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CHAPTER TEN

ISOLDE

“William!”

I scream his name again, but the silence that follows is deafening. The shower water beats down on my shoulders, washing away the blood and our mingled essence, but nothing can cleanse the ache in my chest where he’s been torn away from me.

My legs shake as I slide down the tiled wall, the cold ceramic shocking against my heated skin. The emptiness where he was feels like a raw, throbbing wound. I can still taste him on my lips, still feel the pressure of his hands on my throat, but he’s gone.

“Damn you,” I whisper to the empty shower. “Damn you for leaving me like this.”

The water runs cold, but I don’t move. Can’t move.

The intensity of what we shared has left me drained, my power depleted in a way that feeding from CJ and Cassiel hadn’t prepared me for.

It’s as if William took more than just excess energy when he bit me.

He took something fundamental, something that connected us on a level deeper than blood.

The runes along my spine ignite with heat, sending their data to Blackridge’s monitoring system. I wonder what he’s seeing now, what readings my encounter with William has generated. The thought makes my stomach turn.

“Isolde?” Cassiel’s voice is gentle and concerned as he stands in the doorway, naked. “Are you okay?”

I force myself to stand, turning off the shower with trembling hands. “I’m fine,” I say, though my voice betrays me with its hollow tone.

Blood still stains the tiles in crimson streaks, and I must look a wreck.

“You don’t look fine,” he says, moving closer. He grabs a towel and wraps it around me with gentle hands. “That was something else.”

I lean into his touch, craving the solid warmth of him after William’s spectral chill. “It was, and now he’s gone.”

“He’ll be back, and you need to sleep.”

I let him guide me from the bathroom to the bed.

CJ stands by the window, dressed again, his posture tense as he takes in my appearance. “Rest now, Issy. You are sending too much data back to Blackridge.”

I glare at him because of his terse attitude, but I know he is right; his rude behaviour stems from concern for me. But it doesn’t stop me from biting back. “Didn’t stop you when you had your dick in me, did it?”

He narrows his eyes and debates how to respond. I can see it all over his face. “No, you are right. This was my fault. I should’ve rejected you.”

“Ouch,” I mumble as I climb into bed.

He chuckles. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“I know. I’m out of sorts.”

“With good reason. Go to sleep now, Issy. We will be here when you wake.”

I nod and snuggle into the bed, naked and with my hair wet. I’ll look like the wicked witch from the west when I wake up, but I can’t bring myself to care. My eyes close, and sleep drags me under like a riptide, powerful and irresistible.

***

When I wake, the moon is high, and CJ is waiting with a cup of blood. “Human mixed with mine.”

“Thanks,” I say, grabbing it and gulping it back. I place the empty cup on the bedside cabinet and look between him and Cassiel. “What?”

“Nothing,” Cassiel says, but he is a terrible liar.

“Tell me what’s happened,” I growl, getting out of bed, my tits jiggling and distracting both of them instantly. “No,” I say, holding up my hand. “No sex.”

“Now that’s ouch ,” CJ says, but sighs. “But it really is nothing. It’s more that you now have to go to classes, and we are not in any of them.”

“Oh,” I say and relax. “It’s okay. I can handle myself.”

“No, remember you are supposed to lie low, walk away. Benz is not happy about Cass killing him the other day. He might come after you.”

“I’ll kill him again,” Cassiel announces.

I giggle. “I’m sure it will be fine. Yes, we have Defensive Combat Training again, but I’m stronger now. Not the scared rabbit he tried to bully last time.”

“That’s exactly what concerns me,” CJ says, his eyes darkening. “You’re not the same Isolde who entered SilverGate. You’re a Sanguimonarch now, with power that’s still volatile and unpredictable.”

I roll my eyes and grab my workout clothes that Cordelia made with magic for me, pulling them on quickly. “I’ll be fine.”

“Will you?” Cassiel asks softly. “What happens if someone provokes you and you respond instinctively? The runes will transmit every surge of power directly to Blackridge.”

“And give him exactly what he wants,” CJ adds, crossing his arms. “Data on how your abilities manifest under stress.”

I know they’re right, but I need to convince them that I’m fine, so they don’t follow me around all night. My emotions are still raw from William’s departure, my power simmering just beneath my skin like mercury waiting to boil over.

“Okay,” I concede. “I’ll be careful. No magic outside of magic classes, no confrontations, no drama.”

CJ snorts. “Drama follows you like a shadow, Issy.”

“Says the vampire with more secrets than the family crypt,” I retort, but there’s no heat in it. “I’ll be boring. Promise.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” CJ murmurs, his eyes tracking me as I finish getting ready. “Just remember, if you feel your control slipping, walk away. Find an empty classroom, a bathroom, or anywhere you can be alone until you stabilise.”

“I know, I know.” I grab my bag and sling it over my shoulder. I pause at the door, looking back at them. They are my knights, my protectors, my lovers. “I’ll see you both later.” My eyes drift to the empty space by the window where William should be. “Tell him... tell him I’ll be back soon.”

“We will check in, and if you are in serious danger or hurt, I’ll know,” CJ says.

“How?” I ask, my gaze pinning his.

“I just will.”

I nod slowly and leave them in my room. I know I said I would give him time, but he’s taking too much of it. I want to know what lurks alongside the vampire.

The walk to Defensive Combat Training is uneventful, although each step sends tiny sparks of electricity up my spine where Blackridge’s runes sit embedded in my flesh.

Not pain, but awareness. The corridors are busy with supernatural students rushing to classes, and I can feel their blood calling to me, taste their power on my tongue with each breath.

The training hall is already half-full when I arrive. Students mill around in small groups, some stretching, others practising forms. I spot Benz immediately, his massive frame impossible to miss, as he demonstrates a brutal takedown to a group of admirers.

Our eyes lock across the room, and his face twists into a sneer.

The wolf in him recognises the change in me immediately.

His nostrils flare, scenting the air, and his eyes narrow with suspicion and something that looks like fear.

He breaks away from his groupies and stalks toward me, each step calculated to intimidate.

“Well, well,” he growls, circling me like prey. “You look like you crawled out of a grave, Morvoren.” He snickers at his lame vampire joke, his cronies backing him up. I spot Cordelia a few feet away, about to intervene, but I waggle my fingers at her to stay where she is.

I say nothing, remembering my promise to walk away from confrontation. I step around him, but he blocks my path.

“I smell them all over you,” he continues, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Three scents. I knew you were a little slut.”

My anger flares at that word, and my spine tingles where the runes are embedded, sending data back to Blackridge with every spike in my emotions.

Stay calm.

“Move, Benz,” I say quietly. “I’m not looking for trouble.”

He laughs, the sound echoing in the training hall. “Please. All you do is cause trouble. But that angel arsehole isn’t here to save you now.”

“I don’t need saving.”

“We’ll see about that.” He reaches out, grabbing my arm with bruising force. “Maybe I’ll show you what happens to little vampires who?—”

The moment his skin touches mine, the hunger roars to life. I can taste his power on my tongue, the raw, bestial energy of a werewolf, primal and fierce. My body reacts before my mind can catch up, silver light flashing beneath my skin where he grips me.

“Let. Go.” Each word drops like ice from my lips.

Benz’s eyes widen as he feels the chill spreading up his arm from where he’s touching me. Frost forms on his skin, crystallising around his fingers. He tries to pull away, but my hand snaps up, gripping his wrist with unnatural strength.

“What the fuck?” he hisses, genuine fear flickering across his face.

The runes along my spine burn hot, transmitting every detail of this power surge back to Blackridge. I should stop. I promised I’d walk away. But the hunger inside me, the new predator that lives beneath my skin, wants to taste this wolf’s essence, to drink his power and add it to my own.

“I said let go,” I repeat, my voice echoing strangely in the suddenly silent training hall. Every student has frozen, watching us with wary eyes.

“Not a chance, slut,” he growls, getting his bravado back.

My fangs drop, and I flash them at him. He doesn’t even have time to move before I pounce and sink my fangs into his neck.

He shrieks with pain as I rip his throat wide open.

“Miss Morvoren!” The professor comes running over, his name escaping me right now. “Live feedings are strictly prohibited!”

No part of me cares. I cling to Benz’s massive body, biting harder, drinking faster. His blood is wild, a pure feral taste that makes me whimper. There is nothing lustful about this. It’s a bite to kill. Doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy it.

“Miss Morvoren!”

I barely register the professor’s voice as Benz’s blood floods my mouth. His power courses through me, raw and primal, nothing like the refined essence of CJ or Cassiel. It’s crude, bestial, but intoxicating in its own way. Like drinking moonlight and fury.

His body convulses against mine, weakening with each greedy pull. I can feel his life force dimming, his power becoming mine. The runes along my spine burn white-hot, transmitting every detail of this feeding frenzy back to Blackridge.

Hands grab at my shoulders, trying to pull me away, but they might as well be attempting to move a mountain. I’m anchored to Benz, my fangs locked in his throat as his struggles grow weaker.

Benz collapses to the floor with me on top of him. I squeeze my thighs around his body, my vampire strength making it damn near impossible for anyone to remove me. I drink, feeling his heartbeat slow.

The training hall has erupted into chaos. Some students flee, others watch in horrified fascination. Cordelia stands frozen, her face pale with shock.

With one last pull, I drain Benz dry, and he goes limp as I release him, his blood dripping down my chin while a hysterical laugh escapes me.

CJ rushes into the training hall with Cass hot on his heels, but it’s too late.

Lie low? Walk away?

Yeah, that wasn’t ever going to happen, and I think we all knew it.