Page 36 of Veradel

“What?” he asks, furrowing his brow, his gaze scouring over me as if checking for injuries.

“Think something again,” I repeat, and wait for a beat before I remember. “As a werewolf. Shift.”

Lucan cocks his head like I’m insane, but his legs elongate, fur sprouts instantly from his skin, and his face morphs into a wolfish one.

She hit her head too hard, he worries, looming over me.Fuck.

Placing my palm against my sternum, double checking that my chest is still necklace-free, I reply mentally,I’m completely fine. I’m a vampire now.

He audibly gasps as his eyes fly down to my neck, confirming for himself what isn’t there.

My blood…?

His voice doesn’t exactly latch onto my heartbeat. Instead, it swells from inside me, tracks down my core, rises along my spine. It’s everywhere.

I nod, hope blooming within me once more.Your blood. Since I drank it, it’s in me… so I guess we’re connected by more than just a necklace now.

Incredible,Lucan says, and I agree.

Maybe we can’t go back to the way we used to be, but we could create a new bond. One that doesn’t require a chain around my neck. My mind swirls with the possibilities. Surely, he and I can’t be the first vampire and werewolf couple in all of history. But I’d imagine it’s so rare and rebuked that this isn’t something that has been observed or studied very often.

Too bad…

Just as quickly, the hope seeps away. As I get to my feet, I do my best to bury the sadness poking holes in my joy so Lucan won’t pick up on it.

He tilts his head anyway, sensing the shift in the air between us, but before he can question me or pry further into my mind, I’m running.

More like sprinting at full speed. And full speed for a vampire is ablur.

Further up the mountain, rockier ground begins to roughen the landscape. Lucan’s paws thunder behind me, but he can’t quite close the gap since I had a head start—not like the first time he chased me. Now, we’re evenly matched.

Saskia, he growls through me.What’s wrong?

I force my feet to move even faster, trying my best to distract myself from thinking anything at all, but all I’m really doing is tiring myself out faster.

Lucan slowly closes in until he’s nipping at my heels, his thoughts pressing into my back.

Tired already, little nightmare?

I whip around at his accusatory tone, and Lucan skids to a halt.

You can’t read my mind every time you want to know something,I shoot back right before he slams into me.

Again, I’m flying backward. This time, though, it’s a controlled fall as Lucan pins me down against the rocky ground, his hulking form panting over me.

A splitting crack of rage that doesn’t belong to me rips through my chest, the mood shifting so suddenly it gives me whiplash.

His eyes bore into mine.You think I need to read your mind to figure you out?And with a snap of his canines, he’s human again. His chiseled jawline could cut stone. His muscular thighs press down against my hips when I start to wriggle beneath him. “I don’t,” he says, without breaking stride. “Iknowyou. Inside and out.”

My own anger flares when I can’t manage to free myself from his grip. “Good for you.” I let out a huff. “Now get off me.”

Lucan chuckles darkly, running the pad of his thumb over my lips. “Maybe if you would have drunk enough, you’d have more strength to fight me off.”

I tense every cold muscle in my body, and with all of my remaining strength, I push Lucan in the chest, launching him ten yards into the air.

He lands against a thick tree trunk with a boom. The tree shakes violently, pine needles raining down around us as Lucan slides down to his feet almost effortlessly.

Blinking, I scramble to stand up, and all the fear and denial and self-loathing I’ve felt since the moment I woke up bursts to the surface. “I don’t want to be the reason you’re in pain ever again,” I seethe.