I wove through the forest, feeling drunk, unable to think clearly, unable to see anything but blurred colors and shapes in front of me. The scent of charred wood and soot, burned skin and blood filled my nose.
I teetered and slammed a hand out, my palm connecting with the trunk of a tree. My claws dug into the bark.
Damn, it was hot and bright, and I was so fucking thirsty.
The godforsaken, fucking sun.
I tipped my head back. The trees were not thick enough to cover that blasted ball of light that was draining me from the inside out. I flipped off the sun, then groaned as I felt like literal shit, my energy being drained from me exponentially fast.
I needed shelter until the sun set, or I’d collapse and any piece of shit could take me out. I also needed a warm body to drain dry.
Fuck, I’m thirsty.
How long had I been out here, roaming around this goddamn forest in the middle of nowhere, fucking starving? Days. It had to have been days, or at least it felt like it.
Gods, I was hungry, my throat dry, the pain in my stomach like a thousand needles stabbing me over and over again. I was running on fumes at this point, with any reserve of strength I had long gone after the fight. It didn’t matter I’d gorged myself on Assembly human blood. The sun was taking any strength I had on reserve and leaching it off me.
I was going to die out here. I was pretty fucking sure of it. But gods, I’d been alive a long time, and death, especially right now, seemed pretty damn welcoming.
I felt sweat pour from my hairline as I kept stumbling forward, the growls that came from me something I couldn’t stop. My entire body felt like it was on fire, like I was burning alive.
This was surely what fucking hell felt like.
And just when I thought I couldn’t go farther, I collapsed, hands and knees on the ground, body shaking… and so fucking thirsty.
I let myself fall to the side, the wind getting knocked out of me, a slice of sunlight peeking through the treetops.
And then I promptly passed out and welcomed death, because fuck, my time had been a long time coming.
The sound of water dripping and the scent of damp earth was the first thing I was aware of. The second was the fact that it was blessedly fucking cool and dark where I was.
Surely hell wasn’t this pleasant.
Despite the dark, dank interior of wherever I was, I was still too weak, my body feeling like a husk of hunger and pain. I turned my head when I heard shuffling to my right, but even opening my eyes was a chore, and my vision was far too blurry to see anything clearly.
Once my vision adjusted slightly, I could see the flickering of light close by. A fire. A shape, a shadow moved across from me. I bared my fangs, using every ounce of strength I had to try and push my upper body off the ground.
I promptly cursed when my arms gave out from under me. Motherfucker.
I heard a voice. Feminine. But my hearing was so fucked that it was all jumbled.
And then I scented her. It was hard to make out anything aside from the fact that she was female. My mind wasn’t working at full capacity, I was too fucking weak, and all the other surrounding scents clouded too much. But as she got closer, her aroma became stronger.
Hyacinth.
“Calm down,” she said, and I bared my fangs again, holding out a hand to keep her away. I’d never been called a good guy and had killed my fair share in my long years of living, but right now she smelled too perfect for me not to hurt.
Good enough to drain dry.
I clamped my jaw the closer she got, shaking my head and squeezing my eyes tight. I opened and closed my mouth, trying to tell her to stay away, but I couldn’t form a fucking word. I didn’t want to kill her, but I was hungry enough that I would.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” Her voice was soft, placating as if she knew I was working on pure instinct, and she knew I was all but a feral animal cornered.
No, but I’m going to hurt you.
Gods, her smell.
My mouth watered at the very idea of how good she’d taste, how thick and rich her blood would be as it covered my tongue and slid down the back of my throat. My stomach cramped painfully, this stinging sensation covering my arms and legs, my fingers and toes.
My vision cleared for a fraction, my gaze now latched on to the side of her throat, where I could see her jugular throbbing.
I squeezed my eyes shut and threw my arm over them, the limb feeling like it was filled with lead.