Blood Thirsty

Ch. 24: Let me spoil you

His vision speckled as blood spilled out from Anthony's stomach. He breathed and more blood pumped out. Anthony stumbled like he got punched as the pain took over.

"We're in here, your highness!" Beatrix called and she let Anthony go and he crumbled onto the floor. Anthony curled in on himself, holding his stomach.

"You bitch," Anthony spat as she glanced at her knife before putting it in a clear plastic bag. The door slammed open on the other side, and Anthony's brow pinched as he forced himself to look up. Knox's face went white, eyes widened at the scene, at Anthony, at Beatrix's feet. Anthony said, "After this is over, I'm killing her."

"Beatrix? What did you do?" Knox shouted, racing to Anthony's side, dropping onto his knees. He brought Anthony closer, assessing everything from clothes scattered across the room and the blood gushing out of his stomach.

Matter-of-factly, Beatrix said, "I'd like to see how quickly Anthony will heal from freshly eating."

Shaking his head, Knox gathered Anthony up, but Anthony pushed his chest. "Wait, I'm going to get blood on you."

Knox rolled his eyes. "Why would I care about that?" He brought Anthony up, holding him close, and Anthony couldn't argue. This close and this thirsty, Anthony thought. Knox never smelled sweeter. Holding Knox, Anthony closed his eyes and plunged his fangs into Knox's neck. Knox's blood filled his mouth and Anthony's body prickled in delight, like butterflies replaced all his fears and anxieties. Knox's blood coated Anthony's throat, filling his stomach and Anthony had more than his full, feeling like he was going to burst until Knox tapped out, patting Anthony's back.

"Anthony," he said, and that weak, breathy sound knocked Anthony back into reality.

Quickly, Anthony retracted his fangs and pushed off Knox to get away, panicking again. He didn't like jumping in and disappearing into that blood. It made him feel like humanity was slipping out of his fingers, like he was only a vampire and nothing else.

In response, Knox grabbed his arm, meeting his eyes. Knox searched his face and whatever he saw made him smile softly. "We have to stop meeting like this."

Anthony laughed, letting himself succumb to it, and dropped his head on Knox's shoulder. Sometime during the bite, the wound sealed itself shut, leaving only a red mark behind like he wasn't stabbed, but maybe pinched. Closing his eyes, Anthony just breathed. Funny how much easier it was to relax with Knox here.

"Let's see it!" Beatrix piped up, ruining the peace. She yanked on Anthony's shoulder, sticking her head between them to examine the stab wound. Her dark eyes sparkled, noticing it was closed. She glanced excitedly at the old ones. They vanished, surprising Anthony too. She smiled in a way that made Anthony's stomach twist worse than the knife did.

In a blink, Knox grabbed Beatrix, ripping her off of Anthony and tossing her against the door. Holding her up by her collar, Knox slammed her again and yet, that didn't knock the smile off her face. "I allow you to get away with a lot of things, but now you're taking advantage of my kindness. I will not allow you to torment my fiancé for your experiments. This isn't a game. If you hurt him again, on purpose, I will have to remind you of the differences between not only our stations, but our species. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, your highness," Beatrix said, still laying her smirk on thick. She eyed Anthony on the ground for a second, then looked back at him. "The antidote will be ready in time for your wedding. Consider it my gift... it's just such a shame to not gather more information while we have a perfect test subject."

"Anthony is not a test subject. He is my husband. He is your future prince consort. Any unhappiness handed to Anthony, I will give back to you twice as harsh. If Anthony's not happy, I'm not happy, and it should be your desire to keep me happy."