Chapter Eleven
Talia
A sudden stabbing pain pierces through the back of my head, and I collapse to my knees, screaming. The bowl of salad in my hands shatters below me, and I grab my head as the pain intensifies.
“Shit, she’s bleeding,” Micah says as they all rush to me.
“Something’s wrong,” I choke out. “Ah, it fucking hurts.”
“Look at me. Talia, look at me,” Vaughn says, grabbing my face and making me look up at him. “What do you mean? What do you feel?”
“It’s like I got stabbed in the head.” I wince, but the pain turns to a dull throb. “Something is wrong.”
“Just your head?” Micah asks with his phone to his ear. “He’s not answering.”
“Come on,” Vaughn says, scooping me up from the floor.
I am placed in an SUV, and I curl up on the seat.
The pain isn’t gone, but I’m at least not screaming in pain anymore.
It’s not like when he is fucking Shelby, which he does a lot; this comes with a wave of emotional pain that I just cannot shake.
We drive in silence for a while, but then something hits me that has me jumping up from the seat. “Stop!” I scream, and Micah slams on the brakes. I throw the door open, and they all follow as I look around. I don’t know what the fuck I am doing, but then I see him.
Soren is grumbling to himself as he climbs up the embankment from the river below. He is soaking wet. When he gets closer, he looks up and sees me. Looking past me at one of the guys behind me.
“You did this,” Soren growls.
“I didn’t,” Micah says. “I didn’t know…”
“Didn’t know?! You fucking set me up!” Soren yells before charging at him. He has him on the ground in the blink of an eye, but Micah easily overpowers him.
“Stop it!” I shout when Micah kicks Soren off him. “Acting like goddamn children. How the fuck have you all survived this long?”
“He fucking set me…”
“Maybe if you stopped sticking your goddamn dick in Shelby for one fucking second, you’d see shit a little clearer,” I scold him.
Soren gets up, and he looks pissed, but he stays quiet.
“Goddamn, you are like a fucking child, Soren. You are supposed to be a fucking leader, and you are treating them like fucking garbage. What the fuck is wrong with you?!”
“You don’t know a goddamn thing about me,” Soren growls, stepping closer to get in my face.
“I know enough,” I spit.
“Is that right?” he laughs dryly.
“Yeah, you are a fucking coward.” Soren rears his hands back like he is going to slap me, so I snatch Vaughn’s gun off his hip and pull the trigger.
The blast blows a hole in his chest, and he stumbles back, but it immediately starts to close itself.
His shirt remains shredded. I fire again, this time hitting his knee, and he drops down to his other knee.
“Stop it, you fucking brat,” Soren growls, grabbing me. I shriek when he pulls me down and pins me under him with my arms above my head.
“Fuck, that hurt,” I grumble. Maybe I shouldn’t have shot him because I feel his pain.
“Good,” Soren snaps.
“Go ahead. Hurt me,” I snap at him. “That’s all you’re fucking good at. You just fucking hurt people so you don’t have to feel how goddamn lonely you are.”
“You are so goddamn annoying,” he quips. “You know that? Fuck, Talia. Do you ever shut the fuck up?”
“Do you?!” I ask. “Or do you just run your goddamn mouth all motherfucking day? If you want me to shut up so goddamn badly, then fucking make…”
Soren roughly kisses me, biting my lip and gripping my hair. “I fucking hate you,” he mutters into me.
“Hate you, too, fucking asshole,” I murmur.
“This is weirdly hot,” Diego remarks as Soren pulls back to look at me.
“I will find a way to break the bond and send you across the fucking country. You’ll live on to bug the fuck out of someone else, but I don’t fucking want you,” he says harshly. That hurts more than I am willing to admit, so I say nothing. He pulls us up from the grass, and I step away from him.
“When’s the last time you fed?” Micah asks.
“Frequently,” I mutter.
“Over a week ago,” Soren grumbles. “The bitch is bitter.”
“Do you know nothing about mates, or are you just ignoring it?” Caine asks him.
“You are supposed to feed off your mate, dude,” Vaughn says. “Until she is turned, everyone else is going to be disgusting. Even after, you are supposed to feed off each other. No one else will be as good.”
“Joy,” Soren huffs.
“What happens if he doesn’t feed?” I ask.
“He rapidly loses strength. He will end up basically in a coma of sorts.”
“Why did it feel like I got stabbed in the fucking head?” I ask.
“Because one of Henry’s goons fucking shot me,” Soren says. “The fucker was waiting on me.”
“So he thinks you’re dead?” I ask.
“I guess. The asshole had me thrown into the goddamn river.”
“So who was the hit for?” Diego asks.
“George Holland,” Micah says.
“He was a client of Henry’s,” I say. “He’s paid for me several times.”
“Are you fucking…” Soren starts but stops and closes his eyes to take a deep breath.
“I should have verified,” Micah says. “I’m sorry, Soren.”
“It’s fine,” he sighs. “I’m too tired to care.”
“You need to eat,” I say.
“No shit, bitch,” he snaps but sighs. “Can someone just fucking drive me home?”
“He gets hangry,” Vaughn tells me, and I laugh.
“Is that funny to you?” Soren snaps at me.
“It’s pitiful at this point,” I remark. “Go sit in the fucking truck, Soren.”
“Whatever,” he mutters and walks to the SUV. Soaking wet still, he sits in the back. I climb in and straddle him, and Soren growls. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Feeding the man child,” I snap. “Bite me. Literally. Feed so you’ll shut the fuck up.”
“Fucking bitch,” he grumbles, but gently pulls me to his chest. He nuzzles into my neck and inhales deeply, and I relax in his arms. When he sinks his fangs into the side of my neck, I moan.
Nothing about it is painful, but he groans as he wraps his arms around me and drinks from my body.
He fumbles for a moment before lifting me, and I gasp when he pulls my panties to the side and fills me with his cock. So fucking glad I wore a skirt today.
“F-Fuck,” I moan and rock my hips. The world around us dulls, and I get lost in a trance as I continue to rock my hips.
I fucking hate him, but I don’t hate this. I don’t hate us. God help me, I might be falling for a vampire.