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"Don't feed, just bite."
Kristen was the closest person to me, watching carefully. By the time she spoke, my mouth was open and I'd already grazed Amira's skin with my fangs. I was reining myself in, mentally blocking all the images of what feeding on her properly would feel like instead.
I did as I was told. I let my teeth puncture her wrist, held it for a second trying to ignore the blood that began pouring into my mouth, then started to stand up. But the moment my fangs snapped into my gums, a sharp pain cut across my face followed by a sharp inhale.
It took me a moment to process what had happened. Then I understood.
My bite had the same effect as that of a werewolf mate — it'd worked, and the first thing Amira had done upon waking up was slash my face. I felt my hand automatically touch my cheek, where I could feel a painful sting that lingered on my skin. It stretched from my temple to my nose, barely reaching my eye.
As I raised my head to look at the woman sat hunched forward desperately dragging air into her lungs, Katrina gasped, her hand over her mouth.
"Holy shit!" Jake added.
I felt self-conscious, pulling my sleeve over my hand and rubbing at the wound on my face. It took me a second to see Amira's eyes on me. That doe brown gaze was apologetic, distraught, but she was still recovering from her own ailment.
"How are you feeling?" Anna asked her, not caring about me. I was glad. I didn't want anyone else looking at whatever damage Amira had caused, and I needed to know it had really worked. Was she okay?
Amira rapidly shook her head, causing her hair to cover her face and smack both Kristen and Anna in the face. She swiftly brushed it all back with one hand, sighing. "Fine. Mild headache, but fine." As she dropped her arm, she caught sight of the bite mark on her wrist, but she didn't mention it, looking up at me. "Sorry, Colby."
I just shrugged. My face still stung where she'd cut deepest, and I dreaded to think how it looked. I supposed those claws of hers really weren't a joke. If they could slice so easily through me, perhaps I should lay off on the jokes and fucking around.
"You're lucky, Amira," Kristen said as she stood up from the floor. "If you hadn't met your mate, that attack would have put you in a coma for the rest of time."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," she grumbled back, rubbing her face in her palms.
Anna frowned. "You sure you're okay? Something's off..."
"Says you." Amira scrunched her nose as she waved her away. "You stink of a foetus, back up." Anna got up and dragged Blake over to her, tucking into his side. Amira started gagging at the soft look on the man's face.
"We'll talk another time," Anna promised as she glanced between each of the werewolves, questioning if they were ready to leave. I hoped so. I didn't feel as free around them as I did my own clan, and my One needed a little bit of attention right now.
Amira stood up like she wasn't just in an actual coma. "Yeah, like tomorrow or something. I need something to eat." She didn't even stay long enough to say goodbye to her ex-pack, walking blankly out of the room.
It took me a moment to realise she wasn't as fine as she was letting on, that she was pushing them away for some reason. And everyone else.
Following her lead, I zipped into the kitchen behind her, standing in the entryway as she grabbed random ingredients from the cupboards. She set them out in front of her, never once looking at me. She didn't even call back to Anna when she loudly yelled goodbye. I sensed the storm brewing, sensed the trouble I was in.
However, when Amira drifted over to open the fridge, she stopped and turned to me, raising her hand to my face. Her fingertips glided over the slash on my cheek, replacing the sting with a line of tingles that numbed everything in my entire body. I practically melted into her touch, not realising I'd leaned my head into her hand.
"Sorry," she said softly, "I got you good."
I closed my eyes, kissing her palm and pulling her hand away from my face. As I looked at her again, I moved closer so I could press our foreheads together. "For good reason."
"No, it's the only option you had, it's not fair that I've hurt you when you were only helping." She nuzzled against me, eliciting a strange reaction from my body. I felt warm. Warm and fuzzy. As much as I hated it, it made her all the more beautiful as I stared down at her. What was happening right now?
"I'll live," I replied quietly. I backed her up to the island, closing her in between my arms and making sure her eyes were on mine. "We need to talk about something."
She pouted. "Why? I don't want to."
"You know I heard you earlier."
Her playful expression disappeared and she looked away in an instant. Her entire mood had changed. She looked embarrassed and awkward, almost scared of what I would say next. But I wasn't letting this all go until I'd said my piece.
"I never expected you to let me bite you. That's just Sam and Cassie and the others' assumption. You're a werewolf, I'm not fucking stupid, you'd never go for it." I swiped my finger under her jaw, forcing her to meet my gaze. "I've resisted your blood so far, haven't I?"
She nodded slowly. "So you didn't even expect it in a few years, or even further in the future?"
"No." I gave her a rare, cocky smirk. "I have other ways of making your mind go blank." She punched me in the chest and I let myself chuckle, rubbing my thumb across her bottom lip. Her eyes never left mine. "You didn't have to make it so obvious you hate what I am and do, but no, I never thought I'd get that from you."
"I don't hate what you are," she sighed, "I'm just getting used to it."
"Mm." I was wildly distracted by her lips by now, examining every curve and detail in them.
That was when I realised exactly why we both seemed so different to normal: I had bitten her, even if I didn't feed. Both of us — as well as the bond — knew I'd bitten her, so we were closer. The bond was stronger, just not quite as strong as if I'd gotten my fangs in her neck for a length of time at the right time.
If I told her we were on a high because of the bite, I feared I'd scare her, so instead I gave in to my needs and bent down unprovoked to kiss her. Like it was completely natural for us, she tipped up her head and our lips locked.
That was when something furry brushed against my leg.
The damn cat was purring as she circled Amira, reluctantly passing by me with every rotation. Amira's eyes locked on the creature instantly, and she bent down to pick it up like I didn't even exist. I found myself glaring at its little face.
"Neoma, were you worried?" Amira cooed, scratching behind its ears. "I'm fine."
"It can't speak English," I sighed as I walked around to sit down at the island.
Amira rolled her eyes. "Don't degrade my baby like that. She can definitely understand." She rubbed their noses together. "Can't you?" Neoma meowed, which apparently meant yes in lunatic speak. "That's right, you tell him."
I shook my head with disappointment, staring down at the countertop. The image of my One being so gentle and childish with a cat was worryingly endearing to me, especially when she scrunched up her face holding Neoma right in front of her like she was playing with a baby. She eventually put the black fur ball down, but not before she'd given her a dozen kisses.
She opened the fridge to continue what she was doing before I arrived, preparing for a meal I hadn't had in years. I didn't even recognise some of the foods she was using, but I could tell she was good at cooking. She was calm, collected and didn't mess up a single thing.
By the time she was done, the others in the living room were wondering what was going on, considering there'd been nothing but the sound of cooking in the kitchen — no talking, no arguing, no other activities they might have been able to hear. What they didn't know was that I was taking this time to examine Amira. I wanted to truly appreciate her; properly adjust myself to the idea of having a piece of ass like that beside me for the rest of time. Just a few weeks ago, I would have hated the idea, but now I was seeing the value in this kind of companionship.
"Stop staring, jeepers creepers."
The sound of her matching angelic voice broke me from my reverie, and I blinked back into the room to see her plating up a steaming pile of food she surely wouldn't be able to eat by herself. She turned round, giving me a look.
"I wasn't staring," I lied — blatantly — as she slid onto the stool beside me. My hand moved on its own accord to her thigh, gently squeezing to comfort myself more than her.
She rolled her eyes. "You haven't looked away since I started cooking. Jealous I get to enjoy food?" She smirked, waving her fork toward me as she said, "Wouldn't you just love to be able to eat again?"
"That's incredibly rude," I replied and huffed dramatically. She snickered to herself as she took a bite, switching her attention to her phone.
I stared at the side of her face in thought for a few moments. There were a lot of things I'd rather be doing than sitting here in silence while she ate — which I was actually jealous of — but I had a gut feeling this was something she wanted. Her heart was slow, relaxed, and her lips seemed to be permanently tilted to one side. This kind of hanging out was her thing, and usually it was mine, too.
As she took in a large mouthful, I reached across to brush the hair on the side of her head. My fingers sifted through her long strands, tugging it back out of the way so I could see her profile. I grazed along her temple, tucking her curls behind her ear with great difficulty. My eyes snapped down to her neck, which was suddenly on show. Something was drawing me in more than ever. I wanted to hear that soft heart rate increase, to feel her panting. But she still had so much left of her food.
The bond gave me no mercy.
I leaned forward and tilted my head completely to one side, latching my lips around a chunk of flesh. She almost dropped her fork as one hand came up to grab my forearm. I was holding the other side of her face. Her head slowly tipped back, giving me more access to her skin. It should have been a dangerous move, but I couldn't even feel the monster inside of me. He was dormant, letting me enjoy this little interaction with my One without his influence.
Her grip on my arm was getting tighter by the second, and a quiet hum vibrated her throat beneath my lips when I bit at her. I felt myself smirking, knowing now I was able to distract her from eating with something so simple.
"You're an ass," she groaned, shoving me away. The first sign of resistance since I started. I didn't realise I hadn't answered her until she turned to glare at me, only to glance at my lips. In a second, she was on my lap. I didn't even know how she managed it as the stools weren't exactly large, but there she was, and her hands were at my chest. "If you were human and that scarred," she murmured, tracing my wound with her fingertip, "it'd be kinda hot."
"Nothing's sexier than domestic abuse," I muttered back, causing her to flick my nose. I smiled softly, pulling her into a more comfortable position on my lap. "Do you not know that it will scar?"
She frowned. "Vampires don't scar, they heal. What drugs have you been taking?"
"We heal on the surface, but other vampires can see wounds that would normally scar a human. For the others, you've just left a massive claw mark on my face for the rest of eternity."
Her eyes were wide and her lips were parted. I forgot barely anyone knew about that little fact outside of actual vampires. It was a subtle feature of anyone's body, hardly visible depending on how deep the wound was. Whether Amira would mark my neck some day in the future or not, tonight she had permanently put evidence of her strength and power on my face, of all things.
She traced that evidence again, slower this time, never looking away from the damage. I stared back at her in complete awe at the softness in her features. Amira was already softer than me, but there was another side of her I hadn't even dipped into yet and it was full of care.
I wanted that side of her.
She finished what she was doing and grabbed my chin, pulling me forward to nuzzle her head to mine. I recognised an apologetic gesture when I saw one.
"You've distracted me from my food," she muttered.
I snorted and pushed her away, gently placing her back on the floor. A small smile was on her face as she hopped back onto her own stool.
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