Chapter 14
CALIX
The second I stepped into my room, the scent hit me. Blood, thick and heavy, too much. Wrong.
It clung to the air, drowning out everything else, and my steps faltered for half a beat as something in my chest tightened. I didn’t understand it yet, not fully, but my body did. It knew before my mind caught up.
Then I saw her.
Via lay across my bed, too still, her skin already losing that warmth I’d memorized without meaning to. Even from where I stood, I could feel it. Her pulse, faint and slipping, like it was retreating from the world inch by inch.
The soft, sweet rose scent that always seemed to follow her… It was barely there now.
Everything inside me locked.
For a second, I couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. My gaze stayed fixed on her, trying to force reality to shift into something that made sense, something that didn’t look like this.
Then Rack’s voice cut through it.
“Please, Calix… She’s… she’s my flame. I can’t lose her.”
The words didn’t just land, they fractured something inside me. My head snapped toward him, their meaning slamming into place too fast, too sharp.
My flame.
The room seemed to tilt. My eyes dropped. His hands wrapped around hers, holding on like letting go would break him, and something ugly twisted deep in my gut. That monstrous side of me roared in my ears.
Her! Of all people it had to be her.
A short, hollow breath pushed out of me as my mind tried to catch up, to process how the one person who had managed to get under my skin in a single night, the one person I was thinking of trying to start some kind of future with… now belonged to him.
To my best friend. My brother.
It would be laughable if it didn’t feel like it was ripping something straight out of my chest. I wanted to punch something, and in the same breath escape this moment and hide away until the pain receded.
I dragged a hand down my face, jaw tightening hard enough to ache as the thought circled relentlessly.
Nothing had ever been out of reach for me. Not once. I was Calix fucking Winstale, one of the five bosses of the Syndicate. If I wanted something, I got it. That was just how the world worked… until now.
My gaze flicked back to Rack.
He looked wrecked. Eyes sharp with desperation, shoulders tense like he was holding himself together by force alone. Something in me recoiled at the sight. I’d never seen him like that. Never wanted to.
And still… he was asking me to do this.
To save her. To tie myself to her in a way that could never be undone… just to hand her back to him, knowing how I felt.
The word “no” sat right there, pressing at the back of my teeth. It would’ve been easy. It would’ve been—
A breath hitched. Soft. Weak.
My head snapped back to her. All hesitation burned away, replaced by something colder, sharper. Decision.
“Move,” I said, already stepping forward.
Rack didn’t argue. Didn’t hesitate. He shifted immediately, giving me space, even though I could feel his presence still anchored to her.
I climbed onto the bed, straddling her, as my focus narrowed. Everything else, the anger, the frustration, the bitter twist in my chest, all of it got shoved down.
This was about survival. Nothing else.
And still… as I leaned over her, my fingers brushing her hair back from her neck, the thoughts didn’t fully quiet.
Flame.
Mate.
The words dragged something old to the surface.
To the night I drank myself numb, drowning in invisible pain over a woman who had thrown me away for just the chance at that word.
Back before I got this tattoo put on my neck.
Even if it was invisible, I could feel the faint workings of magic just beneath the skin, reminding me that I’d chosen not to have a mate.
And now I was about to give it to him.
My jaw tightened as I looked down at her again.
Her skin had gone too pale. Too still. There wasn’t time for this.
I shifted closer, one arm sliding beneath her shoulders, lifting her just enough to bring her to me. My other hand steadied her, fingers splayed along her spine, holding her together as best I could.
For a second, just a split-second, I let myself feel it. The weight of her. The faint warmth that was still there.
“Don’t die on me,” I murmured, low enough that it barely carried. “I won’t allow it.”
My lips brushed the side of her neck, feeling for what little pulse remained beneath her skin.
I’d never turned anyone before, but I understood how it worked. I knew what was coming. The way the pain would take hold as her body began to change and what she would crave to sedate that pain.
I could feel the shift in myself at just the thought of her instinctual need. Heat coiling low, my body reacted before I could shut it down. The thought of her needing me, depending on me, sent a dangerous thrill through my veins.
Hell, it made me feel like an ass for even thinking it… And still, I knew I was going to enjoy it. Every fucking second of it.
My fangs slid free, and I dragged my tongue along their sharp edges before my gaze lifted to meet those familiar purple eyes. Guilt hit me hard, and I swallowed against it.
“You sure you want to be here for this?” The words were edged with something real, a courteous warning. “You know how this ends. What's bound to happen.”
He didn’t flinch or look away. Just stared at her in utter devotion.
“I’m not going anywhere, no matter what happens.”
Of course he wasn’t. Something bitter curled in my chest, sharp, irrational, but I shoved it down.
Fine, you fucking girl stealing asshole! I was going to enjoy this, and he could watch all he wanted.
My focus dropped back to her, my hold tightening just slightly as instinct kicked in along with something darker beneath the surface.
This wasn’t just about saving her anymore. It was about claiming something, even if only for a moment.
My fangs slid free, the familiar sensation grounding me as everything else fell away. Resting my lips against her neck, I let myself feel the faint thrum of her pulse against my lips before I widened my jaw and bit down.
The rush of ecstasy flooded my veins as her taste burst across my tongue.
It was rich and sweet, like a sip of caramel, followed by the crisp bite of fresh apple.
That intoxicating blend of sugar and freshness pulled me closer, and my grip tightened as something darker and more possessive stirred within me, driving the way I consumed her.
Her body cooled in my arms. I felt it before I fully registered it—the warmth slipping away, her pulse thinning beneath my lips. Somewhere in the back of my mind, a voice screamed at me to stop, to pull back before I took too much, but I didn’t listen. I couldn’t. Not yet.
I held on and kept drinking, forcing myself to take what I wanted even as her body weakened against me.
Each pull dragged more of her into me. Heat flooded my veins, and I was drowning in her scent, her taste, everything that made her…
her. It wrapped around me, inside me, and settled deep. For a dangerous second, it felt right.
My body told me I’d taken enough. Every vampiric instinct I had said stop, but my fangs stayed buried. Instead, a darker voice pressed in, hard and insistent. Just a little more. Don’t let go. Take it all. Then she’ll be yours. No one else’s. Ever again.
My grip tightened around her without meaning to. I was losing the battle between my wants and what was right.
A faint trace of roses filtered through the monstrous mess. Soft. Familiar. It cut through everything.
Via.
The name grounded me hard enough to snap out of the haze. With a sharp breath, I tore myself away, turning my head as I dragged my wrist across my teeth, splitting the skin open. Blood welled instantly, and I brought it to her lips, forcing myself into focus.
“Come on,” I muttered roughly as I held her up. “Take it.”
At first, nothing. I had to tilt her head back and keep her mouth open, guiding the blood in as it spilled over her lips. My eyes dragged over her as I did, taking in every detail like I was afraid it would be the last time.
The feel of her dark, silken hair slipping through my fingers, the way her body aligned so perfectly with mine, and how, even in death, her lips still seemed soft, inviting a kiss.
Behind me, I could feel Rack watching, sharp, unrelenting, but I shut it out. This wasn’t about him, and I’d given him his warning already.
Her fingertips twitched, then moved, faintly brushing against my arm before curling weakly. Then her chest stuttered, a rough inhale dragging through her nose like her body was remembering how to breathe.
“Yeah… that’s it,” I breathed, shifting closer.
Her hands found my wrist next, clumsy at first, then tightening. Her lips sealed around the wound, the pull strong and desperate, almost frantic, but alive.
The reaction hit fast. My breath hitched, shoulders tensing as my free hand instinctively tightened in her hair, holding her steady as she fed. The pull deepened, sharper now, more certain, and I had to grit my teeth to stay grounded.
She was changing. The moment her fangs pierced my skin, she pulled from me, faster, deeper, more urgent. Her body was waking, rebuilding, taking everything I gave her and turning it into something new.
Within minutes, I was unraveling, half-mad with it, willing to give her anything, everything, as long as she didn’t stop.
I bit down on my tongue, trying to hold back the sound threatening to escape, but there was nothing I could do to stop the way my body responded. Heat built, desire tightening low in my stomach as I hardened against her.
“Calix.”
Rack’s voice cut through, tight with something I didn’t have time to read.
I dragged in a breath, forcing my focus back. The edges of my vision had started to blur, a warning I couldn’t ignore.
“I need more,” I said, my voice rougher than I meant it to be. “Blood. Now.”