Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 122946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
“We can survive off other things.”
He leaned in and smirked. “I do not want to survive, Ms. Monroe; I want to live as should you. Your maker should have thought you better.”
“I don’t know my maker,” I whispered, looking away from him; he was so damn close.
He placed his cold finger on my skin, and turned my face to meet his. The smirk gone, he was very serious instead. “You were abandoned?”
“I don’t like that word,” I muttered, releasing my chin from his hands. “But I guess since I don’t know who my maker was or where that person is currently, that might be the only word to use.”
“My apologies,” he said sincerely which was a bit odd since he’d just killed nine people—well eight, I’d killed the ninth one. “Had I known, I would not have let you run toward the witch.”
My gaze snapped to him and widened. “You knew he was there?”
“Witches smell like nature and blend in with the forest, but you can still hear them if you listen closely.” His dark brows knitted together. “How long have you been a vampire and managed to avoid them while hunting here?”
“A year, and how do you know I hunt here?” I said, not wanting him to know I was from the area.
“You are comfortable here.” He said and nodded down to my waist. “That and the chain at your waist.”
I glanced down at the keychain—Washington D.C.—hooked onto my jeans. Damn. I never wanted to leave them in my car so I always carried them with me. I also had blood all over me.
“You are not trained in our ways.” He wiped the blood from my mouth, and this time, I didn’t pull away. “And in the way you feed, how have you made it a whole year without exposing yourself to mortals?”
“Well, maybe I’m just lucky,” I gently said as he stroked my face. But I didn’t want to give into whatever charm he was trying to use on me. I wasn’t human anymore. “How old are you, oh great one?”
His eyebrow raised a bit once more, and his lips turned up into a quirky grin. “As you have said, it is 2020; then I am 1,146 years of now.”
He was over a freaking thousand years old?
Wait.
“Why do you keep talking like you’ve lost track of time?” I asked him, taking off my jacket as I’d spilled blood on it.
“Because I have.” He nodded. “The last memory I can recall is from 1920.”
“What?”
He let go of my face to glance down at his hands as if they were brand new, stretching them out. “There are only one of two explanations for that. Either, I was attacked in 1920, and my body has only just now healed from the damage, which I doubt. Or somehow, I’ve lost my memory of the last century.”
“How?” A vampire with amnesia? Was that possible?
He leaned in, pressing his lips to my ear. “Do you see why I need your help now, Ms. Monroe?”
“How can I help you, though?” I whispered, not sure why I was reacting this way. Other vampires did their best to avoid me, and I didn’t actively seek them out, either. Yet, here I was, patiently listening and questioning Theseus.
“Young one,” he whispered into my ear, and I shivered but didn’t move away. “Do you not know when a vampire is claiming you?”
My eyes went wide, and I glanced down at the body of the man I’d drank from. One of the other things I knew of vampire society—mating rituals. A vampire brought his intended mate food. To accept, they had to share from the same body, then afterward, they consummated the bond and marked each other. Without realizing it, I’d begun the ritual with him.
“Why the hell would you do that?” I snapped at him.
“What a strange question,” he said flatly. “Why does any vampire mate?”
“Love!”
At that, he laughed outright. “You are very young and naïve.”
“You are old and crazy!”
“Perfect, we shall balance each other.” He grabbed my hand, pulling me closer. His body was pressed against mine, and I could feel him through his clothes.
But I ignored him, standing firm and cold against him. “Unless you plan on forcing me here on the forest floor, I’m not mating with you.”
“Do I look like a brute to you?”
“You tricked me to get this far.”
“I saved your life to get this far.”
I glared. “Do you plan to let me go, Mr. Thorbørn?”
“Only if you swear that you shall help find out what happened to me.”
“Why should I do that?”
“To get me out of your hair, of course.” He picked a few leaves from my hair. “Who knows if I could have someone I already intended to be with who makes me forget my current desire for you.”
I glared even harder before pushing him away and turning around.