Cursed (36 page)

Was that even possible?

Looking back down at the vein that promised to be his salvation, he remembered that Greyvian had drained him. His blood wasn’t a problem for his father. How had he not realised the larger implications before now? How had Greyvian? Why had his father just fed from evil if he’d already thought of it?

Or maybe he
had
only just thought of it?

Smiling crookedly at the male, he took hold of the back of Greyvian’s hand and brought the wrist to his mouth. The instant the liquid filled his mouth, he was positive that Greyvian’s blood would sustain him. It was the perfect taste, the perfect consistency. Not as desirable as Sienna’s blood, but nothing could compare to hers and that was fine.

After several swallows, he could practically feel his blood cells start to multiply, feel the strength filling his body, his mind clearing. The best part of feeding from Greyvian was the fact that he was able to keep his head. There was no spaced out losing track of time involved at all. He knew exactly how much he was taking and was easily able to stop himself once he was sure he’d taken enough to adequately keep his cell replication going for the next few days.

It was nice to have the comparison. Nice to know that being a vampire didn’t have to be a complete mind-fuck every time he had to feed.

Grinning up at Greyvian, he watched as the male licked the wound closed, expression giving nothing away. Frowning, he got the feeling that his father wasn’t as happy as he should be at the confirmation that they could now feed from each other—that they wouldn’t have to rely on humans. That they wouldn’t have to worry about killing. That they wouldn’t have to worry about evil infesting their minds.

“You’re not going to feed from me, are you?” he asked, already knowing the truth but not wanting the male to get away with it.

Feeling generous, his father answered him. “No.”

“Why not?”

“I have my reasons.”

Jacob laughed without humour. Typical. “Fuck that shit, Greyvian,” he said, glaring at his father. “Talk to me, you bastard.”

For a long moment he thought that Greyvian was just going to turn and walk away, but they seemed to be making progress in the communication department because eventually he did give his reasons—as messed up as they were.

“You won’t always be around,” Greyvian said, staring off into the distance. “As it stands at the moment, I’m used to evil. Used to dealing with it on a regular basis. If I start feeding from you, I don’t know how easy that will be when I inevitably have to go back to it.”

Jacob sighed, feeling some of his own enthusiasm for the situation fading. “Alright, I can understand that.” Especially with how fucking hard it was to deal with his one and only introduction to the species. Staring at the cracked pavement, he thought about the future and how uncertain it all was. “I guess that means you’ll still have to help me feed until I eventually get the hang of it enough not to kill anyone, though. Because there is no fucking way I ever want to see into the mind of evil ever again.”

“Oh, goody.”

Head snapping up, Jacob met the amused glimmer in Greyvian’s eyes and smiled. It was always a pleasant surprise to see that his father had a sense of humour.

*  *  *

Sienna was sitting, eating breakfast at the kitchen bench, thinking about what she’d overheard Jacob yell earlier and trying to work out what to do about his newfound lust for her when she heard movement behind her. Looking back over her shoulder, she jerked sideways in shock when she found Rayven standing only inches away, his nostrils flared as if he had been sniffing her.

“Jesus Christ!” she yelped in fright. “Make some noise next time, will you?”

“I apologise for startling you,” Rayven replied in his dead voice. “It was not my intention.”

Frowning at the male and the way that his nostrils kept flaring, she instantly forgave him for sneaking up on her. It looked like she still smelled divine. Although, Rayven had said that she didn’t smell overly delicious to him when she’d first asked.

Perhaps, now that she was a vampire, that had changed?

Glancing behind him, she expected to see Xavior, but his brother was nowhere in sight. Strange. Ever since they’d arrived, the two of them had always been within spitting distance of one another.

When she realised that Rayven wasn’t moving away and didn’t seem in any way inclined to do so, she made the mistake of looking into his black eyes. Immediately, she felt as if she were falling. Did, in fact, start to tilt towards him, as if his eyes were magnets, drawing her to him until she was so far forward that she began to fall off the stool she was sitting on. His hands came up lightning fast, locking around her upper arms, steadying her.

“Drink my blood.”

The command was out of her mouth before she had even finished the thought.

Always ready to obey, Rayven immediately leant towards her, fangs extended.

“Rayven. Stop!” Xavior’s voice shouted out.

As if he’d been put on pause, the male froze.

“Put her back on the stool.”

Sienna found herself on the stool once again, unaware that she’d been hanging off the ground before now, held dangling between his strong hands.

“Now get away from her.”

Rayven took three steps back and stood to await further instruction.

Xavior brushed past him, looking more terrified than angry, and stood before her. “Not that I don’t appreciate the offer, but what the hell were you thinking?”

“Ah, sorry. It just kind of happened.” Ok, that sounded really lame.

“Did he drink from you?” he asked in a rush, checking her neck and wrist for bite marks.

“No. You stopped him before he could.”

Xavior sighed in relief and leaned on the bench beside her.

“I thought you’d be keen to have him try my blood,” she said, going back to eating her breakfast. The toast was cold now, but she didn’t mind.

Xavior drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, back to his easy-going self, the smile on his face just this side of a leer. “Honey, 
I’m
keen to try your blood.”

Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, she swallowed her mouthful of toast and then smiled. “I’m serious. You’re looking for a cure, and you still want Greyvian to give it a try, so why not me?”

He laughed. “Because I 
do
still want Greyvian to give it a try, that’s why. Sorry I barked at you, but if I let Rayven drink from you now, I can guarantee that will never happen.”

She made a face and took another bite of toast, thinking he was wrong about Greyvian. Grey might not like the idea that Rayven had fed from her, but she doubted he would be so jealous about it that he would refuse to feed the male because of it. He wasn’t that petty.

She was about to say as much to Knox when she sensed Greyvian’s presence the second that he walked through the door. Turning around, she met his light grey eyes, her heart swelling at the sight of him. They shared a look as he walked towards the refrigerator.

“Better now?” she asked as he opened the door and looked inside.

“Much,” he replied, glancing at her before returning his attention to the fridge.

“And Jacob?”

“Better,” the male in question replied, entering the kitchen and smiling at her like the Jacob she’d been missing since her transition. “It’s insane the way it creeps up on you.”

She smiled in return. “I’ll have to keep track of it,” she replied, even though that probably wouldn’t be necessary, what with her feeding on Greyvian so regularly.

But then she realised that wouldn’t be a very good idea. Since her blood couldn’t sustain him, drinking from him on a regular basis would mean that he would need to feed more often, which in turn would mean that he would have to be around evil more often—unless he fed from Jacob exclusively. Thinking it over, she came to the realisation that that might prove difficult for him—especially if Jacob decided to go travelling at some point, leaving Greyvian to go back to drinking from evil. After an extended absence from having to deal with that, going back to it might prove too difficult, and he might end up killing an innocent just to avoid it—which was unthinkable, really. Which all meant that he would need to continue being exposed to evil. Something she wanted to keep to a minimum.

Damn. Sex and feeding went so well together. With a sigh, she figured it would just have to be for special occasions.

“Now that you’re well fed,” Xavior said, deciding now must be a good time to ask, “I’d like to ask a favour.”

Greyvian turned his head towards the male and raised his brow in question. God, she loved that expression on his face.

“My brother,” Xavior said, pointing his thumb in Rayven’s direction. “Could you feed him some of your blood?”

Greyvian looked over at the black-eyed male and nodded, closing the refrigerator door before walking over to him. Raising his arm, he bit into his wrist and then held it before Rayven.

“Drink,” he said.

Rayven drank.

Find out whether Greyvian’s blood is the cure that Rayven needs in TRAPPED, Book Two in the Blood Merge series.

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