Chapter 31

Sebastian

The godforsaken, fucking sun.

I wove through the forest, feeling drunk, unable to think clearly, unable to see anything but blurred colors and shapes in front of me. The scents of charred wood and soot, burned skin and blood, filled my nose.

I teetered and slammed a hand out, my palm connecting with the trunk of a tree. My claws dug into the bark.

How long had I been out here, roaming around this goddamn forest in the middle of nowhere, fucking starving? Days. It had to be days, and the goddamn sun was literally sucking the life out of me.

Gods, I was hungry, my throat dry, the pain in my stomach like a thousand needles stabbing me over and over again.

After releasing the Otherworld creatures caged in the facility, and then creating a bloodbath with all the human fuckers who worked for the Assembly, I'd left the burning remains behind me and headed straight for the thick crest of woods that seemed to stretch out as far as I could see.

But it had been so close to sunrise by that time, and it had been too late for me to find shelter. The fucking shade from the thick trees helped marginally, but as time went on and the sun got hotter, brighter, my thirst rose up.

The pieces of shit that held me captive had starved me, so I was running on fumes at this point, with any reserve of strength I had long gone after the fight.

I was going to die out here. I was pretty fucking sure of it. But gods, I'd been alive a long time, and death, especially right now, seemed pretty damn welcoming.

I felt sweat pour from my hairline as I kept stumbling forward, the growls that came from me something I couldn't stop. My entire body felt like it was on fire, like I was burning alive.

This was surely what fucking hell felt like.

And just when I thought I couldn't go farther, I collapsed, hands and knees on the ground, body shaking… and so fucking thirsty.

I let myself fall to the side, the wind getting knocked out of me, a slice of sunlight peeking through the treetop. With what remaining strength I had, I lifted my hand and gave that burning ball of bullshit the middle finger.

And then I promptly passed out and welcomed death.

The soundof water dripping and the scent of damp earth was the first thing I was aware of. The second was the fact it was blessedly fucking cool and dark where I was.

Surely hell wasn't this pleasant.

Despite the dark, dank interior of wherever I was, I was still too weak, my body feeling like a husk of hunger and pain. I turned my head when I heard shuffling to my right, but even opening my eyes was a chore, and my vision was far too blurry to see anything clearly.

Once my vision adjusted slightly, I could see the flickering of light close by. A fire. And then a shape, a shadow moved across from me. I bared my fangs, using every ounce of strength I had to try and push my upper body up.

And then I promptly cursed when my arms gave out from under me. Motherfucker.

I heard a voice. Feminine. But my hearing was so fucked that it was all jumbled.

And then I scented her. It was hard to make out anything aside from the fact that she was female. My mind wasn't working at full capacity, I was too fucking weak, and all the other surrounding scents clouded too much. But as she got closer, her aroma became stronger.

Hyacinth.

"Calm down," she said, and I bared my fangs again, holding out a hand to keep her away. I'd never been called a good guy and had killed my fair share in my long years of living, but right now she smelled too perfect for me not to hurt.

Good enough to drain dry.

I clamped my jaw the closer she got, shaking my head and squeezing my eyes tight. I opened and closed my mouth, trying to tell her to stay away but I couldn't form a fucking word. I didn't want to kill her but I was hungry enough I would.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

No, but I'm going to hurt you.

Gods, her smell.

My mouth watered at the very idea of how good she'd taste, how thick and rich her blood would be as it covered my tongue and slid down the back of my throat. My stomach cramped painfully, this stinging sensation covering my arms and legs, my fingers and toes.

My vision cleared for a fraction, my gaze now latched on to the side of her throat, where I could see her jugular throbbing.

I squeezed my eyes shut and threw my arm over them, the limb feeling like it was filled with lead.

And then she came closer, my fangs aching and every feral, predatory part of me telling me to drain her dry and become stronger.

She touched my arm and I snapped.

She was so good, better than anything I'd ever tasted, the sweetest wine. I flattened my body against hers and felt how soft and feminine she was.

Her blood rushed through my veins and I felt my strength rise up tenfold, growing and growing until it roared in my head.

And still I drank my fill, swallowing mouthfuls at a time. I could feel her struggle against me. But I was too greedy, too hungry to stop.

I moaned. She was tiny, soft.

She was…

Oh fuck.

I ripped away from her and panted, leaning back on my haunches to stare down at her. My heart was beating overtime, her blood rushing to every part of my body and knitting, healing everything from the inside out.

With every passing second my vision became clearer, crisper. I could see every minute detail in the dark cave, every little detail of her.

She had long cornsilk-colored hair, big seafoam eyes, and pouty red lips that were currently pursed as if she were… pissed.

And with each passing second, her horrified expression turned to one of anger. She lifted her hand and touched the side of her throat, and I lowered my gaze to stare as she pulled her blood-covered fingers away.

I touched my fingers to my lips, looked down at the digits, and a harsh noise left me as I saw that red covered the pads.

I'd just… I'd just attacked my female. I damn near fucking drained her dry.

"Get off," she hissed.

I spied tiny fangs as she cursed me, but instantly rolled off of her. Her hair fell over her shoulder as she pushed herself up, and that's when I spied tiny pointed ears.

"This is what I get for saving your life?" She narrowed her eyes at me before walking over to the fire and crouching to riffle through a bag. She pulled out a rag and pressed it to her throat, cutting a withering glare at me. "Who knew my mate was such an asshole?"

The End.