirmed, the battle between us reignited by my words. Her elbow shot upward toward my jaw, causing me to release her wrist, as the position put her at risk for an injury.

But she mistook my movement as a win.

And attempted to go full force at my face again.

“Okay.” I grabbed a fistful of her hair, yanked her head back, and bit her.

She shrieked in response, her hands landing on my shoulders as she attempted to shove me away.

But within seconds, her push became a pull as her lips parted from the euphoria in my bite.

“I hate you,” she breathed, but the words lacked conviction as her body swayed to my vampiric command.

I wrapped my opposite arm around her, holding her to me as I drank deeply from her vein. Her essence resembled a drug to my senses, my body having gone too long without her flavor.

Fuck, I was addicted to this female. My sweet, beautiful flower.

What was it about her that captivated me so entirely that I was willing to rush Silvano’s task just to return to her? She’d been my goal, my reward , that’d helped me through my mission.

I’d been so looking forward to our reunion.

My plan had been to steal her away in the middle of the night from here and make her my personal servant for the month.

Then I’d seen her schedule—found this course waiting for her tonight—and my strategy had immediately shifted.

She would still be going home with me.