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It see into an abyss that didn’t seeround, inches froh her, shock caused her heart to skip a beat Her entire body stiffened against the pain that exploded through her The ain; he had tried to seize her once ers had swung further down His nails tore into her, opening her flesh, spilling her blood as they sliced deep into her neck

She hit the ground, landing painfully upon her hip as she rolled away Disbelief and terror filled her as she fumbled numbly at the vicious wound in her throat Blood pooled over her fingers, it coursed swiftly down her arround Devon stopped in his charge at the monster, his eyes widened as he skidded to a halt near her Astonishazed at her for a longfrom him

And then, to her complete horror, the beautiful eer blazed to fierce life within their bright depths

CHAPTER 22

Devon froze, terror filling hiround in a tumbled heap Her hand shot up in a vain attempt to staunch the flow of blood that poured freely from the horrendous wound in her neck It was a et help, she would die

Then, the scent of her blood hit hieha aside all worry and panic over her safety as hunger and bloodlust burst through him The scent of her blood in the open air was thehe had ever co from her as blood spilled uselessly, and wastefully, onto the forest floor It was a temptation and treasure unlike any he had ever come across

And there was so very much power in her; it per rivulets across her crearew heavier and sharper as the driving urge to bite deep, draining her of all of that wonderful blood, seized hold of hi a pounding frenzy inside of him He knew exactly what she was now, knew the pleasure that her blood would give hiive to hi, and she was more than human

She was so wonderfullythan a Hunter

He did not pause to think about the fact that the Hunter line was supposed to be extinct Nor did he pause to wonder how he had not picked up on what she was before All he could think about was savoring every last drop as he drained her dry All he wanted was to ease the firestor the

Her eyes widened in terror as he took another step toward her, his body thruer anticipation of the kill, and the fulfill denied body He could feel the weakening of her body overtaking her; feel the life force draining from her There was no way that he could allow such a waste of power to occur

"Devon," she whispered, anguish and a sad acceptance filled her gaze She closed her eyes, her hand pressed tighter to the gash as she desperately tried to stop thefrom her open vein

"Scrumptious," Julian whispered

Devon turned as Julian ca scent of her blood taking control of hi doith fierce brutality This was Cassie, his Cassie He had sworn to protect her from this evil, sworn to keep her safe no matter what the cost, and here he was about to rip her precious life away frorasped hold of Julian’s shirt, ripping hi across the clearing The thick canopy of a tree shook as Julian bounced off of it Julian rebounded quickly as he launched back to his feet, a fierce snarl escaped hie blasted fro, heedless of the fact that he would have to get through Devon to get to her Julian sla them both back ten feet The sed piece of it scraped down Devon’s back and ripped into his skin

Julian beat and tore at hiet at her Devon seized hold of his throat, holding Julian away froht Julian was lost to the throes of bloodlust, anie His eyes were as red as laser beams, his face twisted into a murderous snarl It was a state that a seasoned va up all control And loss of control could be dangerous When control was lost, a va, and often that hen the hust theood, if they were not strong enough to pull out of it At one point a vampire that was lost would have been destroyed by The Elder’s, but now except for Devon and Julian, The Elder’s had little to do with the rest of the world, and remained locked away But the powerful scent of Cassie’s blood had been too much for Julian to handle Hell, it had almost been too round, puet back to Cassie, and Devon fought to keep hier, frantic, and deadly because of it But Devon was determined to keep her safe, deterht He would not lose her, if he did, he would not be able to endure it With every cell in his body he knew that he would not survive her death, just as he knew that he would destroy everything, and everyone that ever tried to hurt her

Julian drew his legs up under hi all of his vast strength, he shoved Devon forcefully off Devon was thrown into the center of the clearing Pain jarred through his body as he bounced across the hard ground Cassie’s frightened cry echoed loudly in his over sensitized ears