Blood Price

Cass bolted, fear driving her deeper into the darkened forest.

Her legs were on fire as they carried her through the woods, her breath coming in short, panicked bursts. The trees blurred together, black shapes twisting in the moonlight. Branches whipped her face, her feet pounding against the damp earth. 

She had no idea what she was running from. All she knew was that she had to keep going, had to get away. Every instinct in her body screamed danger. It told her that, if she paused for even a second, she would die.

She ducked under a tree branch and kept going, but no matter how fast she ran, the darkness behind her seemed to close in, suffocating, relentless. She glanced over her shoulder, a frantic look, but she couldn't see anything— just shadows creeping through the trees, silent and hungry.

A shiver ran down her spine, a sense of inevitability crawling under her skin. She was running, running, running, but she would never escape.

And then she stopped.

In front of her, the trees parted, revealing a figure standing in the clearing ahead. The Vorvolak.

Its yellow eyes gleamed, glowing in the dark like a predator, its body of smoke and shadows shifted in and out of focus, distorting her vision. Cass tried to move, tried to scream, but she was frozen in place, trapped by the sheer terror radiating from the creature. It felt like she was sinking into the ground, her body becoming heavy, useless.

The Vorvolak raised a clawed hand, moving slowly, deliberately, like it had all the time in the world to end her.

Cass's breath caught in her throat, her heart thundering in her chest. She braced for the impact, but before it could strike, someone stepped in front of her.

Jamee.

He stood there, his back to her, shielding her from the Vorvolak. She watched as a dark crimson stain appeared on his white shirt, spreading across his abdomen slowly. His body trembled as he turned his head to look at her over his shoulder, his face pale, his lips trembling as blood trickled down his chin.

"You made me this," Jamee rasped, his voice cracking with pain and betrayal. His eyes burned into hers accusingly, full of hurt, as the blood continued to pour from the wound.

Cass tried to speak, tried to explain, but the words wouldn't come. Her mouth moved, but no sound came out. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't do anything but watch as Jamee crumpled to the ground, his body hitting the forest floor with a sickening thud.

The Vorvolak's cry echoed through the woods, a cold, hollow sound that made her stomach twist. She wanted to scream, wanted to run, but all she could do was stare at Jamee's lifeless form, the blood pooling around him, soaking into the earth.

"You did this to me," his voice echoed again, fainter this time, as his eyes closed and the world around her began to spin—

Cass jolted awake, her heart slamming against her ribs, the sound of heavy breathing filling the room. For a split second, she didn't know where she was, the nightmare clinging to her like a second skin. But then she saw him—Jamee—thrashing violently on the bed beside her, his face twisted in pain, his body convulsing uncontrollably. His hands fisted the sheets, veins bulging beneath his pale skin. His mouth opened in a silent scream, and his back arched violently, like his entire body was being torn apart from the inside. 

"Jamee!" Cass was on her feet before she could think, rushing to his side. She grabbed his hand, squeezing it tight, but he didn't respond. His eyes were screwed shut, his face contorted in agony.

Her mind raced—what was happening? Was he dying? Again?

A burst of movement at the doorway made her whirl around. Uriel stormed in, his usual composed expression now tense, his eyes darting to Jamee's writhing form. "Shit," he muttered under his breath, already pulling out his phone. 

"What's happening?" Cass demanded, panic rising in her chest as she gripped Jamee's hand tighter. "Why is he—?"

"His body's attempting to flush out my venom," Uriel snapped, already typing out a message on his phone. His voice was clipped, but Cass could hear the urgency in it. "It's violent. I'd thought he'd be able to handle it but he is only human after all."

"He's in pain!" Cass cried, the guilt gnawing at her insides. 

"That's to be expected!" Uriel snapped, making her flinch. "I wouldn't want to be him right now.

His eyes flicked up to meet hers, briefly, before returning to the phone. "He needs blood, now. His body's starving for it. I'm calling one of my men to bring some blood bags from the estate. He'll be here in—"

But Cass wasn't listening anymore. Her pulse roared in her ears, and all she could focus on was the way Jamee's body bucked beneath her hands. His skin had taken on a sickly gray tint, and she could feel his pulse weakening. He didn't have time to wait. 

Without thinking, she grabbed a ring from the nightstand, it was the same one Jamee wore on his thumb at all times, the one with the retractable pin-blade. She slashed it across the palm of her hand. The pain registered dimly, an afterthought compared to the panic coursing through her.

"Cass, what are you—?"

She pressed her bleeding hand to Jamee's mouth, the blood dripping onto his pale lips. As her blood flowed, she couldn't shake the thought that this— her blood, —was the least she could give him. After all, it was her decisions that had brought him to the edge of death. If he needed blood to survive, then he would have hers, until there was nothing left to give.

Jamee's body jerked at the first taste, his eyes snapping open. For a moment, they were wild, unfocused, but then his mouth latched onto her palm with a sudden ferocity.

Cass gasped as Jamee's lips sealed around the wound, his tongue darting over the cut to lap at the blood. He drank greedily, the tension in his body slowly ebbing away as her blood filled his system. His breathing calmed, his muscles relaxed, and after a few moments, he fell back into the bed, his grip on her hand slackening as he drifted into a death-like sleep once more.

The room was silent except for the sound of Cass's ragged breathing. Her hand still throbbed where she had cut it, but the pain was dull, drowned out by the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

She barely registered Uriel moving until he was right next to her. His fingers wrapped around her wrist, pulling her bleeding hand away from Jamee's mouth. "What the hell were you thinking?" he demanded, his voice low and harsh.

Cass's eyes snapped to his, her heart still racing. "I wasn't thinking," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "It's my fault he's like this. The least I can do is—"

Uriel's grip tightened on her wrist, cutting her off. His gaze bore into hers, hard and unrelenting, as he brought her hand up to his mouth. For a moment, she thought he was going to bite her, but instead, his tongue darted out, licking the remaining blood from her palm with slow, deliberate strokes.

Cass's breath hitched in her throat, a strange shiver running down her spine. Uriel's eyes never left hers as he cleaned the wound, his lips brushing against her skin with every pass of his tongue.

When he finally pulled back, his eyes lingered on the wound as if there was still more to take. He didn't release her wrist—his thumb brushing back and forth against the cut in an almost tender motion. Then, with a slow pull, he tugged her closer, his breath warm against her ear. "When I came to this town," he whispered, his voice low and dangerous, "I thought I would be bored. I thought Havenfield would be another tiresome little town, full of predictable people with predictable lives."

Cass's heart pounded in her chest as his hand slid up her arm, pulling her even closer until there was barely any space left between them.

"But you," Uriel continued, his breath hot against her neck, "you're one taboo after another. Always crossing lines, always defying expectations."

Cass swallowed hard, her pulse quickening. There was something dark in his tone, something that sent a thrill of fear and excitement coursing through her veins. His words, his touch—it was like he was playing with fire, daring her to pull away, knowing she wouldn't.

But she couldn't focus on that. Not now. She had bigger things to worry about. 

She met his gaze, her voice barely more than a whisper. "At least one of us is having fun," she said bitterly. "Because my life... doesn't feel like mine anymore."

Uriel's eyes softened for a moment, and his hand dropped away from her arm. For a brief second, she thought she saw something like regret flicker across his face, but it was gone before she could be sure.

He stepped back, his voice returning to its usual calm tone. "I'll send someone to show you to your room," he said. "Get some sleep, Cassandra. You'll need it."

But Cass knew she wouldn't sleep. Not tonight. Not after everything that had happened. Her life was spinning out of control, and she had no idea how to stop it.

As Uriel left the room, the door closing softly behind him, Cass looked down at Jamee's sleeping form, her hand still tingling where Uriel had touched it. She pressed her palm to Jamee's chest, feeling the hollow stillness beneath his skin.

In the silence, her own heartbeat felt like a sin.