Feral Darlings

Chapter Three

Paloma

“ You came back…for me?” I scoff and bite back laughing at the absurdity of the situation. “ How could you ever think I would just leave all of this for you? The man who changed me against my will. The man who tricked me into that sham of a marriage.”

“ Oh, Paloma,” he says, dismissing me with a wave. “ You ’ re overreacting. That ’ s all in the past, my dear. And I would never expect you to leave. I ’ ll be staying.”

“ No the fuck you will not,” I tell him sternly, standing up off the pile of pillows and lush blankets to stare down at his relaxed form. “ You will be leaving.”

His face changes, slowly morphing into something that makes my skin crawl. This is the monster that tricked me all those years ago. I was just a young thing, freshly out in society, hoping to make a marriage for love and status. Emris swept me off my feet, giving me all his attention when he could ’ ve had his pick of the women that season. It was a whirlwind romance. I fell for him, loved him. He was sweet, caring, and kind to me and my entire family. My little sisters were enamored, and my parents were proud I could make such an advantageous match.

A few months later, we ’ re crossing the ocean to brave the new world and start a family. It was the hardest thing I thought I would ever have to endure, leaving my family and possibly never seeing them again. But I was in love and ready to throw caution to the wind for my husband ’ s dream.

And then it all changed.

“ Don ’ t be foolish,” he growls, bringing me back to the present. He stands, walking calmly around my makeshift bed until he stands directly in front of me. Reaching out to the side, he pulls back the curtains that keep us concealed from the rest of the patrons and staff. “ All these innocents…” He nods to them without his emerald eyes leaving me. “ You think I wouldn ’ t use them against you? Threaten to kill them all one by one—slowly—just to get what I want from you?”

I feel my lips twitch as I snarl. “ You think I wouldn ’ t fight and win?” I narrow my eyes and step closer to him, invading his space. “ You ’ ve been locked in a damp, dark cave with nothing to feed on for almost a century. You ’ re weak, knocking on death ’ s doorstep as we speak. I can see it in the gaunt shadows of your eyes, the way your cheeks are just a little more hollow than normal, your cheekbones more pronounced.”

His hand wraps around my throat, squeezing it until I can feel my windpipe on the verge of collapse. Not that it would kill me; it would just hurt like hell. My eyes dart to the left, looking to see if anyone is paying us any attention. They aren ’ t, thank God. If any of my humans were to intervene right now, I worry his bloodlust would take over. And I promised them they would be safe in my care.

I have never broken that promise.

“ You are mine, wife,” he murmurs, his lips barely moving as he bites out each word through clenched teeth.

And despite all his threats, his hand wrapped menacingly around my throat, and the pain he caused me so long ago, my body responds like a lit match. Desire flares to life in parts of me I thought had long fallen to apathy. His thumb trails softly along my jawline and then to my bottom lip.

“ I am starving,” he whispers, his face close to mine now. “ You are right about that. And you smell fucking delicious.”

It ’ s taboo for vampires to feed on each other. Our blood is precious and takes ages to regenerate unless you have unlimited access to feeding. But Emris has never been shy about his bloodlust for me. When he changed me, he said my blood sang to him, that it was meant for him and only him.

“ I ’ ve missed you dearly.” His lips move against my cheek as he speaks, and then he dips farther, the tip of his nose running from the base of my throat to my ear and into my hair. “ Do you know how I ’ ve yearned for you, Paloma? How you ’ ve never left my thoughts for even a moment, even through the torture and starvation, through the insanity that ensued, and the women who were thrown at me to tempt me. It was always only you who I wanted—needed—my sweet little dove.”

The gravel in his voice moves through me, tugging at the bond between us.

“ You will not lay a hand on my people,” I tell him, my voice almost cracking as I fight the feelings he ’ s unleashed inside of me. “ You have to promise me, Emris. You will not hurt them.”

He chuckles, the sound sinful and deep. His tongue darts out, and he tastes me from jawline to temple. “ Be a good girl, and I won ’ t have to harm your precious humans.”

“ So, I am being blackmailed?” I look up at him.

He nods slowly. “ If that ’ s how you ’ d like to see it. Your cunt in exchange for their lives. But I think we both know that for it to be blackmail, you ’ d have to not want what I ’ m offering.”

“ You aren ’ t offering anything. You ’ re demanding.”

His grinning lips brush against my own, and then he takes my bottom lip between his teeth, biting until I feel a drop of blood spring forth. Emris sucks it into his mouth as I watch, my clit throbbing with need at each tug from his mouth. No one has fed from me since him, and to know anyone could see us, that anyone could see what he ’ s doing to me, heightens everything. When he pulls back, he swipes at his mouth, making sure he doesn't miss a drop.

“ I think we both know that ’ s what makes it so exciting for you, Paloma. Like maker like progeny, yes?”