Page 55 of The Vampire Debt

“Alaric, please,” I say, but I’m not sure exactly what I’m begging for—a quick death, or mercy, or something else entirely. “If I owe a life debt then take it.”

Alaric looks at me and I can’t for the life of me begin to imagine what is going through his mind.

He closes the small distance between us, pressing his body against mine, one hand resting on my hip, his other by the side of my head, caging me in. Even now with these slight touches my heart pounds, not entirely out of fear.

He lowers his head so I can feel his warm breath on my ear. “Why are you so eager to die? Do you think so little of me because of what I am?”

I think of Mother, of her face, her features that are slowly fading from memory as time passes. I can hardly remember the sound of her voice anymore. “Vampires only know how to destroy. You are all dangerous.”

“So are humans, my dear Clara. Surely there is more to it than that.” He moves his hand from the tree to cup my face.

“A vampire killed my mother…”Shit… I don’t know why I admitted that out loud to him. “Kitty and I were left with only Father to take care of us.” I pull in a shaky breath, forcing myself to be brave and look him in the eye.

His arm around me is strong and unmovable like a solid steel beam. The way Alaric holds me feels like a lover’s embrace.

“It’s okay,” I say.

A thin red line encircles his irises as his fangs descend. There is hesitation in him, even now, so I turn my head to the side, close my eyes, and wait for the pinch of his fangs as he pierces my skin and kills me.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Alaric

Instinct wins over,standing this close to her. Our chests are flush together. I can feel every breath she takes with painful precision. The pulse in her bared neck beats wildly, calling my inner demon out, taunting and luring and daring me to kill her.

I lean forward, mesmerized by her heartbeat, until my lips brush her skin. My fangs scrape that same spot. That thin layer of flesh is the only thing that separates me from the thing I crave the most.

Clara tilts her head further to the side, offering no resistance. I stay like that for a moment, feeling the beat of her heart beneath my lips.

“I don’t regret what I did,” she says quietly. “We all do what we must for the people we love.”

Following the words that nearly set my bloodlust free, is the faint scent of salt and water.

I inhale sharply, and pull my head back, blinking and feeling like I am coming out of a trance.

A single tear glides down the side of her face.She’s crying.

“Do it already, you heartless bastard.”

I blink away the bloodlust as I regain my control. What a vexing creature she is turning out to be. I lift my hand and brush the strand of hair that had fallen over her face.

I can’t remember the last time I saw someone cry. Brushing my thumb over her cheekbone, I wipe away the tear. She shudders, her chest rising and falling as she prepares herself for a death I have had every intention on drawing out as painfully as I could a moment ago, a death I no longer think I can deliver. A death I do notwantto deliver.

For the first time since meeting her, I look at her—really look. The pain of having her life ripped apart is clear. My goal has been to make her suffer for her crimes, but at every attempt all I can hear is Rosalie’s voice admonishing me for my actions.

She murdered Rosalie—she doesn’t deserve my pity. I should hate her. I shouldwantto kill her.

Clara’s pain shines through her bravado, even when she is willing to die. It tugs on me and, though I am loathe to admit it, we have something in common.

I thought I would have to spend my days and nights torturing her. But somehow in an attempt to use her repulsion of what I am against her, it became an entirely new game between us. And what should have kept us from interacting, has become my addiction.

I curse my soft mind and heart. Rosalie’s kindness that I’ve held dear for so long… the kindness that has kept me close to the humanity I’ve been clinging to since the day I was turned, has made me soft… weak.

Slowly, I release her and step back. It’s several seconds before she moves.

Clara peels open her eyes and stares bewildered. Her wild, long, dark hair frames her face.

“No.”