Chapter 2 Two Men
Two Men
The venom’s bliss was fading, but I couldn’t quite grasp consciousness.
The light was too bright - way brighter than the lights in Evrin’s den, even when all of the lamps and chandelier were lit.
My eyes squeezed tighter, trying to block the blinding light burning through my eyelids.
Someone must have been shining a flashlight directly in my face.
Bitches.
“This one smells different,” a voice said, deep and smooth. Yummy.
A rougher voice responded. “Is she turning?”
“No, she smells like one of us.”
“Not a fucking chance in the world.” He sounded angry.
“What do the logs say? Did they have anything supernatural?”
The second voice grunted. How sophisticated.
A heated palm pressed to my cheek, and that smooth, sinful voice spoke directly into my ear. “Wake up, wildcat.”
“No,” I groaned, turning my head away to escape the blasted light. It didn’t work.
“What’s your name?” the other voice asked, grating on my eardrums.
“Shhh,” I hissed.
“Name, girl,” he insisted.
Rude.
“Summer,” I managed to spit out. The effort exhausted my floating mind. Just let me be numb.
“Summer,” the first voice repeated, drawing out my name. “I saw a Summer in the second log.”
Papers rustled and someone grunted. They really needed to shut the fuck up.
“Here, look.”
“Cade,” the first voice said. “She’s been a blood slave since she was eleven.”
“How did she survive that long?” the gritty voice said.
Excuse me. Blood slave? I was a donor, thank you very much.
I wouldn’t have anything without my patron. I’d still be a terrified child on the streets, digging through dumpsters for my next meal.
“Fuck off,” I mumbled.
For the second time, a smooth chuckle wrapped around me, soothing my broken edges. It wasn’t venom, but that laugh felt good. It was almost enough to make me forget my anger.
I tried to pry my eyelids apart, but the spotlight hurt too much.
“What are we going to do with her?” the rougher voice asked.
“Take her back to the pack house.”
“I don’t like it. It’s not safe.”
“If I’m right, we can’t leave her in a detox facility. She needs us.” That velvet voice turned to a low whine.
“That’s not our mission.”
“Please. For me.” Each word was slow and utterly enticing. I had no idea what he was asking, but I would have said yes to anything he asked in that tone.
The other voice softened. “I’ll consider it.”
Mustering up all of my willpower, I forced my eyes open.
The black-haired man from Evrin’s room leaned forward, the one with tattoos covering his body up to the line of his jaw. Across from him stood a broader figure with sun-streaked golden hair. The one I kicked.
Overbearing light surrounded them, silhouetting them in a glowing halo. The tattooed one grasped the other one’s tactical gear, dragging him forward by the harness.
Hands tangled in short, messy hair as their mouths met.
It was brief but hard, like a fight for dominance.
I stared, my mouth open. I’d never watched anyone kissing before.
It was done privately, usually with a lot of biting involved.
This was entirely different, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away, even as they watered uncomfortably.
They broke apart, the tattooed one grinning. The blond one shook his head, his brows pinched and mouth flat in exasperation.
“Look who’s awake,” the first one cooed, glancing my way.
My eyes closed against my will, unable to stand the light another second.
“You doing okay, wildcat?” he asked.
“It’s too bright,” I whined.
“It’s just morning,” the blonde one with the rougher voice said, the last word lilting into a question.
“Listen.” The other one draped fabric over my face, shielding me. “We are going to take you somewhere safe so you can get better. It’s going to be okay.”
“I need Evrin,” I protested.
“No, you don’t,” he responded smoothly. “He’s bad news.”
“He’s my patron, he’s making me his mate…” My words slurred as I fought to stay conscious. My head lolled to the side and the noises around me swam, like the buzzing bees I remembered from before…
“Evrin is one of the vampire princes,” the rougher voice muttered. Each word was spit like a curse. “If he picked her as his mate, he’s not going to let her go without a fight.”
“What’s he going to do?” he tattooed one said. “He can’t do shit. The leech can dry up and die.”
My thoughts stuttered, unable to process his meaning.
“We’ll take her back. I don’t trust the detox facility to be secure enough. And if she’s one of us, they can’t handle her anyways.”
“See? I knew you’d come around,” the smooth voice crooned.
“You owe me,” the blond grumbled.
“Oh, how could I possibly repay you.” The words were flirting, almost teasing. These two were so weird.
“Let’s get out of here,” the rough voice snapped, ignoring his tone.
“I don’t want to go anywhere.”
I wasn’t confident the words made it out of my head, but I tried.
The world was swallowed up in darkness.