CHAPTER 34
WREN
∞
Where am I?
Oh…right. Fuck. I don’t even know how much time has passed. I feel so weak…I need to feed. I feel myself slipping in and out of consciousness while I sit here on this dirty fucking floor, covered in blood.
I force my eyes to stay open and stagger to my feet. My entire body feels like lead as I brace against the wall. I need to get home. I need to get a hold of Alex for him to get me a couple of blood whores…one won’t be enough at this point.
It’s dark out. I’m thankful my car didn’t get stolen since I left the keys in the damn ignition. My phone is flashing on the passenger seat, and I see fifteen missed calls from Alex as well as text messages that get angrier and more worried as they go. I cluck my tongue at the fact it’s almost dead. There’s no way I can call him right now, I just need to make it home.
The drive back to the tower seems longer than usual, and I’m struggling to stay awake. I’m thankful when I see it a short distance away and pull into the parking structure. I stumble to the elevator, pushing the button to my floor before slumping to the ground.
I could have died today…normally I would have let it happen, but I needed to make sure Chess would be okay after everything. The thought of seeing her again is what forces me back to my feet as the elevator opens to my floor. I’m holding onto the wall as I slowly make my way towards my apartment.
“Wren?”
I glance over at the sound of Alex’s voice and his eyes widen before he runs towards me. “What the fuck happened?”
He hisses. He ducks himself under my arm and helps me to my door. I stagger away from him when he opens it and my knees slam into the ground again. “Fucking hell, Wren. You look like shit.”
“I feel like shit,” I mutter.
“What did you do?”
“I killed them,”
I say quietly.
“What? Who?”
“I killed all of them.”
“Wren, you’re not making any sense.”
He comes around in front of me and crouches down. His eyes narrow and he grips my jaw hard, forcing my face up to look at him. “Wren. You’re eyes…”
Fuck.
The insanity must be starting to take on a physical manifestation. The first physical sign that a pureblood has let it go too far for too long.
“I’m fine,” I sigh.
“You’re not fine! Your fucking eyes are turning black, Wren. You’re killing yourself, and for what? Who the fuck did you kill tonight? Did you just go off on a rampage for shits and giggles?”
“Jullian…I killed him and his pack. It’s over, Alex. Chess is safe from him…he’ll never hurt her again.”
His grip on my jaw tightens further and I flinch. He clucks his tongue and rips his hand away from me, pushing himself back up to his feet. “You could have died. You went off on your own, and you could have fucking died tonight, Wren. If you’re doing all of this for her, what do you think she would feel like, knowing you died because of her?”
“She’s safe.”
I can’t think straight. All my thoughts seem sluggish and muted. I can’t focus on anything right now as my mind clouds further the longer I sit here.
“I’ll call a few of the girls in for you. Clearly you need quite a bit to get yourself stable. You need to allow a bloodletting, Wren. You can’t keep doing this or you’re going to end up being called a mad King.”
He moves to walk away, and I reach up, gripping his hand lightly. My entire arm is shaking from the effort. “Stay,”
I whimper. I feel fucking awful right now and my entire body hurts. I healed all my wounds and broken bones, but my body is exhausted. “Please,”
I beg him.
“Are you afraid you won’t have control over yourself with the girls?”
I give him a weak nod. “Alright, come on. Let’s get you up from the floor. I’ll have to compel them after this. The last thing we need is them running their mouths that the King let himself get completely weakened.”
I lean up against him as he takes me towards the bathroom. “I don’t know what I would do without you, Alex.”
“You’d probably end up getting yourself killed too,”
he snorts. “I’ll help you get in the tub and then I’ll call the girls. They really did a number on you it seems. You fucking stink too.”
“Werewolves in general, smell terrible.”
“How many did you fight off tonight?”
“Total, including Jullian…thirteen.”
“Damn. I’m impressed.”
“Jullian was difficult. I was already exhausted after I killed his pack, and then going up against him…I thought I was dead, Alex. He had me. I had nothing left and he fucking had me.”
“How’d you beat him then?”
“The insanity actually helped. It’s like, every restriction I had on myself was just…gone. My powers are stronger now…I ripped out his heart before he even realized it.”
He sets the tub running and helps me out of my mangled clothes before helping me settle into the tub. “Thank you.”
“I’ll be back in a couple of minutes, I’m just going to make the call.”
I settle my head back on the tub, closing my eyes. My eyes launch open when I get a whiff of Chess’s scent. My body is vibrating from the smell and my fangs drop against my will.
Why does it smell like her in here?
My hands are gripped hard around the edge of the tub and I’m struggling to breathe as Alex walks back in.
“What’s wrong?”
He asks, slightly panicked.
“Chess,”
I grit out through my teeth. “It smells like Chess in here.”
Alex tilts his head confused and then his eyes widen before darting over to the trash pail next to the sink. “Fuck, I didn’t even think of that.”
He picks up a tissue from the pail and the edge of the tub cracks under the force of my hold on it. “It’s from yesterday…when she got cut. I’ll get rid of it.”
“No!”
I gasp out.
“Wren, you’re losing it.”
“Give it to me, right fucking now!”
He looks flustered at the anger I’m letting off. My entire arm is shaking as I hold it out for him to hand me the tissue. I rip it away from him and I’m panting heavily at the smell of her. A knock comes from the entrance, and he glances back before turning back to me.
“The girls are here. Get yourself under control, Wren. I don’t want to have to hurt you if you end up trying to kill them when you’re like this.”
He heads back out the door and I bring the tissue up to my nose. My heart is pounding hard against my chest as I dart my tongue out towards the blood stained on it.
Just as I imagined she would taste.
It’s barely a fragment of her essence, but it’s enough to send me into a frenzy. My mind is reeling at the thought of her neck being pierced and this luscious taste drowning me.
No.
I can’t bite her. Ever. Just this small taste is enough for me to realize I won’t be able to stop if her blood touches my lips, but I’m fucking starving right now. I crumple up the tissue and toss it away from me as I try to rein in my thirst.
Alex comes back in with a pair of jogging pants and a t-shirt. “Come on. Let’s get you up. They’re in the living room waiting for you.”
He helps me out of the tub and I’m sluggish as I dry myself off to put on the clothes. He steadies me by my arm as we walk back out into the main part of the apartment.
“Six, Alex? Don’t you think that’s a bit excessive?”
“Not even close. I rather you not push them too far, Wren.”
I sigh and move to the first girl standing with her eyes down. I tilt her head and pierce her vein. The blood pours out of her, but as hungry as I am, she tastes stale. I pull in large gulps, forcing it down as I try to satiate a portion of the hunger.
“Wren, that’s enough.”
I rip away from her and see her sway on the spot slightly. I’m glad Alex is here. My mental awareness isn’t where it should be in order for me to do this without killing one of them. I didn’t realize how far I had already drained the first girl.
I move to the second one, and after a few moments, Alex once again has to snap me out of my feeding trance.
By the time I get to the last one, I feel disgusting. “Wipe them,”
I murmur to Alex as I move to sit on the couch.
“Is that enough?”
“For now, yes.”
I can feel my strength coming back slowly as their blood shifts through my system.
“Do you want to blood share with any of them?”
“No.”
“Wren---”
“I said no, Alex.”
“I can’t help you if you don’t let me.”
“I’m fine. Feeding has helped some of the symptoms.”
He clucks his tongue and moves to compel each girl before sending them back on their way.
“What time is it?”
“A little after nine.”
“How does Chess like her apartment?”
“She seemed happy with it, and her cat made herself at home pretty quickly,”
he snorts. “It sucks she’s scared of me…I always wanted a cat.”
“Nyx likes me for some odd reason.”
“Yeah, Frankie mentioned that actually,”
he laughs. “It makes no sense though. Cats don’t like supernaturals.”
He comes to stand in front of me and I glance up at him. He’s got a frown plastered on his face. “You know if it gets out…what you did…it’s going to start a war.”
“The entire pack there was wiped out, Alex. No one who saw me survived.”
“That was reckless.”
“I know.”
I lean myself forward to rest my forearms on my thighs. “He threatened to go after her…when he had me pinned and I thought I was going to die. Vindictive prick. He tormented me with knowing that when I died, he would go after her. He confirmed that he was watching her apartment though.”
“Are you going to tell her it’s safe to move back in?”
“No. I rather her stay in the tower for now.”
“You’ve grown attached to this human…”
“She’s broken, Alex. She’s so strong on the outside, but inside…I saw her for who she really is. She broke in front of me at the club and I just…I felt like I needed to protect her. I don’t want her hating me because of what a bunch of shithole vamps did to her in the past.”
“She doesn’t hate you.”
I look back up at him confused and he smiles at me. “She told me she doesn’t hate you, so it looks like you’re slowly breaking through the walls she’s put up.”
If he only knew how right he is. I don’t want to tell him what happened between me and Chess because I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable about it.
“Can you let her know we’ll be meeting again tomorrow morning here.”
“Are you planning to cook again?”
He chirps.
“Is that a problem?”
I grumble.
“As long as you don’t lose your shit again and waste it,”
he cackles, pulling a smile from my lips. “Do you not want to text her yourself?”
“I rather you deal with this for now. I feel exhausted, and I think I just need some sleep.”
“Alright, I’ll head home and send her a message. Good night, Wren.”
“Thank you, Alex…for everything.”
He grants me a warm smile as he slips out the door.