Soulless (Book #2 of Hunted)

Emptiness

"It's not funny," I mumbled as he put out his cigarette and entered my house. I followed after him breathing a sigh of relief when I noticed Zane had stopped screaming.

We came into the kitchen and found Phoebe sitting at the counter flicking through an old OtakuUSA magazine. She looked up at me and grimaced at the squishy bags of blood in my arms.

"He didn't hurt anyone, did he?" she asked glancing briefly at Keegan and then at me.

"I am standing right here, you know?" he muttered and before she could say anything he continued, "And no, I didn't hurt anyone, thank you very much. I imagine the people that gave blood quite enjoyed doing so." We both looked at him with raised eyebrows and he scoffed.

"I brainwashed them into thinking they were..." he trailed off and mumbled, "Doing something enjoyable. Now, please, before the blood goes cold and our boy starts screaming again..." He came up to me and began pushing me towards the basement one hand on my waist and the other on my right shoulder.

We came down the stairs to find Zane still straining against the chains his black eyes intent not on Keegan or I but on the stairs.

"What's he doing?" I wondered aloud as Keegan took one of the bags from my arms. He looked down at the step beneath his feet.

"Hmmm...you got your nose blood on the stairs," he said looking down at the small red drops of blood on the concrete. His eyes fogged black for a second but then he shook his head and continued down the stairs. He neared Zane, giving him a swift kick that sent him tumbling back toward the wall.

"I've got a treat for you, Anton. Get it while it's h...marginally tepid," he said kneeling down. Anton very nearly launched himself at Keegan, but Keegan shoved him back and Anton growled glaring at him savagely. Keegan glared back and said, "Slowly. Or you'll make a mess."

Anton crawled forward until his knees were nearly touching Keegan's and Keegan held up the heavy bag of blood. Anton reached forward with trembling hands and took Keegan's wrists pulling the bag closer and slowly biting through the thick plastic at the corner.

Anton moaned softly as he drank down the contents of the bag and Keegan watched him his eyes strangely soft as he reached out and wiped the trail of blood leaking from the corner of Anton's mouth away with his thumb bringing it to his own mouth and tasting blood.

When Anton was nearly done with the first bag, Keegan turned to look at Phoebe and I who were staring in mild shock at the way Keegan seemed to be able to tame Anton, and he gestured for the second bag.

I hesitated for the briefest moment and then stepped forward handing him the bag which he held until Anton had finished the first. He set aside the empty bag and placed the second one in Anton's outstretched hands. He had regained enough control to feed himself, but when he looked at me his eyes were still black, still empty. He looked at me like I was a stranger.

I turned my gaze to the ground still grasping the overfilled sacks of blood and I tried not to think...not to cry. I fortified the walls around my thoughts and let myself hope that this wouldn't last forever. That Clay would succeed and Zane would return to me. That he would look at me with love instead of hate...instead of that black emptiness.