Page 88 of Blood Day

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 torisk 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 mademebleed.

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.