Walk Into The Light - Shadows of the Night 6

Chapter 30

Hi!

Here's the next chapter. Let me know what you're thinking! Any new theories? I'd like to hear them! :-) Have a great week and thank you all for reading!

Lara

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Chapter 30

Cold night air hit my face, brushing over skin that seemed oversensitive and raw. For a moment the sight took my breath away. City lights gleamed all around us, shining with an overwhelming brightness that seemed to call to me. Even though I got stranded here as a child by accident, New York City was and had always been my home of choice.

Even now that I was a vampire it didn't seem to have changed.

Bright-lit and colorful, the sight forced me back into memories of my first years in the city. I shook my head.

Not here. Not now.

I focused on the here and now, directing my eyes to the front of the rooftop – in its middle, closer and more real than the light-filled horizon, Alexander, leaning on the rail at the edge of the rooftop.

My feet carried me to him, coming to a halt beside him.

"You haven't answered any of my questions," I said, staring at his face.

"I was not aware there were any left that remained unanswered," he said.

Another carefully worded non-answer disguised as a reply. I gripped the rail. The metal under my fingers creaked with a load moan.

"You're the most-"

"You have to feed," Alexander said softly, eyes directed at the city in front of us.

I turned to him. "You're trying to get me off topic, and it's not going to work, Alexander. Not this time!"

"I would have preferred to give you more time to adjust. But time is a luxury we do not have, Anna."

I folded my arms in front of me.

"We're not talking about this. End of discussion."

He turned to me, blue eyes meeting mine.

"You do have no choice in this matter, Anna. You have to master the art of feeding, whether you like it or not."

Alexander's voice fell away from me, drifting into distant lands. The sound of blood pumping and a heart beating rushed through my ears. Tension surged through me, a high-whistle in the low sub-bass of hissing blood in my ears.

Alexander hadn't planned on bringing me here just to talk and avoid much needed answers. He'd chauffeured me here for another purpose altogether.

The factory had seemed void of people and I had foolishly allowed myself to be lulled into a wrong sense of security. My new vampire senses had deceived me.

We were not alone.

A trickle of sound rumbled through the halls below us, soft footsteps meeting the metal stairs that led to the rooftop. The walk was slow, accompanied by small intakes of breath. It left no doubt in my mind. Whoever was approaching us was human.

Memories of cold, dream-wasted nights. Hot skin under my hands. Then blood.

If there was something I learned in the blur of those past two weeks, it was that I wasn't a natural as a vamp. I hated feeding. Loathed myself for wanting, needing it nonetheless. Blood had in essence become my air – the one thing I could not have done without as a witch.