Kingly Bitten by Lexi C. Foss

They found Cam,I thought, my heart racing in my chest.

When Mira had given me the news, I’d stopped breathing. Then I’d immediately followed her to the waiting jet. It hadn’t occurred to me to ask about Luka and the others, my mind so focused on finding Cam that he’d been all I could see or think about.

However, now that I’d been on this jet for several hours, my instincts were churning with unease.

Something isn’t right. I couldn’t define it, but when I’d asked Mira about Luka, she’d said he was busy cleaning up the mess at Bunker 37 and that we were supposed to meet Jace and Darius with Cam.

An easy enough solution.

Which was entirely the problem.

If Jace had found Cam, he would have called me. Darius, too.

The protocols were all broken due to Ryder’s recent announcement regarding Lilith’s death. We no longer needed to hide.

So why didn’t they call me?I wondered, my gaze going to the window as the jet continued to descend.

Mira had told me they’d found him under the Conventus. Just thinking about the catacombs beneath Rome gave me chills. All those cold, sleeping immortals. Crypts. Skulls. Former ritual sites.

I’d not lived through the creation of that tomb.

But Cam had.

And I’d seen the memories of it in his mind.

There were age-old rituals that kept the ancients from rising before they were ready. However, their spirits were very much alive down there. Cam had once called it a protective measure meant to deter humans. I’d told him it worked because just visiting the Vatican had made me feel cold.

Why can’t I feel you? I wondered, thinking at Cam. Why are you still blocking me?

I knew he’d done it originally to protect me. But if he was with Jace and Darius now, then that meant he was okay and should be willing to talk to me.

Yet I couldn’t sense him at all.

It was as though he’d erected a barricade between our minds, cutting me off from the other half of my soul.

“You’re sure he’s okay?” I asked Mira for the hundredth time.

“Positive,” she replied, her focus on the tablet in her hands.

I tapped my fingers against my armrest, the sense of unease remaining. Maybe it was because I hadn’t seen or heard from Cam in over a hundred years.

The agony of being cut off had dulled over the last century, but my heart continued to ache. I’d dreamt of this moment so many times, of finding Cam and reigniting our bond.

Nothing about this felt right.

Because I can’t sense you, I decided.

Maybe we needed to touch each other again to rekindle the link?

I frowned. That can’t be right. I should be able to feel our connection, but I can’t. Why?

My pulse continued to race, something I hoped Mira took as excitement. For some reason, my instincts told me not to confide in her. Which was also strange. I’d known her since before the revolution. But something about her demeanor now struck me as off.

Or this was all just in my head.

Maybe I’m nervous, I thought. Considering how I’d felt about Cam in the beginning, nervousness would be an appropriate response. He’d been this enigma of a male with his long, dark hair and striking blue eyes.

I’d thought he was a god.

And he sort of was, with his ancient history and vampiric abilities.

Butterflies ignited in my belly as I recalled our first meeting. It’d been in the dark, but his eyes had practically glowed beneath the moonlight. And he’d escorted me home, saying the streets were too dangerous for a young girl like me to be wandering alone.

He hadn’t been wrong.

He’d been a predator lurking in the night, looking for a drink. And he hadn’t been alone, either.

Goose bumps pebbled down my arms at the recollection of how captivated I’d been by his charm and beauty. He hadn’t bitten me. Hadn’t even touched me. Just protected me, something he’d continued to do for weeks before making a move.

His kiss had set my blood on fire.

His touch, too.

And I’d never strayed from him ever since.

Over a thousand years of love and adoration.

He’d promised me forever and I’d accepted.

Then the revolution had happened.

One hundred and seventeen years of torment. One hundred and seventeen years of perpetual loneliness. One hundred and seventeen years of missing him.

But he’s alive. That, I could feel. I just couldn’t sense him.

My heart remained lodged in my throat as the jet finally touched the ground. The feeling didn’t abate as Mira stood, her stiletto heels digging into the carpet as she smoothed out her pencil skirt. I’d worn jeans and a sweater, preferring comfort over fashion. But now I wondered if I should have dressed for the occasion.

This is Cam, I reminded myself. He doesn’t need to be impressed. He just needs me.

I glanced out the window, wondering if I could see him. But the airfield was vacant on my side.

Mira walked to the door, her steps certain.

I tried to copy her, but I couldn’t shake the sense of wrongness inside me. It grew with every movement, the sense of dread a weight in my mind that refused to wane.

The early morning air didn’t help when we exited.

Neither did the figures looming in the shadows in the distance.

Why isn’t Cam right here waiting for me?I wondered, still following Mira.

All the reunions in my head did not measure up to this moment. I’d expected tears. Hugs. Kisses. Love.

None of that happened.

My steps began to slow, confusion holding my breath captive.

Then one of the figures moved forward, stepping directly beneath the light above.

And my heart stopped.

Cam.

I started forward again, picking up speed, my mind rejoicing at the sight of my mate. Too long I’d been without his strength. Too long I’d been without his touch. Too long I’d been without his bite.

“Cam,” I breathed, running now.

But he didn’t open his arms for me.

He didn’t even smile.

Just stared at me through cold blue eyes, the color reminding me of hard sapphires. They glittered in the early light. His cheekbones appeared carved from stone. His dark hair had been cut shorter. Stubble replaced his usual beard.

However, it was his stance that confirmed something was truly wrong here.

His legs were braced, his hands tucked behind his back, his shoulders holding an arrogant line.

There was nothing friendly about him. Nothing familiar. Nothing… right.

I slowed as I reached him, searching his expression for answers. While all he did was stare back at me with mild annoyance lurking in his gaze. “Is she always this disrespectful?” he demanded.

My brow furrowed. “What?”

“Yes,” Mira replied, having joined us. “But you have to remember that she’s from a time when humans had rights. Those are hard habits to break.”

I frowned at her. “What are you talking about?”

“See?” she prompted.

“Yes. Unfortunately, I do.” He sounded disgusted, his cultured tones flatter than I’d ever heard them.

“Cam,” I whispered, not understanding any of this. Not understanding him. It was definitely my Cam, but it wasn’t at the same time. I couldn’t hear him. I couldn’t feel him. And I’d never had him look at me in a such a way, as though he couldn’t stand the thought of touching me.

“Why do I keep her?” he asked, again talking to Mira and not to me.

“You like the way she tastes,” Mira replied. “And you enjoy the challenge.”

He grunted. “Sometimes I question my own sanity.”

“What the hell is going on?” I demanded, looking between him and Mira, then noting the men behind Cam. “What’s wrong with you?”

“How do I shut her up?” Cam asked.

“Typically with your teeth.” Even Mira sounded wrong, like she didn’t have a care in the world. Which wasn’t the female I knew at all.

Have I fallen into another universe? A different realm? Is this just a bad dream?

“Hmm, all right,” Cam hummed, his palm snagging my nape. “I am hungry.”

“Cam!” I cried out, trying to free myself from his hold.

“Quiet,” he snapped back.

My lips parted on a sound that turned into a scream as his fangs sank into my throat.

There was nothing gentle about this.

Just a vampire indulging his inner beast.

No endorphins. Only pain.

I clawed at his shoulders, trying to force him to see reason while shrieking at him through our bond. What are you doing? Why are you doing this? Cam! Stop!

He didn’t reply.

Because he couldn’t hear me.

I was blocked from his mind.

When I tried to speak out loud, he used his free hand to cover my mouth as his feeding turned violent. There was no care or finesse. No sweet words. No soothing touch. Just a savage mouth taking far too much from my veins.

You’re… you’re… you’re killing me…I told him, stunned. Why, Cam? What’s happening? Talk to me!

Tears streaked down my cheeks, my sight blinking in and out between strange dots of black and white.

I… I’d never died before.

I knew our link would bring me back.

But I didn’t understand.

He’d never bitten me like this. Had never before withheld the endorphins.

This was some sort of wicked punishment, one I couldn’t define.

“Wh-why?” I mumbled behind his hand, my voice barely existent.

“Because that’s your purpose,” Mira told me, her words underlined with a darkness I didn’t recognize.

And I didn’t have the energy to question her again. Or really to think.

My world was fading.

My consciousness blinking in and out while Cam continued to feed.

Please,I begged. Please… let this be… a nightmare.

But deep down, I knew this was real.

I could feel it in the way Cam held me.

The way he continued to drink even as my vision went black.

Something had gone very wrong.

My Cam would never…

I shivered, my body chilling to impossible depths.

I barely felt his fangs now.

But my mind remembered.

My last breath… burned… my mind… fading… all because of… my lover’s… cruel… bite.

The Blood Alliance Series Continues with Cruelly Bitten