“Mikhail.”
Her bemused expression belied the rush of relief that bathed him in warmth. She kept the door close to her body, blocking his view of the apartment. Why? Who was with her? Mikhail would kill any creature who dared to stand between them.
“Claire? Is everything okay?”
From behind her a quiet voice spoke, and Mikhail pushed against the door to reveal tucked behind Claire a young girl, her face a study in both bravery and fear. The juxtaposition made her appear feral. A tiny fox caught in a snare. Their eyes locked and a spasm of energy snapped out at Mikhail like a whip before drawing back. An extraordinary child born of an extraordinary mother?
The realization that he knew so little about his mate stabbed straight through his heart. Two helpless creatures to protect. Claire must have known that her daughter couldn’t be turned. That was why she’d left him. And where, Mikhail wondered, was the child’s father? Who else would he have to fight to ensure that Claire remained by his side?#p#分页标题#e#
She turned and whispered words of reassurance to the girl before slipping into the hallway and closing the door behind her. For a long moment, they stared at each other. Then Claire let out a strangled sob and threw herself into his arms. “Oh my god, Mikhail. I thought the Sortiari had you. When I saw them dragging you off into that alley…” Her words trailed off, muffled by his shirt.
There was much to discuss and not nearly enough time for everything that needed to be said. “We need to get inside.” He reached for the doorknob behind her and she stiffened.
“No. Not here.” She grabbed his hand and led him down the hallway, entering the apartment two doors down. Mikhail’s confusion increased with every passing moment. Who lived with her daughter in the other apartment? The girl’s father perhaps? Her scent was unlike Claire’s. Another curiosity. At the back of his mind the Collective pressed against his consciousness and he pushed back. He couldn’t afford to lose even an ounce of mental clarity right now.
Mikhail stepped into the apartment and his chest ached at what he saw. The entire living space was no bigger than his foyer. The walls were bare and the paint peeled from the drywall. Her furniture consisted of one battered couch and a threadbare recliner that reeked with layer upon layer of scents as though each had seen the use of multiple owners.
The refrigerator in the dilapidated kitchen made a knocking sound that grated on his ears and the faucet dripped in a steady rhythm. The carpeting was old and ragged, the cheap linoleum covering the floor stained and cut with deep grooves. He finished his assessment to find her gaze cast downward as though ashamed. “Not quite as swanky as your digs, huh?”
Gods, how he’d failed her. He’d thought only to satisfy his own selfish needs without a thought to hers. He would take care of Claire from this moment on. Her and her child. He’d take them both away from this existence. Claire was a queen. His queen. And it was high time she started living like one.
“You left because of the child.” A thought struck him. One that ignited his anger to flare brighter than his concern. “What of the father?”
Claire’s jaw slackened and a crease cut into her forehead. “The father?”
Gods, this was unbearable. Jealousy swelled inside of Mikhail, raging like an inferno at the thought of another man touching her. Burying his face between her silky thighs. Claire belonged to him. “The child’s father!” he railed. Fiery heat licked up his spine, and his fangs throbbed at they punched down from his gums. A haze of red clouded his vision as he advanced on Claire. She fell into retreat, her eyes wide, but he could do nothing to control the jealous rage that seized him. “Is he the reason you left me? Sneaking out of my bed as though what happened between us was a shameful thing you couldn’t wait to escape?” His voice boomed in the quiet apartment and Claire cringed. She stopped only when her back met the far wall and Mikhail crowded her until his nose was mere inches from her upturned face.
“The child’s father is an asshole!” Claire shouted back.
“Tell me, Claire.” Mikhail put his mouth to her ear. Her scent drove him mad and he wanted nothing more than to take her vein and fuck her until she never thought of another male save him ever again. “Why you choose to live in this hovel, work in that pathetic diner, over being with me?”
He’d come here tonight to make amends, to let her know that he wouldn’t pressure her into the transition. To bring her home where he could protect her. But all of his good intentions evaporated under the thought that she would cast him aside for another male. For this life of poverty and hardship. The Collective scratched at his mind, myriad voices that threatened to drown out his own thoughts. He wasn’t thinking straight. Couldn’t. Not when he needed to feed so desperately. Not when she was so close—#p#分页标题#e#