The next day, Arabella announced that they desperately needed food. “As much as I'd like to, I’m not going to be able to survive on muffins and tea.”
He didn’t like the idea of going into the town square, especially with the portal to other worlds being located there. However, Saint’s Grove had only one grocery store, and it sat in the heart of town, in the square.
Surely, Ulric had begun to grow tired of causing havoc and destruction and would come hunting her soon. The closer to town they went, the better the chance would be for him to sense her. Yes, she’d done well with the sword and knives today, but she still needed practice. If confronted with the demon, she wouldn’t win.
Nevertheless, he saw no reason why he couldn’t fight off the demon again—just not kill him—and then seek him out for the final confrontation when Bella was ready.
Easier said than done, as he’d imagined drawing Ulric’s blood again for centuries, to watch the life drain from his evil eyes.
Bella sighed. “Even if we can just get a couple cans of soup, that would help. I don’t need a lot to make it through until Halloween.”
He considered breaking into some of her neighbors’ homes. Many people had cleared out of town after the universal seals had been shattered. Her quiet neighborhood felt abandoned, and he wondered how long it would take the humans to either come back, or forget what had happened and start to repopulate the town.
“We should check your neighbors’ houses first.”
She shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. “No. What if they come back? I don’t want to break windows and have them come home to forest animals in their homes, or worse, vampires.”
He stared at her, trying to come up with another way to feed her.
Grinning, she approached him and laid her hand on his forearm. “We can make it to the store, Jayden. You and I can do this together.”
The warmth of her touch almost buckled his knees, and he casually gripped onto the kitchen counter for support, hoping her effect on him hadn’t been very noticeable. All he needed to do would be to reach out, wrap his hand around her waist, and pull her close. Then, he’d lean down, their lips brushing together softly as his blood raced through his veins and his body trembled with desire.
“Jayden?”
Hearing his name brought him out of his reverie, and he smiled at her as he gazed down at her hand still placed on his arm. Now was not the time to relive his sweet memories—his Princess was hungry.
In their past relationship, he’d have had to hunt and skin a rabbit, then cook it over the fire in order to feed her. Now, he had to make it to the grocery store without running into a demon.
How he longed for the simpler times.
They’d have to go, as he certainly wouldn’t let her starve to death. “We’ll go in later today. At least then, we won’t have to worry about vampires in the daylight.”
She sighed. “No. Just demons, werewolves, ghosts, and probably a bunch of other entities we haven’t even seen yet.”
He laughed. “You’re probably right.”