Kindred (Book 1 The Kindred Series) (51 page)

   Her heart fluttered slightly. It was a flutter he knew well, he had caused it in many heartbeats
moments before he had taken someone’s life from them
. It was the
sound of that
flutter that drove him into action
. Bending over her, he pressed her close to him
, nuzzling her gently
as he inhaled her wonderfully delicious scent
.
She did not stiffen against him, did not try to push him away.
She did not even remotely
flinch away
as she turned slightly toward him, her warm breath
caressing his cheek
.

   He wished that he could believe it was because she wanted him to change her, but he knew that she simply did not possess the strength to
turn away from him, or fight against him. She would not want to be a part of his world, would not want to belong to the darkness, and he was crazy for even thinking about condemning her to such a life. She deserved far better than anything he had to offer her.

  
Bracing himself,
he pulled her hand gently away from the
large
wound.
Blood pulsed
ou
t of the jagged cut
s
with every beat of her heart.
His chest clenched at the sight of that blood, his teeth elongated instantly as hunger swamped him. It took him a few seconds to gather himself enough not to sink deep into her throat and taste the delicious blood pouring from her.

   When he was in control enough, he bent his mouth to her neck. The sweet scent of her assailed him as he nuzzled her briefly, savoring in t
he feel of her. Her heartbeat picked up slightly, but he sensed no fear in her, only an excitement that confused him as well as aroused his hunger and desire
even higher.
Fighting against every one of his murderous instincts
, he
slowly
licked the t
hree
vicious gashes in her delicate neck
, sealing them with
the
healing
agent
in
his
saliva
.

   The taste of her blood slammed into him. It was the sweetest nectar he had ever
savored
,
so full of strength and vigor. It pounded through him, hammering throughout
his
ve
ins. His teeth
throbbed with their desire to be sated
,
he was
desperate for the ultimate pleasure
her blood would bring
him
.
Never had he tasted anything so sweet, so tempting and delicious. Never had he experienced so much power within one person. He had never
even
imagined one person could
possess
so much
lure
.
He had tasted his fai
r share of Hunters before,
but
the
ir
blood had been nothing compared to this. Their blood had been as powerful as a goldfish’s compared to this
.
Her blood was ambrosia
and he wanted more than just a
little taste
.

   Then, her hand stroked over his face, the touch as light as a butterflies caress.
It helped to soothe the shaking, thirsty
beast
trapped
inside of him.
She helped to keep him from draining her dry in order to satisfy the raging monster inside
.
Using every ounce of self restraint and control he had, h
e pulled slightly
back;
his eyes clash
ed
with her tear filled
, curious
one
s
. She smoothed her hand over his cheek, cradling him gently
in her grasp
. Devon could not move;
he was
pinned within her gaze, guilt and horror tearing through him.

   She was comforting him, and he was thinking about draining every last drop
of life
from
he
r
.
She was comforting
him
, and he was
on the verge of destroying her.
Struggling to regain control, he unfolded himself from abo
ve her. Though the wounds were s
ealed, she was still a long way from safe. A fair amount of her precious
life
had
been
spilled. He needed to get her somewhere that would help her.

   “Hold on Cassie,” he
pleaded fervently
. “Don’
t
leave me.”

   Tears slid slowly down her cheeks, leaving a trail in the dirt and blood that
marred
her delicate features
. He wanted to brush them away, wanted to kiss away her pain, but he was afraid to get t
o
close to her again. He didn
’
t know how much torture and temptation he could take before snapping.

   And
if he snapped, he
would
keep her as his.
A fate he was certain that Cassie wanted no part of.

  
He quaked with the reserve it took not to finish it,
not to
turn her. He would not do it; he could not take her youth, her innocence,
and her
life
from her. She deserved far better than that.
Far better than him.

   Devon drew on every ounce of self restraint he had. Slowly
,
he was able to regain enough control to think straight once more. If he did not get her help,
human
help soon, she was going to die.

   A branch snapped loudly. Devon spun, curling her
protectively
against him. He shouldn’t have let down his guard, should not have
let his attention wander from
Julian
, but she had that affect upon him. He lost all
his
reason, all sanity, and all
thought when she was around.

   Now, Julian was back.
Devon should have known that Julian
would not quit, not when h
e had smelled her blood also
, no
t
when
he had been in the throes of bloodlust. Devon used all of his powers and senses to hunt him down, but he could not find him within the woods.
He did however pick up on
three new minds within the forest
.

  
He tensed in preparation as
Chris, Melissa, and Luther burst out of the woods, skidding to a halt on the other side of the clearing. Their eyes widened in horror, their mouths part
ed
slightly as they took in the limp, bloody form of Cassie in his arms.
He knew what the
three of them
were, but he had no fear
for his own safety around
them. They were nothing compared to him, no threat
to his survival
.

  
“Cassie!” Melissa cried, rushing toward
t
h
e
m.

   Luther
moved swiftly,
grabb
ing
hold of her arm
he
ripp
ed
her back as Devon cradled Cassie tighter, an involuntary snarl tearing from him.
He did not know what had possessed him, he knew that they would not
hurt
her, but the idea of them even to
uching her made him want to rip their throats out
.
It made him want to destroy them all.

 
“No!” Melissa
’s
hand fl
ew
to her mouth in shock
;
horror fill
ed
her black eyes
as she took in Devon’s twisted features, and deadly teeth
.

   Devon turned away from the pain, disgust, and condemnation burning from
all of
their
gazes
.
He did not know them well, but he had grown to like them over the past few weeks, and he hated the revulsion in their eyes. Ho
ld
ing
Cassie protectively against him,
he turned away from their disgust,
disappearing into the woods in a blur of motion.
Feeling wildly unstable again, he plummet
ed through the forest
, uncertain of
where he was going
. He just knew that he needed to get
away from them, and he needed to get
her out of there. He needed to get her somewhere safe. 

   M
ov
ing
faster than he had ever moved in his long existence
, Devon plummeted through the woods; keeping Cassie shielded from the branches and twigs that slapped at him
. He knew that fear for her life was a
big
motivator for his
faster than average
speed
, but it was
also
more than that.

   T
he few drops of her blood he had tasted
had already begun to change him
.
They had already made him stronger
, far more powerful and faster
.
He didn’t know how it was possible that she possessed so much power, and he had not picked up on it
.
He did not know
how
she
could
even poss
ess so much power. The amount of
it
was far from normal, even for a Hunter.

   He did not know the answers to any of the questions swirling through him,
and he didn’t really c
are. The only thing he cared about right now was
sav
ing
her life.
The only thing he cared about was keeping her with him for as long as possible.

  
He could only hope that
she did not hate him for what he was. He cou
ld not stop to think about that.
I
f he did, he would lose it.
Devon sped through the woods, uncertain of where he was going, or what he was going to do with her.
All he could hope was that she survived until he could get her help. Cassie curled tighter against him, her head rested trustingly against the hollow curve of his neck. He
did not understand her trust in him, not after everything she had discovered tonight,
but it was
a
trust that he was going to try and live up to. He
could only hope that he did not snap and change her before he finally reached his destination.