Only Vampires Cry Blood (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #3)(3)

“Two.” Fear shone in his eyes, but he remained relaxed under my hold. I'd already stripped away his defenses. He was too weak to do much now.

It pissed me off that the vampires frequenting The Wicked Kiss believed they could do as they liked. The human donors that walked into the place made their own decisions.

They could die there for all I cared. However, when they started coming back out with their own thirst for blood, I couldn't ignore that problem.

Taking his energy into me felt good, and I had to remind myself that I wasn't here for a game of cat and mouse. I’d hunted him in order to kill him. I had a point to make, and he was my means of doing so. Dragging this out excruciatingly long was not only completely cold, it was unnecessary. Still, the side of me that was all about the power could have played off his fear and his easily manipulated sensuality all night; the wolf inside, on the other hand, had little interest in any of it.

The Wicked Kiss had been at the top of my hit list for months now. Since my abilities had increased with the blood bond to Arys, I had been able to feel the entire place inside my head like one giant writhing mass of horror. It sickened me to no end. It did not help that my friend Kale had been using the place to fill the void of a centuries-old ache.

Staring down into the face of the monster before me, he looked so much like a man that it was easy to forget how far from human he was. His pupils were huge, reflecting my own image back at me. With my blonde hair and deep brown eyes, I, too, wore the illusion of human. So deceitful.

The power that ruled me was way beyond my capacity. I reached out to the natural energy sources around me to ground and balance myself. It eased the growing ache inside my skull, but the power coursing through me continued to burn, constant and at an extremely high voltage.

My body reacted physically to the metaphysical sensations. I was almost as blindsided by my own power as the vampire at my feet was. Warmth flooded me with a sexual glow in response to the intimate nature of the moment. I wasn't thinking anymore, I was just acting in accordance to the force guiding me.

Caught up in the irresistible lure, the need for more of the euphoric feelings that swept me, I slowly sank to my knees before him. Reaching out ever so slowly, I caressed his face with a tender touch. I knew that I was about to bring it all to an end for him, and though I wanted to feel remorse or shame for that, I felt only eager anticipation.

When my instinct turned to desire, I feared the craving to feel him inside me while I drained the life from him. A swarm of images swam together behind my eyes, one blur of blood, sex and death. I ached to feel his naked flesh, to taste his blood as it flowed. I leaned into him, alive with the vampire power that lived within me. The need to take all that he had to give was rooted in my core.

The balance of the wolf saved me, preventing me from taking it too far. With a snarl, my wolf rose to the surface. The true predator inside me broke the hold that the vampire's hungers had over me. I sprang into action, swinging a clawed hand before he could free himself from my allure. I punched into his chest with a rib breaking motion that caused us both to cry out. My hand slid through things that were warm and wet until I reached his heart and tore it free.

It lay heavy in my hand, slick and dripping with blood. The vampire rocked unsteadily on his knees before hitting the ground, hard, face first. I winced and scrambled to my feet. His remains instantly began to fade to dust and ash. I dropped the heart and brought my fingers to my lips, tasting his blood. I watched until there was nothing left of him but pieces that I kicked into the snow.

There was no denying it anymore: I couldn't go on like this. As the conductor of my power, I should not also be victim to it. This had to stop before I did something I truly regretted. Losing control wasn't an option. It was losing control with Arys that got me into this in the first place.

Power like that which Arys and I possessed was rare. It affected me differently because my heart continued to beat. Only one person had the knowledge that I needed to master it completely, and Harley Kayson wasn't someone that would dole out that kind of information without a price. Not to mention, Arys would die twice before he would let me anywhere near Harley again.

Staring into the mix of bloodied ash and snow, I couldn't help but feel that something had to give. I couldn't live this way, lacking the piece of the puzzle that put me in charge.

It took so little to strip my control away.

A siren sounded off in the distance, startling me out of my thoughts. Making my way back down the deserted street, I tasted the blood that lingered in my mouth and grimaced.

I was a risk to myself and everyone around me.

Chapter Two

Stars shine especially bright in the absence of city streetlights. Those who never experience the true beauty beyond the city limits don't even know what they're missing, but I do. Staring into the vast night sky with the wind ruffling my hair, I admired the beauty of the stars unobstructed by flashing lights and the roar of traffic.

I strolled through the parking lot to the front doors of Lucy's Lounge. The shabby little nightclub was the hottest thing that Stony Plain had going for it, and I loved it to bits. Though my small hometown was just ten minutes down the highway from the big city, it felt like it was a world away. You'd never find a traffic circle or a one way street here.

Arys was here, and I wanted to talk to him. It couldn't wait until whenever he decided to stroll over for some love. It was Tuesday, which meant he'd likely be playing poker and taking his opponents for everything they had. Typical vampire, he can never have too much of anything.