Chapter 273. Feeding I

Chapter 273: 273. Feeding I

Maisie

The words sank somewhere in my subconscious before dissolving to nothing.

My nails dug into Soren’s skin as my jaw locked. Life. There was so much life, so much strength in him and I didn’t have enough. I was siphoning it from his veins, swallowing it down in greedy, violent gulps, entirely uncaring that the frantic pulse against my tongue was beginning to stutter and slow.

And I might have taken it all if a strong arm didn’t hook around my waist, tearing me off of him. I screamed in outrage, kicking and thrashing to get back to him.

Some part of me registered that Soren looked deathly pale, even as his lips parted in a dazed, flustered look. His violet blue eyes were glass and fully dilated, and as he touched his ravaged, bleeding neck, his expression sparked with unrestrained hunger.

It might have been killing him. But he wanted more.

The thought of him letting me pin him down and take everything I needed set my skin on fire, and a tortured sob tore from my throat.

"You’ll kill him, cherie," Quinlan panted, locking his arms around me as I thrashed wildly against his chest. "You’re taking faster than his body can replace--"

Quinlan’s words became meaningless noise as his own scent flooded my lungs. Sex, silk, spice, and hot, rushing blood. My stomach cramped violently. He smelled just as delicious as Soren. I wanted him. I wanted to devour him.

I tipped my head back and slammed my skull directly into his nose.

Quinlan groaned, the shock loosening his grip just enough. I turned on him and pounced like a starving animal. We hit the floor hard, his hands catching my waist to absorb the impact.

A pained moan escaped me as the fire returned tenfold, pooling heavy and molten in the pit of my stomach.

I surged upward, my fingers locking around his throat as I crashed my mouth against his. I flicked my tongue over a split in his bottom lip, tasting blood. I moaned, my core heating.

Quinlan’s breath hitched. His hands tightened bruising on my waist as his tongue slid past my lips, meeting mine in a fight for dominance.

I was no longer a person. I was a throbbing, needful thing.

I kissed him hungrily, sucking the blood from his mouth, grinding my hips against his, just like I knew he liked it, and a deep, rattling growl vibrated in his chest.

A heartbeat later, his large hands gripped my hips, hauling me flush against his groin. It wasn’t enough. Too many layers of clothing separated us. My claws hooked into his shirt and shredded the fabric right off his chest.

"May," he choked, his own fangs grazing my lips.

I felt below his belt and moaned when I found him so hard, he strained thickly against his pants.

Whatever this fire was, it was burning him alive too.

Quinlan wrenched his swollen lips from mine when I reached for his belt buckle, groaning in frustration when the damned belt defeated me.

"Maisie, wait--shit," he swore when I tore the thing off too and stuck my hand down into his pants. He grabbed my wrist hard enough to hurt, stopping me before I could circle my fingers around his thick, swollen length. "You’re not thinking straight--"

I slapped my palm over his loud, running mouth and bit the base of his throat.

His eyes blew wide and his pupils dilated until it swallowed all of the blue in his eyes, his hips bucking under me as I triggered his Lycan.

A mouthful of hot, sweet blood flooded my mouth, and I moaned against his skin. "Mine," I growled around my teeth.

His hand dove into my hair, gripping my scalp in a vice as I drank and drank. He tasted like darkness. Like secrets. Like mine. I wanted to crawl under his skin. I wanted to hollow him out and leave nothing behind.

Quinlan’s grunts changed. They went from husky to choked sounds of... pain. His skin was turning pale beneath my hands and his pulse fluttered beneath my teeth.

"Let him go," someone said, but it was all white noise.

Massive hands clamped down on my shoulders, trying to wrench me backward. I snarled, shaking them off with terrifying strength.

"Let him go, malyshka," Jericho pleaded, and when it didn’t quite sink in, he snarled at me. "Look at him."

Obeying Jericho came as easily as nature, and the order broke through the haze, momentarily clearing my sight and I pulled away, glancing down at Quinlan.

My reflection in his eyes halted me. My eyes were red, and veins stretched from my eyelids to my temple in the same glowing colour.

With blood dripping down my jaw and staining my teeth, I looked terrifying. And Quinlan looked like he’d been mauled by a wild animal.

I scrambled off him. "I’m sorry," I whimpered, and then groaned as another horrid cramp seized my stomach. "I can’t control it," I whispered, casting a glance in Soren’s direction. He already looked better than he did seconds ago, the colour returning to his skin, but the wound wasn’t healing as fast as it should.

I understood them what was happening to me. Having my life force nearly drained out of me left me with an unpleasant after effect. My body was seeking to replenish what it’d lost, and it was driving me insane.

"It’s... The rift," I tried to explain and it came out in garbled groans. "Cost. There’s a cost. It took too much. I need... more."

This was ten times worse than the need I’d felt during the transition. Add bloodletting into the mix and I was acting like a starved vampire, hurting the people I cared about.

Tears filled my eyes. "You should..." Another groan escaped me and my vision hazed red again as the hunger consumed me whole. "...leave, before..." Groan. Sweat broke across my forehead and I squeezed my eyes shut. "... I hurt you."

A warm hand grasped my chin, tipping my head high, and I saw Soren in a low crouch in front of me. I hadn’t seen or heard him move. "Then take what you need," he said. "We can take it."

I started to shake my head, and bit into my bottom lip as the pain intensified. "And if I can’t stop? I might kill you. I could kill you."

His eyes crinkled as he smiled. "Perhaps, but it would be harder to kill all three of us. Together."

My gaze flicked to Quinlan, who looked like he could use a trip to the ER. "This is..." Rough exhale. "...a terrible idea..."

Soren’s fingers spanned across my face, brushing my hair back from my face and my breath hitched as he brought his lips to the corner of my mouth. "We’re ready when you are."

My body decided it didn’t need to be told twice.

I careened into him, crawling into his lap as our lips met. His hand tightened around my waist, lifting me to wrap my thighs around his torso and I vaguely registered being walked up the stairs as I bit his bottom lip again, slower this time.

He groaned, pressing me up against a wall, his hands traveling up and down my back, snagging the band of my bra.

The taste of his blood coated his tongue, driving my need higher, and I was whimpering as he kissed me harder.

I didn’t notice being taken to the bedroom, but I gasped when my back hit the sheets and Jericho replaced Soren between my thighs. He gripped my wrists, pinning them above my head, and my Lycan reared her head once more, refusing to be dominated.

I twisted us and Jericho groaned when my lips found his neck too. He leaned back, offering his pulse to me, and my Lycan chose to be craftier.

Or perhaps, it was me. I really couldn’t tell which thought belonged to me anymore.

My hands ran down his body, and he cocked a curious brow at me when I popped the buttons of his pants. "What are you doing?"

A sneaky smile pulled at my lips. "There are more veins down there." ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Someone huffed a laugh behind us, but my attention was fixed on Jericho as he sprang free from his briefs, revealing every magnificent inch of him.

A small sound slipped out of him as I crawled down his body, taking him in my hands. My mouth watered, just from looking at him. His amber eyes darkened as I settled between his legs and I knew it was my Lycan speaking when I purred, "I’ll try to be gentle."

He looked offended, lifting himself on his elbows, and his knot pulsed beneath my circled fist as I breathed against his slick, wet head.

I lowered my lips to him and my thighs clamped together as I pushed him past my lips and sucked.

His fingers twisted in the sheets.