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“That wolf-thing bit me, and I tried to heal the bite, but there’s still throbbing—”

“You won’t be able to heal a bite like that.”

“Why not?”

“Because that’s the way this will go.”

“But then, a man just spoke in my head—”

“I’m sure he did.”

“He said he’s coming.”

“He sure is. Our blood will make a blind man see and a king throw down his crown and fall to his knees just for one drop.” Then, she hung up.

Just like fucking that.

Goddamn it.

I pulled the phone away and glared. “I need your help!”

Even more from that hanging up that told me that she knew something and she didn’t plan on letting me know.

She’s still playing chess.

I put the phone down, rushed to the bedroom, crouched beside my open suitcase, and pulled out a thick stick of white chalk. “I’ll protect the space first and then get into defensive mode. Get my gun out. Bless the bullets. I don’t know who the fuck he is, but he’s going to regret coming for me.”

The bite pulsed again.

Heat rolled from my palm to my shoulder. My temperature had risen so much that sweat dampened the back of my neck.

My body is fucking changing because of this bite.

Frowning, I unbuttoned the top of my blouse. Cool air touched my chest, yet the black heart continued burning. My body felt as if it were preparing itself for something or someone.

That frightened me more than the man’s voice.

Think.

I rose and scanned the space. Next, I dragged the bed back so that it was in the center of the room. I also moved anything that could be in the way.

She mentioned the power of our blood after I told her about the creature biting me, so clearly the creature and the man are connected.

That wasn’t exactly big news. I’d already figured that out. Either the man was the creature like some kind of shapeshifter, or the creature belonged to him and the bite was how he could find me.

But what did he want to do?

I crouched by the foot of the bed, placed the chalk’s tip onto the floor, and walked the chalk around the bed in a slow, unbroken arc, keeping the tip pressed hard against the floor.

The chalk squeaked against the wood floor and left a bright, hungry line behind me. This line had to close on itself. One gap and everything I laid down would leak out like water through a cracked bowl.

The motherfucker sounded all lusty and shit too when he was in my head? Like his dick was hard as hell.

Against my will, my body shivered in desire.

No. Nope. Not today. My body doesn't get a vote in this.

I cleared my throat, closed the circle, and began to make sure it was perfect.