Thorns of Fate: Serendipity Saga Book One

Chapter Forty-One

Henrick had doused the flames down his body while he dragged me away and I was helpless to stop him. If my feet wouldn't hold my weight, I couldn't dodge and I couldn't get away from him.

He tugged me after him, and I jerked beneath his grasp, unable to stop him and unable to pull away. He had his hand bunched near my scalp, my ponytail wrapped around his fist. He stepped far enough into the darkness for us to fall into total shadow before he thrust me forward by my hair, slamming me face first into the stone wall beside us.

Pain shot through the center of my face, my eyes springing with burning tears and aching across my cheeks. I fell to the ground in a heap of unresponsive limbs, pushing against the stone floor to turn around.

Henrick kicked me again, his boot cracking into my back and spinning me for him. He pulled me up by my hair, dragging me away from the wall and dropping me onto my back, my head cracking against the ground with a loud thump.

My head throbbed, motes of light dancing in my vision as I looked up at him. He was furious and it was palpable in the air around him. Even though he had dismissed the flames, the heat lingered. It hung over me, suffocating.

Henrick looked over me, his face cast half in shadow. "I regret having to injure my nearly pregnant bride. If only you would obey me," he growled.

A shiver rippled down my spine and I fought against it, not wanting him to know how much he frightened me. "Get off of me, you creep," I hissed, pushing against his chest. He didn't budge.

He smiled though there was no humor in it, his eyes hungry.

I tried to pull energy from the air around me but I could only barely feel the living power there. I averted my gaze from Henrick's desperate for a stall, desperate for help. "I-I'm hungry..." I said, hating the words as they escaped me.

He looked curiously at me, his expression dark and untrusting. He hesitated for a long moment before leaning away from me and sighing, pulling the dirty remnants of his shirt from his form. He reached down, looping his hand beneath my neck, lifting me forward. I was glad for it because I couldn't have done it myself right then.

Maybe if I could just regain some of my strength...

He tilted his head to the side, exposing a long length of muscle between his head and shoulder. "I will stop you if you try something and your friend will be dead before you regain your strength," he growled. "But my bride will need her blood. The better fed you are, the more likely the pregnancy will take."

I shivered at the words and he grinned. I was disgusted, shamed, and afraid. I think he thought the action had a different connotation because he had a lecherous smile on his face now. .

He leaned forward and gave me open access. I didn't ask anymore questions, feeling blood run from my the back of my head and knowing that my face was a mess. I was pretty sure he'd broken my nose already.

I sank my teeth into his neck, fighting any sort of draw to his blood. It did call to me, an echo of Anton's own but I needed only sustenance. I felt no allure running from him, no all encompassing feeding. It was survival only.

My head spun less, my ears not ringing anymore and I felt stronger, fairly certain that my legs would support me now. I let go after a reasonable amount of time, not being able to stomach the idea of Will taking any more punishment for my actions.

He lifted away from me, using his dirty shirt to dab his neck clean. He actually had the consideration to lower it to me next, wiping my lips of the fluid.

He laid his eyes over my form again, the hungry darkness returning. I felt stronger by the moment, energy filling me. I could feel the tingle of electricity in the air again, begging me to pull it in.