his grasp with a sharp tug. “What?” I gasped, my head reeling in shock over the fact that he’d cut me with his tooth and then tasted my blood—and my absurd reaction to it. I frantically wondered if someone had spiked my punch earlier. It was the only reasonable explanation I could come up with for what was happening. “Did you just…? What are you…?”
Instead of answering, he made a grab for me and growled, “Mine.”
My fight or flight response kicked in, and I lifted my skirts to whirl around and take off running. I didn’t have a destination in mind. My only thought was to get away from Kieran’s brother—even though my heart defied logic in its yearning to run straight into his arms.
2
Athan
I stared at Kieran, barely sane enough to hold back from killing him. Desire boiled my blood and had turned my flaccid dick into a rod of steel. The need for my woman consumed me, and the second she ran, I felt like a wild animal on the hunt.
Earlier, I’d been lounging against a wall, nursing a cup of bagged blood...that looked a lot like the punch being served. This was so any humans in attendance wouldn’t flip their shit at all of the vampires drinking blood.
I was trying to relax because I’d been filled with a restless energy all evening. I’d scanned the ballroom, looking for something to explain the odd feelings I’d been experiencing. It was as though a faint electric current in the room rippled over my skin. Even more strange, the ring on my pinky had heated—not to the point where it was painful, but enough to get my attention.
A commotion in the crowd signified my brother and his consort had arrived. Kieran was one lucky son of a bitch, having finally found his mate after nearly a millennium. I was a little envious, but I was also ecstatic for him. Not to mention Stephan, my younger brother, and I adored Thana.
I’d begun to walk toward the happy couple when Thana squealed and went running. A young woman with flowing brown hair streaked with a million different shades of blond met her halfway, and they hugged tightly. My senses had gone on high alert the moment I’d spotted the beauty in the amethyst dress. It had a large skirt, but the material had plastered to her body as she’d run. She was gorgeous and had a willowy build with curves in all the right places. My body had buzzed with awareness—not from arousal since I wouldn’t experience desire until I found my consort—but more like it knew something was coming. And that this woman was somehow at the crux of whatever was happening to me.
My feet had picked up their pace, and as I got closer, I had a better view of her face. Pink lips that belonged wrapped around a man’s cock, high cheekbones, a straight nose, and almond-shaped eyes boasting the most incredible shade of violet. They were...fuck. They were an exact match to the shade of the purple stone I wore.
I had nearly reached the trio when she slipped her hand into my brother’s, and possession had slammed into me so hard it knocked me backward. So I’d quickly teleported over to them and snapped at my brother to keep his hands to himself.
One of the reasons that it was so difficult to find your consort was because arousal was awakened by touch. Walking around touching every woman I saw would have me labeled as a pervert even though my nether regions were dormant.
Yet I knew this beauty belonged to me, which came as a complete and utter shock. The most puzzling element was how I felt as though this knowledge was coming from the ring. The whole situation contained a multitude of mysteries, but I could focus on those minor questions later. I only knew I had to touch her.
The moment I took her hand, my body flared to life, just as I’d expected it to do. The overabundance of sensation and emotion overtook me, and in a momentary lapse of sanity, I nicked her wrist and tasted her blood. It had called to me, and fuck me...it had been the sweetest taste.
Then she ran from me, and the only thing I knew was instinct—the drive to catch her, to fuck her, to bite her, to own her.
And Kieran was in my way. After warning me to be careful because I’d scared her, it only took one look