Chapter 25

“Here, drink this.” Jeb lifted a cup to Reece’s cracked lips. How many days had he been there, hung up on the pipes of Jeb’s shop like a slab of beef? Cramping and clenching of every muscle in his body left him in perpetual pain, even though it would subside, heal, and start again.

“Am I better?” Reece asked. The hoarseness in his voice confirmed he still struggled with the hunger.

“I don’t fully know. Do you want to still feed off me?”

Reece sniffed. “Yes, but it’s bearable.”

“Better, yes, but not ready,” Jeb muttered. “You’ll have to wear the necklace indefinitely.”

“What will it do?” Reece groaned.

“It stops the hunger. Your body will accept food as nourishment. Enough to maintain you, but eventually, you’ll need to feed. Only, I don’t know off what. Human or magical? Maybe both? I have to test it. If you can find a magical that has a sliver of human blood—good magic to bond with you—your hunger can be satisfied by your union with her.”

“What? I’m never falling for one of them again. Never.”

“Never say never when you are being built to live several lifetimes. Lazarus would tell you that.” Jeb tapped his chin with his index finger. “I need to see if you can control the hunger with humans and if you can steal magic from the magicals here to remain sated.”

“I thought becoming a Vigilant would stop the hunger.”

“It’s helped it tremendously, but there is a portion of this blessing that relies on you to fight against your baser needs to overcome the temptation. That free-will part can make it challenging to stay the course.”

“Let’s do it. Test me.”

Jeb picked up a knife he had on the counter then cut the palm of his hand.

Reece’s nose twitched. His mouth watered, but the urge was weak—like he could eat, but he wasn’t starving. “I want the blood but am not starved for it. I smell it, but the scent isn’t overwhelming. I don’t think I could last if I touched you though.” Reece couldn’t stop the involuntary clench of his fingers around the chains.

“Good. That’s progress considering you haven’t fed since your sister.” Jeb studied him.

Reece flinched at the memory.

“And you were able to keep down the food I gave you without spitting it out. That indicates that you are gaining sustenance from it. Your new body doesn’t care much for anything that doesn’t fuel it.”

Reece frowned. “It was horrible though. Tasted rotten.”

“Okay, I have a magical coming; you can feed off him if you want. He is strong enough to take it. Few magicals have the taint of human blood, and werewolves are one of them. Hard to tell though. They got their human blood by mixing with the native people of the Earthen realm before they were driven back to The Void. Most are purest for their magic and don’t like to mix with humans, but we will test with who we have.”

Warmth flowed through his body; the thought of having something palatable made his mouth water. “Can I bite him?” Reece whispered before he could stop himself.

“No need. You can siphon his magic without touching him at all. Zamina likely had someone she fed off of, a magical that was with her at all times. Someone you know as Ora.”

Reece growled at the name. Ora had killed Zamina, and if he ever saw her again, he wouldn’t be responsible for how he dealt her justice.

The chime sounded, and Reece glanced up. Hook came through the door. The room filled with the scent of beast—werewolf, not human.

“You know now?” Hook shook his head. “I tried to warn you about Zamina.”

“But you? You’re like the frat boys at Brec’s.”

Hook shook his head. “I was already a werewolf, just a lone wolf.”

Reece frowned. His nose twitched at the scent. Even though he wanted to get answers, a hunger within him rose, even more fierce and ready than the one he’d had for Jeb’s blood. “I want to consume his essence and have a taste of your blood as dessert.” He didn’t recognize his voice; it was deep, seductive, and hungry.

“You won’t be getting my human blood, son. It’s not like the others and will likely kill you,” Jeb warned.

“You are not like the other vamps.” Hook studied Reece. “He glows.”

Jeb put a hand on Hook’s shoulder. “Let him feed off your magic. I’ll stop him if he takes too much. You may have to be his Gift-giver if the owner of the bloodstone returns for it sooner than I can find a way to control his hunger.”

“I can give him the magic, but the blood—” he shivered— “I’m partly to blame for this anyway.” Hook stepped closer. “Ora is gone. I think she sacrificed herself to save me. She made sure Zamina was destroyed. I found out from Megan she was engineered with blood from a vampire Lord from the Vampyric Realm. Reece has royal blood in him. No one can survive going to the Vampyric Realm to kill the vampire that is his true sire.”

“This isn’t good, not good at all. Reece can never leave here with his family. If I get them a way out, Reece will have to stay behind.”

“I will help them any way I can. Megan needs to pay for this. She’s been manipulating my family.”

Jeb nodded. “There is a way. Reece, tell us how to get to Zamina’s home, and don’t tell Megan. It will give us something to bargain with, and, son, you will have to be the pawn in this. A trojan horse sacrifice to let us in to finish this for once. And when you get inside, I will have others there able to telepathically send me any information you find.”

“Done.” Reece flexed his wrists against the chains. “Now, I can feed.”

Reece’s eyes were drawn to the green hue that lifted from Hook’s skin. He couldn’t stop the hunger from taking over. His nails curved from his fingers. His mouth rushed with saliva, and his tongue seemed to grow to a point. Reece licked his lips, and his tongue slid over his chin as he opened his mouth two times its size to inhale the sweet tease of magic that danced on Hook’s body. Reece pursed his lips to savor the incoming taste of magic that hinted at wind from running through a forest, morning dew, and power from the moon.

He drank, closing his eyes to the bliss, the power, the pleasure of consuming raw energy. Even though it was like a feast of a meal, his hunger to taste blood left him wanting.