Enemy Within (Vampire Born Trilogy, #2) (5 page)

She mimics my method and grabs me by the base of my neck but extends her claws, locking her fingers into place.

I still. Not even a hitch of breath contracts my ribs. I’ve never in my life been in such a precarious position. Not even when my hands were chained to a wall.

Brooke’s breath flows over me, vicious and raw. Her stomach growls, and the rumble stretches and rolls up her chest, clawing its way out from her throat.

Fighting her can be deadly. I have to submit. I tilt my head slightly, revealing the perfect spot on my neck for her to bite me without slitting my artery but allowing her to appease the hunger.

She grinds her teeth and pops her fangs out from her gums. She shivers, most likely when a tingle I’m familiar with travels up her spine, and she follows it down to my neck.

She bites down much harder than I expect and then massages the flesh with her tongue. I hold back the groan of pain. It will set her off even more. I’m not sure I can handle that.

My skin tears and she lets out a carnal moan.

Feet scuffle toward me.

“No!” I put my hand up. “Leave her.”

“You can’t be serious,” Jaren says.

“Get. Out.”

Brooke’s body pulses and withers with the tempo of my heartbeat. An intense moan vibrates from her throat and along my skin. It is the most intimate and painful moment I have ever experienced.

“Leave,” I whisper, but my tone is unmistakable. It’s not a request.

“No. Get her off you.”

“And what? Have her feed from you? One slight jerk from your prey-minded body, and she slits your throat. If you fail to leave now, I will make you regret it as soon as she’s finished.”

The door slams behind me.

Brooke’s body melds farther into mine, and I focus on the small twinges of pleasure to drown out the pain.

CHAPTER
FOUR

Brooke

I lick my lips and savor the sweet, tart liquid. It zaps my tongue like a charge from a fresh battery, exciting as the jolt jumps down the back of my throat.

I open my eyes and find Mirko lying beneath me, covered in . . . blood.

I roll off him and backpedal until I bump into the bed. I wipe my face and come away with streaks of blood on my arm. “Oh, no.” Fear and disgust fight within me.

Mirko tries to sit, but his elbow gives out. “I’m okay.”

I jump up. “No, lie back down.” I grab a towel from bathroom. What have I done? I hesitate and go back for two more. There’s a lot of blood. I can’t believe I did this to him.

I rush back to Mirko and hold the rags clumsily against his throat, pressing as hard as I can to ebb the flow.

He hisses between his teeth.

“I’m so sorry.” Confusion clouds my mind. I don’t know what happened or how I ended up doing this to him, but it’s bad. “What have I done?”

He grabs my wrist and pulls. It’s weak. Nowhere near the strong, assertive touch I’ve grown used to.

“Oh, God.” I need help. “Garwin! Mom! Get in here!”

“No,” Mirko says, using more force in his voice, causing it to rasp. “We need to talk.”

He tries to sit up again. I have half a mind to push him back down, but he’s stubborn and I have no idea what that will do to his pride, so I help him instead.

My bedroom door flings open and Garwin, followed by Mom, storms in.

I look up at them, stunned and covered in blood, the blood-soaked towels still in my hands.

Shock registers on both their faces.

“I’m fine,” Mirko says, almost sounding like himself. “Step out, please. She and I have to talk.”

They remain while I stare up at them, bewildered and speechless. It must look exactly like what happened: I attacked Mirko, and he is now bleeding all over the place.

Oh, man. What a disaster.

“You’re sure?” Garwin asks, narrowing his eyes at me.

I shrink back in shame.

“Yes,” Mirko growls.

Garwin eyes me for one more second before he turns and leaves, but my mom pauses a couple of times on her way out, turning to look at me, at Mirko, at the bed.

“Close the door, please,” Mirko directs my mom as she steps out, and she does with a soft click.

I fumble with the towels again and reach toward his neck. “Please tell me you’re gonna be okay. And mean it.” My hands shake, my voice quivers.

Mirko takes the towels and holds them to his neck, doing a better job than I was. “I’ll be fine.”

I drop my head and shake it. I can’t believe I bit him. What kind of a monster am I? Never in a million years did I think I could do this. And still, the blood lingers in the air and smells so sweet. I hate that I want more, that I fight the urge to bite him again.

Mirko grabs my wrist. “Hey, look at me.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, not ready to face it. “I’m so sorry, Mirko. So, so sorry,” I whisper. I can’t look at him, almost can’t speak to him, but I have to let him know how sorry I am.

He cups my chin and lifts it. “Look at me, Slatki.”

I slowly meet his eyes. I don’t deserve the revered look they hold for me. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m—“

“You’re incredible. Never in my life have I faced a force as powerful and pure as you.”

“I bit you. I could’ve killed you. You could—“

“Shhhhh.” He grabs me with his free arm and pulls me into his chest. “You didn’t. See? We’re both okay.”

I exhale a shaky breath. “What would I have done? If I had . . . if you had . . .
” I can’t finish the sentence, let alone the thought.

“Don’t go there. You didn’t. You didn’t want to kill me. You only wanted to feed. You came to before that happened. You’re strong, not evil.” He cradles my face and I’m forced to look at him again. “What I want to know is how did it
feel
when you drank?”

I blink a couple of times. What did I feel? Emotions powerful and deep flood through the confusion and guilt. “It was amazing,” I say coyly.

Mirko grins his stunning signature grin. “And how do you feel now?”

My thoughts jumble again. “I . . .”

“No, let go of the turmoil. Don’t think about it; tell me how you feel—physically.”

I turn my head back and forth, gauging the level of pain in my neck the movement used to cause. Nothing. I pat my face and my eye socket where Jelena cut me. No pain and no scab. “I feel fine.” I look up at him, baffled. “I feel powerful.
Energized
and pretty much invincible. Mirko, this is freaking phenomenal.” I giggle.

Save for hurting him, I liked the experience. If I could do it again without causing him pain, I’d ask for more. “I’m sorry I hurt you. Is it always like that for the person being bitten? What was your first time like?”

His expression darkens. “My experience into this world was a lot less . . .  gentle than I’d like to make yours.”

What does he mean by that? My first time didn’t go smoothly at all. His experience must have been much worse than mine, though, because Jelena was the one who brought him over. But no matter how awful, or how hard it’ll be to hear about it, I still want to know. It’s a part of him. “What happened?”

“Changing into a Zao Duh is not a comfortable experience. The transition is painful. It feels like your insides are being ripped out and your flesh burns all over. So when it stops, you’re ravenous. The pain is gone and replaced with a hunger so strong, I didn’t think about what I was doing. I lunged and drank. And drank and drank . . .”

He doesn’t have to say it. He killed whomever he drank from. Dang, I could’ve killed him. How does he manage to live with the guilt? It’s wrong he killed, but he doesn’t repulse me at all. I’m angry at whoever is responsible for it. “Jelena?”

“Dikan. He threw the girl in front of me and watched until I finished and stared at her in horror. Only then did he have her removed.” He frowns as the corner of his eyes tighten in anger.

“I really don’t like this Dikan guy.” My time spent at Jelena’s could’ve been much worse. “I promised myself if I couldn’t take out Jelena, I’d at least take him out.”

Mirko’s lips curve upward. “You have good instincts, Slatki. You need to learn not to doubt them and be quicker in taking heed of them.” He pulls me close again.

I relax into him and listen to the soft thump-thump as his heart sings to me. I jerk away. “I heard you.”

He looks at me with a blank expression.

“You talked to me when I was asleep. You told me to listen to your heart.”

He grins mischievously. “Did you?”

“I did. But you actually said a lot of things,” I tease. “How you stay up at night thinking about me.”

He chuckles. “You’ve kept me up many nights.”

I smile but grow serious when I remember what else he said. “You also told me I’m an extension of yourself.” I can relate because that’s how I feel when I’m in his arms. I place my hand over his heart and hold it there. He also said how he couldn’t wait for me to choose. That he’d still be here for me no matter what my choice is. My throat tightens. I have the urge to hug him and tell him I choose him, but a resistance I can’t make sense of holds me back. Instead, I say, “Thank you. I heard you. I wanted to hold your face and tell you I love you too, but I couldn’t move.” I hug him and he wraps his free arm around me, pulling me until I sit in his lap and rest my head against the wound-free side of his neck. We sit like this for several minutes.

By the time we clean up and go downstairs, any lingering unease within me abates. My skin tingles, and I swear it glows.

Mirko follows close behind as we walk into the den.

I falter.

The room is packed. People sitting, people standing. People everywhere.

I grin when I see Hawk and Bruce. Hawk still sports his short, signature fauxhawk. When I met him at The Base, I teased him about trying to look like a younger David Beckham. His response was that he had the ’do before it was cool. And then he wiggled his pierced eyebrow at us.

I’m searching the crowd for Kaitlynn when my mom rushes toward me, engulfs me in her arms, and hugs me tight. “I was so worried about you.” She pulls back slightly and whispers, “Garwin filled me in on most of it, but we still need to talk.” She studies me and sighs. “Oh, thank God you’re okay.” Her voice cracks as she pulls me close again.

“It’s good to see you too.” I mean it. I couldn’t wait to get back and see her again. We hold each other for a while until Kaitlynn steps up behind my mom.

I laugh. Of course she wants to let me have a moment with my mom, but she’s also impatient—like me.

I withdraw from my mom. “Come here,” I say and we hug each other so tight, I worry I might hurt her. When we step back, something passes between us and all at once says everything words can’t express. It’s always been like this with Kaitlynn and me. It’s almost like we connect on an intuitive level, transferring emotions and thoughts back and forth without uttering a word.

“I was so—“

“You brought me back.” I don’t mean to cut her off, but I have to tell her.

“Huh?”

“From my sleep. I kept trying to move, to speak, to do anything to get out of it, but nothing worked. When you came into the room, I stirred in a new way, so I jumped at it and kept pushing and gained ground. I pushed until I was finally able to open my eyes.”

Our bond is one I can’t put into words. Sure, we can read each other and finish the other’s sentences, but it runs deeper than that. Soul deep. She really is my soul sister. I felt her presence and heard her words, and my will to talk to her, to ease her sorrow, was stronger than any pull my physical body had over me. She has to be one of my extensions, like Mirko talked about. “I’ll always fight to come to you.”