Feral Darlings

Chapter Eight

Kyrie

Am I dead?

Something heavy is holding me prisoner, and I can’t move. I open my eyes, and I notice that the pain is gone, and I feel… stronger, somehow? Or did I finally manage to sleep through the night without succumbing to my nightmares?

I moan, trying to move, and as I feel the weight shift and my body responds to the command, I realize it’s an arm across my middle, and there is a body pressed against mine.

“You’re alive,” Lucian whispers in my ear, sounding relieved.

“Am I?” I ask, frowning as I struggle to recall what happened to me.

I can barely think. All I can do is whimper and moan in pain as my exhausted body holds me captive. The other vampire is rougher, and I can tell from the moment he sinks his fangs into me that he was going to kill me. Everything blurs, but I can just about make out Lucian as he comes to save me, looking like an avenging, fallen angel. I feel his arms around me, just as my vision goes black.

He chuckles. “You are definitely alive.”

“I feel different, what happened to me?”

Lucian hesitates. “I was almost too late to save you. I had to… partially turn you into a vampire.”

“I’m a vampire!” I shriek, jerking away from him.

“Half,” he corrects, before continuing. “There are certain perks and drawbacks to that, with me being your sire. I had to bind you to me in order to do it.”

“What does that mean?” I ask uncertainly.

“It means that I am yours, and you are mine. Your soul belongs to me, and you can never leave, but you will be safe from my brothers and any other creatures who may try to harm you. I will protect you with my… well, I would say life, but that’s not exactly accurate,” he says with a small laugh.

I frown as I try to process all of what he is telling me right now. My head spins, exhaustion, mental fatigue, and so much happening in such a short span of time, leaving me dizzy.

“What are the perks,” I ask, sighing heavily in resignation as I drop back down on the bed

“I won’t kill you,” he says with a smirk.

I roll my eyes, and he smiles more softly as he lifts his hand to brush my hair from my face. A zing of electricity sparks through me, and I gasp as he moans quietly beside me. My breath comes out in a rush, and when I look at Lucian, I see in his eyes that he’s feeling it too.

“Are you doing this?” I ask, unable to keep the accusation from my tone.

He shakes his head. “No, but I feel it too.”

Lucian strokes down my face, along my cheek, and onto my neck. His touch leaves fire in his wake, but not the kind I can be burned by… though I suspect I will burn with him in the endless depths of the hell he’s bound me to.

I gingerly lift my hand to stroke his face, tracing the outline of his lips and the short beard that lines his jaw. He closes his eyes for a moment, and when he opens them again, I feel a flash of fear. He looks hungry, and my blood rushes in response to his look.

He growls quietly and buries his face in my neck. I gasp as he grazes the skin with his teeth, and he grabs me by the waist, squeezing me tightly.