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Her heart fluttered slightly It was a flutter he kneell, he had caused it in many heartbeats moments before he had taken someone’s life from them It was the sound of that flutter that drove hi over her, he pressed her close to hiently as he inhaled her wonderfully delicious scent She did not stiffen against him, did not try to push him away She did not even rehtly toward hi his cheek

He wished that he could believe it was because she wanted hie her, but he knew that she sith to turn away froainst him She would not want to be a part of his world, would not want to belong to the darkness, and he was crazy for even thinking about conde her to such a life She deserved far better than anything he had to offer her

Bracing hie wound Blood pulsed out of the jagged cuts with every beat of her heart His chest clenched at the sight of that blood, his teeth elongated instantly as hunger swah not to sink deep into her throat and taste the delicious blood pouring froh, he bent his mouth to her neck The sweet scent of her assailed hi in the feel of her Her heartbeat picked up slightly, but he sensed no fear in her, only an exciteer and desire even higher Fighting against every one of his ashes in her delicate neck, sealing theent in his saliva

The taste of her blood slammed into him It was the sweetest nectar he had ever savored, so full of strength and vigor It pounded through hihout his veins His teeth throbbed with their desire to be sated, he was desperate for the ulti hi and delicious Never had he experienced so ined one person could possess so much lure He had tasted his fair share of Hunters before, but their blood had been nothing cooldfish’s compared to this Her blood was ambrosia and he wanted more than just a little taste

Then, her hand stroked over his face, the touch as light as a butterflies caress It helped to soothe the shaking, thirsty beast trapped inside of hi her dry in order to satisfy the ragingevery ounce of self restraint and control he had, he pulled slightly back; his eyes clashed with her tear filled, curious ones She srasp Devon could notthrough hi about draining every last drop of life froe of destroying her Struggling to regain control, he unfolded hih the wounds were sealed, she was still a long way from safe A fair aet her somewhere that would help her

"Hold on Cassie," he pleaded fervently "Don’t leavea trail in the dirt and blood that marred her delicate features He wanted to brush theet to close to her again He didn’t kno

And if he snapped, he would keep her as his A fate he was certain that Cassie wanted no part of

He quaked with the reserve it took not to finish it, not to turn her He would not do it; he could not take her youth, her innocence, and her life from her She deserved far better than that Far better than him

Devon drew on every ounce of self restraint he had Slowly, he was able to regain enough control to think straight once oing to die

A branch snapped loudly Devon spun, curling her protectively against hiuard, should not have let his attention wander from Julian, but she had that affect upon hiht when she was around

Now, Julian was back Devon should have known that Julian would not quit, not when he had smelled her blood also, not when he had been in the throes of bloodlust Devon used all of his powers and senses to hunt him down, but he could not find him within the woods He did however pick up on three new minds within the forest

He tensed in preparation as Chris, Melissa, and Luther burst out of the woods, skidding to a halt on the other side of the clearing Their eyes widened in horror, their htly as they took in the limp, bloody form of Cassie in his arms He knehat the three of them were, but he had no fear for his own safety around the compared to him, no threat to his survival

"Cassie!" Melissa cried, rushing toward the hold of her arhter, an involuntary snarl tearing from him He did not knohat had possessed him, he knew that they would not hurt her, but the idea of the her made him want to rip their throats out It made him want to destroy them all

"No!" Melissa’s hand flew to her mouth in shock; horror filled her black eyes as she took in Devon’s twisted features, and deadly teeth

Devon turned away fro frorown to like them over the past feeeks, and he hated the revulsion in their eyes Holding Cassie protectively against hi into the woods in a blur of h the forest, uncertain of where he was going He just knew that he needed to get away froet her so faster than he had ever h the woods; keeping Cassie shielded fros that slapped at hi e speed, but it was also more than that

The few drops of her blood he had tasted had already begun to change hier, far more powerful and faster He didn’t knoas possible that she possessed so much power, and he had not picked up on it He did not kno she could even possess so much power The amount of it was far from normal, even for a Hunter

He did not know the answers to any of the questions swirling through hi he cared about right noas saving her life The only thing he cared about was keeping her with hi as possible

He could only hope that she did not hate him for what he was He could not stop to think about that If he did, he would lose it Devon sped through the woods, uncertain of where he was going, or what he was going to do with her All he could hope was that she survived until he could get her help Cassie curled tighter against hiainst the hollow curve of his neck He did not understand her trust in hiht, but it was a trust that he was going to try and live up to He could only hope that he did not snap and change her before he finally reached his destination