Chapter 22
Claustrophobia felt like pressing your palm against a crushing force, struggling to hold it back, using every last bit of energy just to gasp for air.
I shoved at the ravenous boy with frantic desperation, trying to keep his snapping fangs away from my neck.
The scent of blood on my labored breath seemed to drive him wild.
"I like when food fights," he sneered. "Makes me the smart wolf and you the dumb little bunny." He grinned, teeth bared. "Now let me suck you dry."
"Get away from me, you bastards!" I screamed, one hand pressing against his chest. My other hand flailed to ward off the other hungry vampires closing in. Each time I screamed, my breath escaping into the cold, stale air, it seemed to stoke their hunger even more.
He seized both of my hands, his face darkening with cruel determination. "Enough playing with my food," he growled.
Before I could react, he lunged, sinking his fangs into my neck.
My eyes flew open in horror as I felt the sharp puncture—two piercing stabs, like needles plunging into my flesh.
It was the same sensation those girls described when the needle first entered their arms, just a sharp pinch, followed by the inevitable pain.
His bite was far worse than a pinch—it was bitter and raw.
I twisted my neck, trying to wrench him away, but only succeeded in driving his fangs deeper into my flesh.
"Take it out!" I screamed, feeling the blood being pulled from my veins as though drawn by a magnet.
Finally, he pulled back, eyes gleaming with satisfaction as he savored the taste of my blood.
A slow trickle of blood oozed from the punctures, dripping down onto my chest.
He licked his lips slowly. "We're going to take turns draining you dry," he sneered. "Too bad we can't keep you in our basement—no room left. So, we finish the job here." He tauntingly slammed the wall near my head. "We're going to fucking drain you, you hear me?" His fangs grazed my cheek.
"Yeah? Then do it," I taunted, daring him.
"Thanks for the encouragement, not that we needed it," he growled. Grabbing one of his friends, he forced him closer. The other vampire hesitated, even though he had helped hold me down.
"Come on, take a drink, bro," he urged.
His friend looked between us, uncertainty flickering in his eyes. He ran a hand through his messy hair, which had been mussed by the hood over his head. "I just... You know I don't really like doing it this way."
"Come on, bro," the next boy coaxed. "Hurry up before someone comes. Fine, can I go next?" he asked, his dark blue hood shadowing his face. The first boy, the one who had already tasted my blood, shoved him aside.
"I want Rhett to drink." He gritted, pushing the eager vamp
Rhett, the nervous one, hesitated. His mouth opened, fangs aimed for my throat, but he barely grazed me before the door burst open.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the alley-way.
The boys froze, releasing me as they turned to face a tall, dark figure now standing in the doorway.
He seemed grounded, as though he had walked in on something he knows.
Was he about to join in on the feast?
I realized how weak my knees were from the blood loss. I couldn't take another fangs in my body!
I reached out, grabbing onto Rhett for support, but he nervously pushed me away, leaving me to slump against the wall, barely holding myself up.
"Get out of here while you can, man!" the leader of the group yelled.
The figure stepped forward, his shadow stretching long across the airy space, radiating calm fearlessness despite the danger. It was three against one.
"Kneel," Wade's voice cut through the effluvium clouding my mind.
I looked up, the city light revealing her face.
"Kneel before her and beg for your apology," she commanded calmly.
She stood firm, her shirt sleeves rolled up to her elbows, her fists clenched, ready for a fight. So, she wasn't joining?
"I said, kneel."
"Who the hell are you?" the leader spat, glancing nervously at his friends. Their feet twitched, itching to bolt from the alley, but they tried to maintain a facade of bravery, taking tentative steps toward Wade.
"We don't kneel for humans. You should know that as a vamp."
"She just wants the food all for herself," one of them muttered.
Wade smirked, her red eyes glowing with a slaughterous need. In a flash of inhuman speed, I heard the sickening crack of bones breaking, followed by the boys' agonized screams. The air felt heavier, suffocating under their pain.
My face twisted in horror. All six legs—dislocated, bent at unnatural angles—weren't behind them, but twisted grotesquely in front of their bodies.
I glanced at Wade, terrified. But she didn't notice.
Her focus was solely on punishing the boys.
Why? I was just a human, just food to her.
She should be helping them drain me dry like they'd already started to do.
A wave of anger surged through my weakness—anger at being so vulnerable, so powerless.
I wanted to stumble away, to escape the horrific scene, but something compelled me to stay and watch.
"Now, say you're sorry."
They grunted in pain, defiant. Wade growled low, reaching for her belt. It cracked through the air like a whip, the sound stinging in the cold night. She wrapped the loop, leaving the hard, gold buckle exposed, the perfect length to make her point.
"Say you're sorry, boys."
Their groans grew louder as they stared at their legs, twisted awkwardly like broken dolls.
The sound of the belt slicing through the air made me flinch, pressing myself deeper into the wall. Wade lashed out at them at random, her strikes vicious and unrelenting.
"Say you're fucking sorry!" she demanded, each word punctuated with another crack of the belt.
When they still refused to comply, Wade wrapped the belt around the neck of the boy in the dark blue hood, her knee digging into his back. She pulled, stretching his neck at an unnatural angle.
"Tell my girl you're sorry," she snarled.
But all that came from him were garbled, salivating groans. Unable to contain her rage, she snapped his spine, the sickening crack echoing through the alley. His body slumped, as dead as a doornail. When she released the belt, he collapsed to the side like a broken puppet.
"Please... you can't do this to us... to your own kind.
.. your own fucking kind for a human.
.. an ugly fucking human," the boy with shaggy hair cursed, his voice trembling with fear as he begged for his life.
Their eyes kept darting to their fallen comrade, horror etched across their faces.
"Then apologize," Wade demanded.
"Why?" the leader spat back defiantly.
"Okay." Wade chuckled darkly, her voice carrying a dangerous edge. In one nippy motion, she twisted his neck, but it didn't stop there—she ripped his head clean off, then tore it in half, splattering black blood and mangled brains onto the ground.
"Apologies," she sickly taunted, taking the belt from her shoulder and lashing it across the leader's back.
"Okay! I'm sorry!" he finally cried out.
"Say it to her face," Wade ordered.
Sniffling, he looked up at me. "I'm sorry... for disrespecting you and drinking from you."
"Do you forgive him, Queen?" Wade asked, her gaze shifting to me.
I didn't, but I nodded anyway.
"Well, I don't," Wade shrugged, perching the belt back on her shoulder.
As she grabbed him, it slipped to the ground.
I winced at the sound of her fangs sinking into his flesh, her hunger ravenous as she drained him to nothing.
She released him only when he was stiff, his face shriveled like a dried twig.
"I took your blood back," she muttered, licking her lips dry. Stepping over the bodies, she gave one a slight kick to the side. Then she reached out to touch me, but I recoiled, noticing her blood-stained hands.
"Don't touch me," I whispered, my gaze fixed on her bloodied hands. Without a word, she reached into her crow-black jacket and pulled out a white hand towel, wiping away any trace of blood.
"Am I worthy of touching you, snow bunny?" she asked softly.
"No. Why did you kill your own kind for me?"
"They were hurting you. It shouldn't matter what kind they were," she replied, slipping her belt back into her pants.
"I'm going home."
I turned to walk away but stumbled against the piss-stained wall. The stench burned my nose, and tears welled in my eyes. I hated myself for the flicker of satisfaction I felt. God, I was so damn turned on and weak. Gently, she pulled me into her arms.
"You're weak. Let us take you home, care for you, and—"
"I'm fine! Go back to your wife!" I snapped, her touch so tender that it was easy to break free, though regret hit me the moment I did. But she had a wife.
I stumbled forward, yet she stayed close behind. I was trying to push her away, but like a persistent raven, she lingered. Damn.
"I don't have a wife," she murmured deeply, and just as I felt myself falling forward, she caught me.
I ploughed into her chest, the chaos of the moment fading into the background as I was overwhelmed by her intoxicating scent. A primal part of me longed to be close to her, to be enveloped in her warmth and lost in the fervor of our bodies. I imagined how passionately she would take me.
"Damn it!" I cried out. "I hate these vampires and their damn beauty and privilege.
" She knelt slowly on the grimy concrete, her expression softening.
"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner." Her finger traced the thin line of dried blood on my skin, moving up to the bite mark. "But let me take you home—"
"Then go back to your mistress," I snapped.
"I don't belong to anyone, and I never wanted anyone but... you."
My ears were still ringing, and my body felt like it was shutting down from the bite and the lingering sensations.
"I want to go home," I whispered, our faces inches apart.
"I can take you home," she said, gently brushing her fingers over the wound. I winced, nearly collapsing into her embrace.
"No," I insisted, shaking my head truculently. "I want to take a taxi and go home. I hate it here, and I want to quit, but I can't. You guys ruined this place." I yelled, and she nodded in understanding.
"We'll make it better for you," she said.
"Yeah, right." I walked past her, tears finally streaming down my face. "And tell that stinking Ethan to come suck my ass."
Her jaw clenched, a flicker of rage sparking in her eyes as if she were ready to go on another killing spree. She stepped closer to me. "Let me at least make sure you get into the taxi safely."
She opened the door for me. "I can open my own doors," I said sharply.
She nodded, unbothered.
As we exited the club, I hailed a taxi, but she stopped me before I could get in. Leaning into the driver's side, she slipped money into his lap. "If she doesn't get home safe and comes back tomorrow with a scratch on her, I will find you," she warned.
The driver nodded, looking nervous.
She turned back to me, pulling me into her embrace. Our bodies, with their contrasting temperatures, pressed together like interlocking gears.
"Be safe," she whispered, gently placing me in the taxi. As the cab drove away, I broke down in tears. What had my life come to?
Wade!!!
She is such a protector...The way she does it casually!!!