Page 76 of Crave Me

Maybe she is really dying,I marveled.And I’m already going insane from losing my fated mate.

But that shouldn’t be possible.

We rejected the bond!

I stole a deep breath through my nose, commanding myself to calm the fuck down. This anxiety, this need toshredPaxton for touching Nyx, and this desire to snatch up my goddess and disappear with her were all unhelpful cravings. They weren’t going to fix anything.

But I really did want to know who shot my fated mate.

Because I was going to rip that being apart and feast on its blood.

My hands curled into fists, my fury mounting with each passing second.

I finally took in the carnage around us, the burn marks, the destroyed buildings, the huddles of supernaturals helping one another heal.

Cara had said there were no casualties, and the scene around us proved Nyx had been the most hurt of everyone here.Because of a bullet. How the fuck did this happen?

“I can’t sense any magic,” Paxton said slowly. “At least not an active spell. Do you know which way the bullet went?”

My brow tugged down. “You think the bullet might have been spelled?”

“Maybe.” He didn’t sound very sure. “I want to check it.”

Cara blew out a breath. “That might be hard. It’s somewhere in there.” She pointed at one of the nearby houses that had been taken down by the explosions.

Paxton stood, evaluating the mess. “We’ll need to dig.” His eyes met mine. “In the interim, I suggest you treat her like you would a mortal.”

CHAPTEREIGHTEEN

VESPERUS

A mortal.

I cursed.

Because it was similar to what I’d already thought about with Nyx’s state, but I hadn’t consideredtreatingher as one.

“She’s lost a lot of blood,” I said, thinking out loud. “She… she needs…” My brow furrowed, another thought occurring to me. “She needs blood.”

My blood.

I bit my wrist—hard—creating what would have been a fatal wound on a human. But I needed this to remain open long enough tobleed.

Rather than bring my wrist to her mouth, I pressed it to her sternum, willing my blood to mingle with hers.

The moment I felt my skin stitching back together, I bit my other wrist and repeated the action.

All while Kaspian watched.

“Do you want me to add mine?” he asked when nothing seemed to happen.

My jaw clenched, the notion of another being’s essence inside my mate making me want to commit murder. But if it saved her, then so be—

A flutter in the air caught my attention, the glimmer so light and airy that I almost missed it throughout all the surrounding smoke. I blinked at it, not quite sure it was actually there. But it shimmered, dancing closer to me.

Is this…?

No.