Promised in Blood: Chapter 30

There’s something truly mesmerizing in the animalistic way he takes her, brutal and tender in equal measure. And when she comes for him, pressing her head back into the pillow while a series of guttural, satisfied cries pour from her pretty lips, I feel it deep in the pit of my stomach. How the two of them together complete a previously broken circle. Together, we are surely invincible. Because I feel it. Stronger and faster and sharper than I have ever felt before.

He pulls his teeth from her neck, and I have to stop myself from leaning forward and licking her blood from his lips. It is so tempting to push him while his own pleasure still courses through his veins. To take advantage of the vulnerability I only ever see in him when he’s with her. But there is a line I know he’ll never cross. As much as I burn for his skin on mine, his hands running over my body: squeezing, kneading, taking … I know that I burn alone.

Malachi slides his arm around my waist and kisses my shoulder like he knows. Of course he knows. They all do. It’s impossible to keep anything secret from them. Especially now that our bond seems to grow stronger with each passing day.

“Did you find Nazeel?” Ophelia’s quiet voice cuts through the cacophony of pounding hearts in the room and provides me with a much-needed distraction.

Alexandros pushes himself up, sits back against the headboard, and pulls Ophelia onto his lap. Sighing, he pinches the bridge of his nose. “Yes.”

“And?” I ask, propping myself up on my elbow.

He clears his throat. “She is aware of Ophelia’s powers. It was she who bound them as a child.”

Tears well in her eyes, and profound sadness pours from her, enveloping us all. “But how? And why?”

Alexandros twists his neck and groans like he’s wrestling with what to tell her. His eyes land on mine. “She deserves the truth,” I say.

He blows out a breath. “It will be painful, little one.”

She swats away a tear and nods, her jaw set in determination. “I can handle it.”

I grab her hand and link our fingers. “Yeah, you can, Cupcake.”

He shifts her on his lap so she’s straddling him. “It will be easier to show you.”

She tips her head back, exposing her throat, and he rests a hand on her forehead like he’s checking her temperature. “How do you feel?”

She blinks at him, unsure of what he means.

He runs his hand from her forehead to the back of her neck. “Are you lightheaded? Do you feel tired? Weak?”

“No. I feel strong,” she whispers.

“Your ability to heal quickly has grown exponentially.” He traces the fingers of his free hand over her chest. “And your blood replenishes much more quickly too.”

The smile she gives him in return has me grinning too. “I know. I can feel it.”

I lick the tip of my fangs, wanting to taste her right now. We’ve all felt how much longer we can feed before the flow of her blood tells us to stop.

Alexandros glances between Axl, Malachi, and me before directing his focus back to our girl. “I could show them what happened too. I think it is important that they know where you came from, that we all share your pain. But we would all have to feed from you.”

Holy shit. Yes fucking please. Not only because I want to know everything about my girl and her past, but also because the idea of feeding on her with them already has euphoria lighting up my veins.

“At the same time?” she whispers.

“We will stop if it gets to be too much.”

Her hand grips his biceps, fingers digging into the taut muscle. “Yes. I want to show them too.”

The beast inside me growls, and Alexandros shoots me a look. I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be a warning, but his eyes are dark and full of desire. And while I know that the lust in his eyes when he looks at me is because Ophelia’s on his lap and he’s about to bite her, my body doesn’t seem to be able to distinguish the difference. My dick stiffens.

All too soon, his gaze is back on Ophelia—specifically, the fluttering pulse in her throat. He licks his lips. “Are you sure, Ophelia?”

“Yes.” She declares the word with such confidence that there can be no room for doubt.

He sinks his teeth into her neck, and she whimpers. Axl and Malachi move quickly, wasting no time in sinking their fangs into her perfect tits. And with Alexandros at her front and them on either side, the only place left for me is behind her. I straddle the professor’s legs and press my chest against her back, then gather her hair in my fist and expose the nape of her neck. My eyes lock with my sire’s, and the hunger in his gaze makes my knees weak. I maintain eye contact while I sink my teeth into the back of her neck.

He shows us everything: her birth, the fire, the blood. Her parents and the dead bodies scattered around. The conversation between Nazeel and two other members of the Order about binding her powers. We watch it unfold like a movie, and through it all, we feel Ophelia’s despair. Her anguish, her pain, and her truth.

It floods my being along with her blood. And so does her power. I get but a glimpse of the raw, untapped magic that makes up her every atom, and it is enough to ensure that I will kneel at her feet for all eternity.

And when we have seen enough, drank enough, we stop feeding. I lick the residual blood from my lips and taste the salt from the tears streaking down my face. She falls back into my waiting arms, and I wrap her up so tight she must know I’ll never let her go.

“Ophelia.” Alexandros’s voice is a plea as though he’s worried he’s broken her.

She sniffs. “I’m okay. Thank you for showing me.”

He cups her face in his hands and brushes her tear-streaked cheeks with his thumbs, his eyes shining with unshed tears too.

Malachi kisses her shoulder. “You’re incredible, sweet girl.”

“Thank you for sharing that with us, princess.”

She rests her head back on my shoulder. “You’re all a part of me. There’s nothing I won’t share with you.”

Alexandros clears his throat. “I should …” He glances around, looking for the easiest way to extricate himself from the four bodies surrounding him.

“Please don’t go. Stay here with us,” she begs. “Just this once.”

I hold my breath, wishing I had the courage to ask him too, but I doubt it would make a difference to his decision. I can practically see his armor breaking. He closes his eyes and releases a heavy sigh. “Tonight only.”

She lets out a tiny squeak of delight that has me smiling. Even after watching the traumatic events that saw her entry into this world, she still has it in her to find joy in the little things, and that is one of the most incredible things about her. She must have a billion questions racing around her mind, but for once, she doesn’t ask anything. Probably because she doesn’t want to scare him off.

“If I am sleeping in here, little one, then you are sleeping on me or there will not be enough room.”

“As long as you won’t be too uncomfortable,” she says meekly.

He arches an eyebrow. “How could I possibly be uncomfortable with you lying on me?”

She takes a deep breath, and I press my lips against her ear. “If you make a comment about being too heavy, Cupcake, you’re going to be punished severely.”

Alexandros licks his lips and nods his agreement.

“Okay then,” she says.

I let her go and roll back into my spot. He lies down, shuffling her so she’s lying on his chest. We lie in the dark, all of us exhausted but unable to sleep. Perhaps we’re simply unwilling to close our eyes on this precious time together.

Ophelia breaks the thick silence in the room. “Now that you know Nazeel is no threat, can I go back to Silver Vale?”

That silence is replaced by tension. “I never said she was no threat,” Alexandros growls.

Ophelia rests her chin on her hands so she’s staring down into his face. “But she saved me when I was a baby. She’s the one who’s responsible for me being here, right?”

“I also never said that,” he snaps.

“No, you didn’t. But it makes sense. Who else could it have been? It for sure wasn’t my parents who put that trust together, was it?”

Alexandros is quiet, and I smile in the darkness. The cupcake is far too smart for our own good. “I believe it was her, yes,” he finally answers.

“So I can go back to Silver Vale and see Cadence?” she asks hopefully.

I roll onto my side to watch the show. He never yields to anyone about anything, but I can practically hear him wrestling with himself about this. “I do not trust Enora.”

Ophelia sighs. “I think you do, but you’re just really mad at her right now so you’re refusing to admit that.”

I press my lips together and stifle a snicker, reveling in the uncomfortable silence that follows.

“Ophelia Hart.” His menacing tone sends a shiver down my spine, but in the best possible way. “One day, I am going to give you the spanking you deserve.”

Oh, yes please. For the love of all the demons on hell and earth, spank her fine ass.

She sighs, resting her head on his chest once more. “But I can go to Silver Vale, right?”

He grunts.

“I’ll take that as a yes. Thank you, sir.”

He smacks her ass. “Go to sleep.”

She turns her head my way and smiles. Smiling back, I rest my hand on her back and draw circles on her skin.

I like the way you do that. It makes me sleepy. We’re the only two here, and it totally blows my mind that she’s able to block people out of my head while talking to me. Even after all the practice I’ve done with her and the professor, I still can’t block him out on my own.

Are you okay after what you saw?

Malachi breathes softly and steadily behind me, and I smile at the familiar sounds of him sleeping.

Yeah. I know it was awful, but I actually feel better, you know? Like I finally know where I came from.

I go on lazily tracing a circular pattern on her skin. I can understand that.

Her eyes flutter closed. Will you always do this for me, Xavier?

Always, Cupcake.

A few seconds later, she drifts off to sleep too. Sparks of electricity seem to engulf my hand when Alexandros strokes her skin and his fingers brush mine. I know he must have felt my reaction, but it doesn’t cause him to move his hand. He leaves it next to mine, our fingertips resting next to each other. And that’s how I fall asleep—touching her and him and wishing this could be how I fall asleep every night.