Soulless (Book #2 of Hunted)

Nadia

He backed Nadia up against an oak tree. He had one hand around her throat and the other was gripping her shoulder. Nadia laughed breathlessly.

"Easy babe; you could at least buy me dinner first," she said. Zane? Anton? He didn't know who he was anymore. All he knew is that he wanted this girl's blood more than anything else at the moment. It was possible that he wanted to devour her more than he wanted to return to Jasper Lake and see Lorelei. After all, that was why he left right? So he could feed without feeling bad about it. Only it wasn't working. Part of him felt extraordinarily bad about what he was about to do to this innocent girl. Innocent my ass! No one is innocent!

He growled in frustration. Just the sound of this girl breathing put an ache in his brain. He didn't just want to feed from her he wanted to rip into her, he wanted to tear her apart and do every vile little thing to her that he could conjure into his demented mind. He stared her straight in the eye and she gasped. He knew that his eyes had changed again as a mere reflex. They had been doing that quite often. His irises always remained black no matter what he drank but sometimes they fogged with blackness so opaque that there was practically no sclera left. It was the Monster leaking out and asserting itself and it was happening more and more frequently and he could do nothing to stop it.

"What the hell are you?" she exclaimed. His grip tightened on her as her voice, suddenly unbearably irritating, grated against his ears.

"Shut up!" he snarled and he felt a vicious grin split his face almost against his will. As she caught a glimpse of his fangs her eyes widened but she immediately shut her mouth before she could make any sound of terror.

He slowly leaned his head against her shoulder and breathed in deeply. B negative, without a doubt. The intoxicating smell of her blood penetrated his thoughts and made him want to break. It had been so terribly long since he had a good feed. "Are you afraid of me?" he asked excitedly though he could smell the fear radiating off her skin; curling off of her like smoke.

She whimpered. "Y-yes. Oh God! Please don't hurt me," she pleaded. Anton chuckled huskily.

"Don't worry, Nadia. I promise it'll be quick," he said easily drifting into a Romanian accent.

This was his second favorite part. He remembered this being his second favorite part, right after the feed; scaring his victims. He remembered loving this. The fear and adrenaline made the blood just that much sweeter.

"Nadia," he mumbled against the skin of her throat stroking her soft cheek that was wet with tears. She whimpered meekly in terror. "Do us a favor and scream for me?" he whispered in the same accent. He opened his mouth wide and sank his teeth into her neck, severing the carotid artery and the jugular in one bite. Her blood splashed into his mouth with each frantic beat of her heart and a scream of pain and horror bubbled up from her lips. He was going to kill her. He wanted to kill her. He needed to kill her. He pulled her body closer to his and bit down harder causing her scream to break off. He gnawed at her neck trying to get absolutely everything from her that he could and making a terrible mess of things as a result. It didn't matter! None of it mattered! The blood running down his chin and down the front of his shirt meant nothing. It was wasteful, he knew, but it was worth it just to feel his teeth cutting through her.

As her heart slowed, she began to gasp for what she thought might be her last breath. "Please stop," Nadia whispered faintly. He felt something twinge in his mind. Those were the same words Lorelei had spoken when he had tried to feed on her against her will. He pushed the thought away and wrapped his arm around her neck. He pulled her head sharply to the side, snapping the bones in her neck and instantly killing her. He continued gulping down mouthful after mouthful of her blood until there was nothing left.

He dropped her onto the forest floor and rejoiced in the ecstasy of having a stomach full of warm, fresh blood. But he knew the satisfaction would only last a few hours and then he would be starving again. He'd come back tomorrow night for another victim.