Page 19 of Claimed By Fangs and Darkness

Idris growled, his face strained and eyes wild as he breathed raggedly. He stared at me without a glimmer of recognition. There was no room for humanity in a mind overtaken by bloodlust.

Luckily, the condition didn’t last forever. All cravings could be ridden out.

Blood helped.

I’d placed a jar of human blood beneath the altar for exactly this purpose. Princeton’s spell room was nothing if not well-stocked.

Idris fought and writhed against me. He snapped his jaws like a beast gone feral.

I glanced at Evie, but she’d never gotten back up after falling backward. Her breathing was slow, and she was fighting and failing to open her eyes.

It was time for me to take over. In a swift maneuver, I released Idris only to pull him into a headlock. I dragged his flailing body toward the altar. He flexed his newfound strength, but it was no match for mine. His movements were clumsy and hampered by urgency.

I’d had the foresight to dose this jar with a small amount of blood onyx, a paralytic poison to vampires. It wouldn’t do any long-term damage, just enough to immobilize him and calm him down.

As soon as the lid was removed, Idris yanked the jar from my hands.

“Careful, now,” I said, knowing my words went unheard.

The liquid sloshed against the sides, some of it spilling out as he lifted the glass to his lips.

As he chugged, he stopped fighting against me. I released a breath.

Luckily, as a newly turned, he had no comparison for this blood. Older, preserved blood was certainly a stale, unappetizing alternative to fresh.

And nothing compared to blood straight from the veins.

I gritted my teeth. I was starving. I hadn’t fed since before Evie ran from me. And Evie had been so mysteriously broken that I hadn’t felt comfortable feeding from her this morning or last night. I hadn’t understood what was going on with her, so I’d taken to caring for her rather than taking. And like an idiot, I’d chosen to forgo blood altogether.

Because Evie had ruined my taste for anyone but her. It felt like disloyalty to sustain myself with another’s blood, not to mention the lackluster, downright sickening taste. I was addicted to Evie and only Evie.

It was still irresponsible of me. Starving myself put her in danger, not to mention what it did to my power reserves. It was in her best interest for me to keep myself fed no matter what.

Watching Idris drink and settle down was both soothing and triggering to my hungry, overworked mind.

I needed to feed. And Evie needed to heal. More than that, she and her alluring, humanlike blood needed to get the fuck away from a newborn vampire.

She’d accomplished the impossible. She’d called a soul back from Helia, and now I was certain she would never leave me again.

“What…” Idris slurred.

He’d gone limp, so I took back the empty jar and released him. He sat upright as he stared at me in utter confusion. His pupils were no longer saucers.

“I don’t—” He swallowed, his gaze dropping down to his own body in utter terror. “Where am I?”

He stared at his palms as if not recognizing his own skin. I’d always felt paternal toward Idris, and those feelings had never been stronger.

“You’re safe. I’m going to explain everything to you and answer all of your questions. If you want more blood, you’re going to let me give you basic clan markings. Additional tattoos are earned. I will explain each step as we go.”

Idris’s eyes flashed on the wordblood, even if he didn’t yet understand why. I wasn’t sure how much more of my words he truly comprehended after that one. His poor fangs were likely on fire right now.

“You were turned, Idris,” I said. “You’re one of us now.”

I moved quickly and efficiently.Either Idris was in shock, or the blood onyx had worked a little too well, because he hadn’t spoken another word to me since awakening. He fought me only initially when I began to tattoo his skin with magickal ink, but after soothing words and reassurance, he settled.

These initial markings were for underground clearance, a signifier of his essence so he would be recognized by the clan andour magick, as well as glamour activation for appearing human or masked.

So far, the remnants of Princeton’s workings had held up in the face of his death. But I wasn’t sure how long our supplies would last. Eventually, Evie would need to craft her own ink and sigils.