locked in
deep.
A storm
of truth batters me. I scream around his flesh. Muscle cramps force
my body rigid.
Dark hair
streams over my face and body as I shake. The forest flickers in
brightness and depth as my pupils do something strange, dilating
and contracting in hallucinogenic spasms. Hundreds of years of
experience and feeling replays through my body and mind at warp
speed until everything is a chaotic blur. Impressions of his fears,
ambitions, hurt, happiness, pain, lust, anger, hunger, shame and
resentment beat me senseless in a volley of crushing
blows.
I see a
flash of recent pain. Fangs dig into his body and fire pours
through him in waves of pure agony. A sword slashes and hacks at
his flesh. His legs are left throbbing ribbons of flesh.
Terrified, my own legs twitching, I dig my claws into his
chest. His warning hiss has me snarling like a feral beast; too
sacred to understand I’m drawing first blood.
Fisting a hand in my hair, he yanks viciously and tears my
teeth free. “Enough.” A tremor judders his frame as he stares at my mouth in
horror. Reliving the memories passed between us through blood?
Cautious hands smooth down my sides. “How did you–”
An uncoordinated mess I scuttle back. “ Don’t touch me .” Tumbling off his
lap, I’m a thrashing puddle of toile.
How long it’s taking to think in straight is something I’ve
no concept of. My understanding of what I’ve seen , what I’ve felt are so alien no logical
reasoning is allowing me to set my world right.
“ How am I still breathing?”
‘ That is a good question,’ the
Vampire thinks.
The blood
drains from my face. “You’re in my head. Talking.”
‘ Ja.’
“ Stop. Vampires talk mind-to-mind. I’m Lycan.”
He tilts his head. ‘Holding your
ears does nothing.’
A
creeping burn tenses my muscles. My stomach clenches. I rub my arms
when pins and needles prick all over my body. “What’s happening?”
The burn intensifies and digs deeper. “What did–” My air cuts and
my throat locks.
I exhale
in a rush. My chest decompresses to an abnormally empty
state.
For the
life of me I can’t inhale again.
“ You bit me .” He makes a noise of irritation.
“My feeding would not cause this, and surely you considered to
drink from me might have unknown consequences.” He leans over until
his silhouette looms inside the halo of light breaking through the
tree canopy. “Are you listening? You’re not breathing.” He shifts
and the moonlight hits his face. Fury. “Breathe, Harmony.” He
places a hand at my temple and another on my chest.
‘ Damn you female
breathe .’
The
mental command booms in my mind. My throat unlocks and the pressure
crushing my chest eases. I suck down a panicked gulp of air. Now I
can’t slow down. I breathe hard and fast until my lungs
ache.
The
Vampire mutters a curse and lifts me from the leafy ground. My
blood has healed him?
He peers
at me with mild revulsion as he strides a circle.
Kept
knotted by his glaring, I endeavour to pull myself together. The
gliding movement of his pacing is soothing, and my breathing
returns to normal.
My hands
slide past the collar of his shirt onto bare skin, seeking the
comfort. “Shouldn’t you put me down?”
With a
shake of his head he keeps me pinned to his chest.
Instinct
clawing to the surface, I push against his hold. Testing. The
resistance is strong, and I squirm, the alpha streak in me wanting
to fight for dominance.
Hands
grip me painfully, dig deeper until I know I’m bruised. “Stop your
fussing.”
“ Then put me down.”
“ Are you calm?”
It feels
like millions red ants are trapped under the surface of my skin. I
stare at him. “Yeah.”
He hisses
quietly. Frightening, but I’m beginning to like it. His eyes press
closed. “Now who is a liar?” When they open again he’s
focused.
Is he
ever wrong? Suddenly, it doesn’t matter what he is, or if what’s
happening to me is his fault as long as he can make me