When my instinct turned to desire, I feared the craving to feel him inside me while I drained the life from him. A swarm of images swam together behind my eyes, one blur of blood, sex and death. I ached to feel his naked flesh, to taste his blood as it flowed. I leaned into him, alive with the vampire power that lived within me. The need to take all that he had to give was rooted in my core.
The balance of the wolf saved me, preventing me from taking it too far. With a snarl, my wolf rose to the surface. The true predator inside me broke the hold that the vampire's hungers had over me. I sprang into action, swinging a clawed hand before he could free himself from my allure. I punched into his chest with a rib breaking motion that caused us both to cry out. My hand slid through things that were warm and wet until I reached his heart and tore it free.
It lay heavy in my hand, slick and dripping with blood. The vampire rocked unsteadily on his knees before hitting the ground, hard, face first. I winced and scrambled to my feet. His remains instantly began to fade to dust and ash. I dropped the heart and brought my fingers to my lips, tasting his blood. I watched until there was nothing left of him but pieces that I kicked into the snow.
There was no denying it anymore: I couldn't go on like this. As the conductor of my power, I should not also be victim to it. This had to stop before I did something I truly regretted. Losing control wasn't an option. It was losing control with Arys that got me into this in the first place.
Power like that which Arys and I possessed was rare. It affected me differently because my heart continued to beat. Only one person had the knowledge that I needed to master it completely, and Harley Kayson wasn't someone that would dole out that kind of information without a price. Not to mention, Arys would die twice before he would let me anywhere near Harley again.
Staring into the mix of bloodied ash and snow, I couldn't help but feel that something had to give. I couldn't live this way, lacking the piece of the puzzle that put me in charge.
It took so little to strip my control away.
A siren sounded off in the distance, startling me out of my thoughts. Making my way back down the deserted street, I tasted the blood that lingered in my mouth and grimaced.
I was a risk to myself and everyone around me.
Chapter Two
Stars shine especially bright in the absence of city streetlights. Those who never experience the true beauty beyond the city limits don't even know what they're missing, but I do. Staring into the vast night sky with the wind ruffling my hair, I admired the beauty of the stars unobstructed by flashing lights and the roar of traffic.
I strolled through the parking lot to the front doors of Lucy's Lounge. The shabby little nightclub was the hottest thing that Stony Plain had going for it, and I loved it to bits. Though my small hometown was just ten minutes down the highway from the big city, it felt like it was a world away. You'd never find a traffic circle or a one way street here.
Arys was here, and I wanted to talk to him. It couldn't wait until whenever he decided to stroll over for some love. It was Tuesday, which meant he'd likely be playing poker and taking his opponents for everything they had. Typical vampire, he can never have too much of anything.
I was still buzzing from the power high of the kill. It was like an adrenaline rush that wouldn't subside. I felt the connection between myself and the earth, the energy that flowed in everything. It was amazing. A slight giddiness caused me to grin to myself as if I had a dirty secret. It felt better than if I'd just slammed a few shots of good tequila. I had to pause before entering the building to take a deep breath and get a hold of myself. If I didn't shield hard, I was going to be vibing off every person inside, which quickly becomes overwhelming.
A stop at home to scrub my nails and change into clean jeans and a long black dressy sweater had been done with haste. I wanted to track Arys down before he impulsively followed something warm blooded out for a bite. I could easily open the mental door between us and access his mind. He’d always wanted to toy with that ability, but it freaked me out. It felt invasive and unnatural from both sides. I loathed making use of it unless absolutely necessary. As of yet, it wasn't.
Nodding to the bouncer at the door, I smiled tightly and brushed past. Though my fangs and claws had since receded, the power humming through me, like a medium-grade drug hit, caused my wolf to refuse to lie silent inside me, instead pressing the surface of my being. A complete shift to wolf was the most natural way to burn off the excess energy roiling about within me. The urge was there, but I did have control over that one thing.