Page 136 of Cruelly Bitten

Her words served as a formal invitation to her territory, one I was grateful for. “Thank you, Hazel.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” she replied, ending the call.

My lips curled. It’d been a while since I’d spoken to the old vampire. However, she hadn’t seemed to change much. Still formal—which reminded me of Jace—but with a hint of compassion.

It could be a ruse. She might be one of Lilith’s former allies. But my instincts told me she wasn’t.

She hadn’t been noted in the files as a supporter of the cause. She’d been noted as neutral.

Then Mira had claimed Hazel was untrustworthy, her contention with Lilith well known.

So which is it?I wondered.Is she neutral? Or is she against this new world?

I would find out soon.

In the interim, I’d prepare myself for a mental battle.And try to wake up Ismerelda.

CHAPTER THIRTY

JACE

“Anything?”I asked as I stepped into the makeshift command center of my tower.

Damien glanced up from his monitors. “You’re as bad as Ryder,” he drawled. “Always checking in when you know full well I’ll send you an update the moment I have something to report.”

I snorted. “Maybe I just want a reason to see you.”

“Careful now. You’ll make that beautiful doctor of yours jealous.”

“Hardly,” said doctor replied from behind me. “You can have him.” Calina uttered the words in her infamous deadpan, causing me to arch an eyebrow back at her.

Your mind says otherwise, little enchantress,I informed her.As does that sweet scent blossoming between your thighs. Are you considering inviting Damien for a night of fun?

Her blue-green eyes glittered as she met my gaze.No. I rather like him alive. And we both know you’d kill him for touching me.

I smiled.So you have thought about it.

You have access to my mind,she replied.Have I thought about it?

Hmm, I hummed, searching her thoughts and finding all of her sensual intrigue directed toward me.And here I thought humans were susceptible to a vampire’snaturalprowess, thus making all of vampire kind irresistible and seductive by default.

The words were a reference to a conversation myErositaand I had engaged in shortly after we met, whereby she informed me her attraction to me was simply a response to my vampiric genetics.

“I’m being caressed by an apex predator with seductive properties meant to ensnare prey,” she’d said. “Of course I’m aroused.”

As we recently discovered, I’m not human,she reminded me now.Therefore, I no longer fit the sample criteria.

A laugh escaped me, causing Damien to sigh loudly. “If you’re going to fuck around in your minds, then go do it somewhere else. I need to focus.”

There were very few men who could get away with talking to me like that.

Fortunately for Damien, he was on that short list.

“What can we do to help?” I asked him. “Other than leave you alone.” The latter part was added because I knew that would be his recommendation.

He sighed, the tattoo on his left arm stretching across his pale skin as his muscles flexed. “I’ve tried everything I can think of to break through their technology blackout. There have been a few blips of connectivity, telling me they’re hitting the satellites intermittently for communication reasons, but otherwise, it’s dark.”

“A typical Lilith protocol.” Calina tied her long blonde hair up into a ponytail while she spoke, her focus on the screens. “She used to shut down the bunker for drills, too. But never for this long.”