Page 63 of Blood Day (Blood Alliance #7)

I pressed my forehead against the warm metal, incapable of moving anymore. This is my end. I’m done. I’m no more.

Except that wasn’t true at all.

Cedric’s bond had damned me to an eternity of agony.

Unless he somehow dies.

I nearly laughed at the thought. He was invincible. An ancient vampire with superior strength and skill. It would take a?—

The metal beneath me shook as something pounded against it.

Lycans , I realized. They’ve found me.

I could hear their claws scraping the sides of the vent, trying to dig their way in.

A sob tore from my throat, one born of gratitude and terror. Such a twisted combination. But I wanted to be freed from this hell.

And yet, an even worse fate waited for me on the other side.

Alas, everything already ached. What more could they do?

So much more, I realized, my palm touching the opening again. Maybe falling headfirst would be better. I might break my neck. They’ll find me, think I’m dead, and discard me.

I blinked, the plan suddenly far more appealing than waiting here while they clawed through the vent beneath me. I’d rather die.

I’ll end up in that flesh pile , I thought, recalling the corpses. Maybe I’ll be able to find a new way out .

My brow furrowed as a detail of my escape nagged at me. Something about the opening doors. Coincidence, perhaps? Or had it really been Cedric?

Goddess, I couldn’t even trust my mind anymore. What’s real? What’s fake?

This air is real , I told myself. That sound is real, too.

Angry claws.

Dragging along the metal.

Or air.

A free fall into a hot oblivion. Maybe it’ll burn me alive. Or maybe I’ll be lucky enough to break my neck before I can feel any more heat.

Yes .

That was the only way.

I grabbed hold of the ledge before me, knowing one good yank would pull me over the edge and into dark obscurity.

Cedric’s voice shouted something in my head, but the whoosh of blood rushing in my ears drowned him out. Three, I whispered to myself. Two. One.

I pulled myself forward, my eyes closing as I felt myself shift over the edge.

Only to be yanked backward by a hand around my ankle.

A scream soundlessly left my dry throat, the world around me shifting violently as one of the lycans tugged hard on my leg. My nails bit into the metal in a futile effort to hold my position, to pull myself forward again, to take me down that tunnel to my desired fate.

But I was no match for the lycan’s strength, his growl vibrating through me like a thunderous cloud as he dragged me through the hole his claws had created and into a dark room—one that reminded me of the black room .

No! I refused to allow this, to become a toy, a rutting doll. I kicked out, trying to fight him, to shove him off me, to do something to save myself.

There was no finesse, no training, no skill , just a strong desire to escape, to find freedom, to die in my own chosen way.

My nails scraped across his cheek, my knee met his thigh, and my hands slapped at his head. I felt feral. An intense mess of sweat, tears, and blood .

I inhaled, needing more air to dispel the heat from my lungs.

Only to fill my nostrils with a familiar hint of mint. Cedric , I thought, his essence warming me from the inside out in a delectable wave of want .

But it wasn’t real.

A lie.

This lycan wanted to rut me. Hurt me. Torment me.

Only, he wasn’t slashing at me with claws or trying to force me into a submissive position. He was letting me hurt him. There hadn’t been a single returned hit, his face taking the beating from my palms and nails and his thighs accepting my knees.

I slowly began to still, confused by this male’s lack of a fight.

He wasn’t letting me hurt him, necessarily, his body having angled this way and that to accept my brutality without sustaining injury, but he hadn’t tried to pin me or put me in my place.

He’d merely allowed me to take out all my rage on him, his hard and hot body a shield absorbing my fury in palpable waves of patience.

I took another deep breath, his minty fragrance infiltrating every pore, bathing me in his claim .

Cedric , I breathed, my eyes searching for him in the dark. Is this a nightmare or a dream?

Neither, he replied, his lips brushing mine in the softest of caresses.

I blinked.

Then I attacked him with my mouth, needing him to prove it, to let me taste him, to show me who he was to me. My mate. My vampire. My Cedric.

I grabbed his shoulders, my bloody nails digging into his shirt, my furious energy morphing into something even hotter. I wasn’t sure what this was, if this was truly happening or not, but I no longer cared.

I needed this. I needed him .

And he gave me exactly what I craved with a swipe of his bloodied tongue.

I moaned, his essence immediately soothing my throat as he deepened our kiss with a skill only Cedric could possess. His mind brushed mine, confirming that this was real, that he was truly here. With me. Holding me. Kissing me.

His mental fears told me that I’d nearly taken a three-story fall by opting to ignore him in favor of choosing the dangerous way down the vent. Because apparently this compound was built into a hill. And I’d just reached the back of it.

I almost lost you, his mind whispered. And I couldn’t teleport in there to pull you out. The space was too tight. I also have to be familiar with a location to be able to materialize within it.

He was furious.

He was elated.

He was proud.

The combination of emotions rivaled my own, only I felt terrified, relieved, and confused as hell.

He’d been forced to cut his way into the vent to create an exit for me because I’d apparently missed a grate in the other room, one that would have freed me from my tunnel-like prison.

But it didn’t matter, because he’d been able to save me here.

A myriad of plans rolled through his head, his strategy one I recognized as he shifted me beneath him on the floor and gave me more of his blood, drowning me in his healing essence while reminding me of who we were to one another.

We didn’t have much time, but he knew my body needed this.

Just as my mind required the details his touch provided— this is real. Cedric is real. He came for me. And now he’s going to help me escape.

I missed you, Lily, he breathed into my mind, his palms framing my face. I missed you so fucking much.

I missed you, too, I whispered. I thought you abandoned me.

I know, he replied. We’ll discuss it more when we’re out of this mess. But I need you to trust me now. Can you do that, sweet flower? Can you trust me again?