Page 206 of Blood Day

Sorry, I thought at her, my steps feeling heavier as I continued the trek back to our cell. She might not even be awake yet, but that didn’t stop the guilt from eating at me. She’d suffered last night. That much was clear. And now she would continue that suffering by not being able to eat until?—

A lycan stepped into my path, his nostrils flaring in my peripheral view. I quickly dropped my gaze to the ground, my feet freezing to keep myself steady and obedient in front of him.

“Hmm,” he hummed, the sound sending a shiver down my spine.

Interested. Feral. Wrong.

“You smell different.” He leaned in, his nose going to my neck, his warmth bleeding into my chilled skin. “Very different.” His low tone swirled around me, his arm encircling my waist as he pulled me out of the line and instructed the others to continue forward.

Oh, no.My heart skipped several beats.No. No. No.

Stay calm,a voice whispered back to me, one that didn’t belong to me.

I nearly frowned.Am I imagininghimnow?

“What’s your number?” the lycan mused, his fingers drifting up my back to my nape.

“Moon Chase Item Seventeen, sir.” The words came out stilted, but they lacked the quiver threatening to overcome my being. I considered that a temporary win.

Until the lycan squeezed. “Moon chase.” Intrigue darkened his tone. “Seems like wasted potential.”

“Or a good test of strength,” another commented, joining our little group in the hallway between the cafeteria and the cells. “You’re right. She does smell different.” He leaned in to scent my neck like the other one had. “Interesting.”

“Shall we taste her?” Lycan One asked, his palm resembling a shackle around my nape.

“Maybe,” Lycan Two replied, his hand going to my hip. “Take her to the black room. Then join me in my office. We’ll go over her file first.”

Lycan One released an appreciative growl and started pulling me back toward the cafeteria. “Hear that, pretty one? He wants you in theblackroom. Quite an honor, considering what toys wait for us there.”

Somehow I doubted his definition ofhonormatched mine.

Bile rose up my throat, burning the back of my mouth as the lycan led me to my fate.

I supposed the banana debate no longer mattered since I’d managed to acquire this male’s attention anyway.

“You smell different.”

Why? Because ofhim? Our bond?

Was he still haunting me even now? Dragging me into a new purpose, a darker fate, all because I’d given him my heart?

I hate him,I thought for the thousandth time.I hate him so damn much.

You love me, too,his voice whispered back, confirming that I’d lost my damn mind. Because I knew he wasn’t really there. He’d abandoned me. Left me here to suffer.

And now I was being taken to theblack room.

Where my bond withhimwould likely be shattered.

This was not what I’d wanted. They hadn’t even given me a chance to run or to fight. Yet I wasn’t sure I’d wanted that, either.

No, what I wanted was a tall, brooding vampire with thick brown hair, a cruel jaw decorated with the shadow of a finely shaved beard, and wicked, dark eyes.Full lips. Athletic build. Elegant demeanor. Penchant for terrifying games.

I shuddered, his image appearing in my mind for a brief, blissful moment.

Then the visual shattered into the reality of theblack room, which I quickly realized was named after the obsidian-like walls.

Easier to hide bloodstains, I assumed, my heart hammering in my chest as the lycan shoved me inside.