Page 106 of Inhuman Nature

“Satisfied?” Rake asked Shaun.

“Much better.”

Rake turned to where Lynette and Julia shared another woman between them. “We’re ready to take Lawrence down.”

Lynette broke away from the woman’s shoulder. “We need to rest first.”

“Why aren’t we going tonight?” Rake asked.

“It’s far too risky to go out this close to sunrise. You do know what’ll happen if you step out in it?” Lynette said, voice dripping with condescension.

“But Lawrence was able to go out whilst it was light,” Rake pointed out. “And he’s only a hundred. Surely you can handle it, too?”

“What do you mean, a hundred?” Kit asked. “Lawrence is at least four hundred years old.”

“His paperwork for coming to Brighton said he’d been recreated in the 1950s, if I’m not mistaken,” Lynette said.

“Fucking Lawrence and his fucking lies,” Kit said.

“What’s more likely? That he lied to us to make himself older, or that he lied to Lynette to make himself younger?” Shaun asked.

Kit sighed. “I don’t know. He enjoys screwing with everyone.”

“I bit him when he pledged to me after you moved here, Shaun. His blood didn’t taste old at all,” Lynette said.

A furrow formed between Shaun’s brows. “He drank from me exclusively that week. Would that have affected it?”

Lynette’s eyes were flinty. “It would dilute his blood if he was drinking from a younger vampire. If he’s older than we think, he’ll be more dangerous. All the more reason to wait until we have more backup.”

“Shaun, you said he could still compel you until recently,” Rake said before addressing Lynette. “Would that be something only an old vampire could do?”

Lynette nodded slowly. “It should wear off once the new creation is able to handle feeding without falling prey to their bloodlust. If Weston could still compel Shaun after so long, then I suspect he’s closer to the age that Kit suspects.”

“Don’t tell me,” Rake said in a monotone. “It’ll make him far harder to kill.”

Lynette’s grim face was answer enough.

Rake was over the vampire bullshit already. His heart ached for DJ’s return, and it made it hard to focus on anything else. Even Shaun’s support wasn’t enough.

Rake needed to get his boyfriend back, no matter what.

Chapter Twenty-Five

DJ

When DJ woke, his gut was gnawing. His stomach cried out in a hunger so extreme and all-consuming that it eclipsed all other sensations.

DJ had a complicated relationship with food. He loved it, but he also hated how much he loved it.

Over the years, DJ had tried many methods to reduce his consumption. Throwing his lunch away in the school cafeteria after a few bites. Skipping breakfast, only to feel faint during morning classes at uni. Ordering a side instead of a main when he and Rake went out for dinner, then spending the rest of the meal guilty about Rake feeding him from his own plate. It didn’t help when people bombarded him with advice, ranging from calorie-counting and meal-prepping to personal training and weight-loss boot camps.

But DJ had never had a more complicated relationship with food than he did now. Because DJ was hungry, and it wasn’t for food.

It would horrify his mum. Every time she cooked for him and his dad, it was her way of demonstrating her love for them. A son who couldn’t enjoy his mother’s cooking wasn’ta son worth having. She would forgive him for anything else, but refusing to eat the food she’d make for him would be an offence she wouldn’t be able to stomach.

Not only could he never eat again, but his body would be like this forever. Stretch marks on his skin. A protruding belly. Thighs that would always touch. His slight double chin. Pecs that were neither firm nor flat.

All immortalised in flesh.