Love Letters and Thirst Tonics (Moonvale Matches Book 1)

42. Redd

Istood in my kitchen, more confused than I had ever been in my life. Shock was making my brain slow, my thoughts sluggishly clicking into place.

I tried to calm my body’s reaction, though blood still thundered in my veins and arousal still heated me. I took deep breaths, my teeth gritted.

Fiella. My penpal. Fiella was my penpal.

They were one in the same.

I struggled to reconcile the two folk into one in my mind, but the longer I sat in contemplation, the more the shock bled away and the joy crept in. All-encompassing and overwhelming.

I threw the door open, hoping to catch Fiella lingering, but all I could see was our footprints in the dirt–two sets leading toward the cottage, and one leading away, the steps further apart than before. Her intoxicating scent of warmth and berries lingered in the air. Strangely, her scent wasn’t drifting towards town like I had expected but was instead crawling deeper into the woods.

I thought about going back inside and closing the door, giving Fiella a chance to sort her thoughts out on her own, but I threw that idea aside as soon as it formed.

This was my woman. Fiella was mine. And if she didn’t see that yet, I would just have to find a way to convince her. To remind her. To show her.

I looked around suspiciously. I could hear the chattering of critters all around. I wasn’t sure if any larger predators lurked in the darkness, but I wasn’t willing to risk it. Fiella was too precious to me. Even though she could defend herself just fine, I couldn’t suppress the urge to protect her. To seize her. To keep her to myself.

I took off, following the faint trail she had left, letting my nose and my instincts guide me.

I was a predator, and she was my prey.

I was going to catch my sweet vampire and make her mine.

Adrenaline flooded my body, tightening my muscles and focusing my senses until all I could smell, taste, and hear was Fiella. I was a beast on the hunt.

I caught a glimpse of her cloak fluttering around a tree trunk.

I picked up speed, zeroing in on my target. Leaves crushed under my feet and stray branches grabbed at me, but I paid them no mind. As I closed in on Fiella, I could hear her heart wildly thundering in her chest, her breaths sawing in and out of her mouth.

The urge to bite, to conquer, overwhelmed me. My fangs ached, saliva collecting in my mouth.

I grew closer, my legs pumping beneath me, the stray branches tearing at my clothes, at my arms.

She was almost within my reach now.

I called out to her when I was sure she could hear me over our footfalls. “Fiella, stop! If you keep running, I’ll have to chase you. I can’t help myself.” The hunting instinct had its claws around my throat, the urge to capture undeniable.

She said nothing as she sprinted like her life depended on it, heading deeper and deeper into the woods. She somehow managed to pick up more speed as the seconds ticked by.

Her words eventually drifted back to me, carried on the wind as they escaped her mouth. “Catch me if you can.”

I snarled, my fangs gnashing. Mine.

I could hear the distant sound of critters scurrying through the underbrush, desperate to escape our path of destruction as we tore deeper and deeper into the forest. My tunic grew damp from the dew on the leaves I tore past.

Though Fiella was fast, I was faster. I wanted it more–my urge to capture was stronger than her desire to escape. I closed in on her quickly.

My hand darted out, snatching the tail of her cloak, but she whipped it off before I could pull her back with it.

A dark, breathy laugh broke from her.

My little vampire was enjoying this. I smiled viciously. What an exquisite creature.

She darted around a tree and veered to the left, almost shaking me from her trail.

But not quite.