Blood and Wine - Margot Scott Page 0,41

over his corpse. His normally smug face is blank and pale as marble, his neck shredded so badly his head is almost completely separated from his shoulders.

I wonder what it means that I’m not disturbed or horrified by the carnage Will’s capable of. Maybe it just hasn’t sunk in yet, or maybe I am my father’s daughter.

Heartless. Cruel. Detached.

But how can I be heartless if I’m willing to risk my life for the man I love?

A scream pierces the eerie quiet. I race toward the sound, heading in the direction of the foyer. I come upon Will kneeling over Chastity, his fist in her hair and his teeth at her neck.

She sees me, and her face twists in anger. I’m supposed to be dead, but I’m not, and now her son is dead, and Will is free.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out the math, and Chastity’s hardly a genius.

Will rips a chunk of flesh from her neck. She wails. His tongue snakes out to savor the blood pouring down her chest. He fastens his mouth over the hole in her throat and drinks deeply, as her cries dwindle.

An awareness whispers at my ear. I look up to see Edward at the third-floor railing, aiming his crossbow at Will’s back.

He fires.

“No!” I reach out my hand, hurling all of my love and despair toward the silver-tipped bolt.

Will looks up at the sound of my voice. The bolt veers off course and grazes his shoulder. He roars. Tossing Chastity’s corpse aside, he turns to glare at Edward. I watch in awe as he leaps to the third-story landing, pulling himself up and over the bannister.

I sprint upstairs, tripping over the hem of my dress. The third time it happens, I rip the skirt part off, sending beads and sequins flying.

When I reach the third story, Edward has his crossbow aimed at Will’s chest. Before he can fire off another bolt, Will snatches the weapon out of his hand and hurls it, denting the wall and breaking the bow into pieces.

“Mariah,” Edward shouts. “Toss me one of the bolts.”

I shake my head. He scowls at me, then cries out as Will grabs him by the shirt collar.

Will swings the top half of Edward’s body over the bannister, allowing him to hover. He bares his fangs, tinged red with the blood of Edward’s wife and children.

Will opens his mouth, poised to strike. Edward pulls something from his pocket.

I shout for Will to watch out, but Edward is too fast. He sprays something in Will’s face that makes him cough and splutter.

He lets go of Edward’s collar to rub his eyes.

Edward falls and hits the ground level with a deafening thud.

Will screeches, a furious cry that makes the hairs on my arms stand on end. I approach the bannister slowly, peering over at Edward’s prone body below.

A pool of blood spreads outward from the back of his head. His legs are twisted at odd angles.

My father is dead.

I back away from the bannister as the shock I’ve been outrunning finally catches up to me. I hit what I think is a wall, and then realize is Will’s chest. He growls. The sound sends a torrent of fear down my back like tiny pinpricks.

Turning to face him, I’m struck by how large he is. His muscles have filled out. His chest is firm and broad, and he’s almost a full head taller than he was in the spirit realm.

My heart beats a drum solo in my chest as I meet Will’s gaze. His hunger is unmistakable.

The glint of recognition he felt for me in the cellar is long gone.

He’s going to bite me now. He’s going to tear into my throat and drink my blood.

He moves toward me, and I feel something hard press into my belly. I glance down, and gasp at the sight of his erect cock, longer and thicker than I remember it being my dream—and even then, it was far above average.

Now that Will’s fed, it’s like I’m seeing the real him for the first time. A vampire at his most potent.

I’m both terrified and undeniably turned on by the sight of him.

When he used the term bloodlust I assumed he was only referring to one type of hunger. But now that his lust for blood has been sated, I suppose that leaves him free to indulge his lust for...other things.

He grabs me by the throat. I whimper as he tows me to the floor, forcing me onto my stomach.