Chapter 155

There was nothing but anger in his eyes. I was struck silent and frozen in place. Never had I imagined that Candido would really look at me like that. I thought back to Raven’s warning and shuddered. She’d been right about how he would react, but maybe… Maybe if I’d told him when I found out, he wouldn’t be so angry with me.

He still smelled so good. I still wanted to… I still wanted to bit him, to drink from him and—I shuddered and turned away from him, closing my eyes and trying to resist, but it was so hard.

“I… I wanted to tell you—”

“But you didn’t,” Candido said. “Were you ever going to tell me? Hm? Before we were mated? Or was I just going to find out when you caved and bit me one day?”

I shook my head and met his gaze. “I… Raven—”

“Who the hell is that?”

“My sister.”

He scoffed. “Is there anything I know about you that’s true?”

“Of course, there is!” I cried. “I only found out recently, and so much has happened, I just—I just didn’t want you to hate me. I love you, isn’t that enough for you to trust me?”

I looked over at him, but there was no softness in his gaze for me.

He narrowed his eyes. “… How am I supposed to trust that when you’re completely unchained and I couldn’t fight you even if I tried.”

“I’m sorry!” I cried. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I just–I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to tell you.”

Candido said nothing, staring at me. My chest tightened. I thought back to that incomplete mark and my other birthday that seemed to be so far away. Maybe it would never come. Maybe he would reject me before I could even manage to get my completed mark. Could he do that? I crossed the room and dropped to my knees beside him. I reached for him, but I couldn’t feel him no matter how hard I tried. He didn’t flinch. His gaze was defiant and proud. His face was so stern. He’d never looked at me like that. I’d rather him yell at me than stare at me with such an empty expression.

He hated me. I knew it. I didn’t know how I was supposed to cry anymore. I didn’t know what to do but sob as tears streamed down my face. I tasted the coppery taste of blood on my tongue and sobbed harder as I remembered the flashes of movement, the fury of me tearing through those creatures and draining them. I had drunk so much yet, I still… I still wanted.

I hissed, dropping my head, unable to stop myself. As soon as my tongue touched the blood at his wrist, I knew I was doomed.

“Get off of me!” Candido shoved me away, yanking his arm away from me as I rocked back.

He glared at me. “I’ll be damned if I let a vampire feed off of me.”

“Candido…” My jaw trembled. “I’m sorry. I just… I’m hungry. I don’t know what to do… I…”

I was half vampire. Maybe full vampire now. I didn’t know how it worked. What could I expect him to do but hate me? All that fear about whether he knew and how he’d react when he found out welled up in me. I wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that I was this thing he couldn’t love because vampires had murdered his family. It wasn’t fair that he would hate me just because of what I was.

“I didn’t murder your family,” I said softly.

“No,” he said. “You’re just related to the people who did.”

“But—But it’s more complicated than that. They—” I broke off, realizing that even if I told him what I had been told, even though I didn’t believe it completely, it would only make things worse.

“They never contacted me before,” I said. “I spent my entire life in Wolf Fang until I ran away. Until I met you. You can’t think that all of this has just been… a tactic to spy on you!”

“… why did you lie?”

I frowned. “What?”

“That night… The night I found you on the road. You lied to me about your age.” He said. “You had to have known that it would be the work of nothing for me to find out the truth, so why lie?”

My jaw trembled. “I… I just… I was scared, and I was…”

My shoulders slumped. “I didn’t have anything else to offer you to protect me. I just thought that if—”

He scoffed. “You thought that if you slept with me, I’d have more reason to protect you? A virgin, vampire spy? What the hell good could you have done for me?”

My jaw trembled. “I have done so much! Don’t forget that I’m Pandora.”

He shook his head. “You’ve never been in the field.”

“That’s not—”

“You’ve never volunteered. You’re a glorified researcher if the truth be told, I’ve read your file.” He shook his head. “Gathering information about Moon Shadow, about my territory and feeding it to them and avoiding even having to act like you were against them”

I set my jaw. “They already had all the information! And Ian isn’t in league with Damian and all the others.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Others? You’ve met the other vampire princes? You’re in deep enough to know their agenda? The faction lines?”

My stomach turned. “I… only know what they told me.”

“You’re not even high enough in ranks to be a useful hostage. No wonder he batted you around like that.”

I sniffled. “You’re being really mean.”

“Mean?” He hissed. “I’m shackled with wolfsbane and silver in a room with a vampire who is apparently not affected by silver who I thought might be my mate—”

“I am your mate!” I screamed at him. “Don’t you ever think differently!”

His eyes narrowed. “Vampires don’t have mates.”

I turned from him. His words cut through me like a knife highlighting every fear I’d had about all of this. I couldn’t stay in this room with him any longer. I tried to open the door, but it would open.

“It won’t open,” Candid said.

I didn’t answer, trying the door and then the windows. They weren’t made of glass but of some sort of thick crystal that wouldn’t break, no matter how hard I punched it. Light rippled over the surface every time I slammed my fist into it. The metal that held it in place seemed to sing and the brick lightened.

I went back to the door. I had to get out of here. I didn’t want to even think of Candido hating me. I didn’t want to be tempted by the scent of his blood either. I put my foot beside it and pulled. The door didn’t even creak. I slammed my shoulder into it, grateful that spikes didn’t leap out of it the way they had from the cell door, but even with the increased strength I had, the door didn’t move.

“I know you can hear me!” I yelled, looking up. “Let me out! Haven’t you tortured me enough?”

No one answered, not that I really expected them to. They were probably taking bets or simply just watching and being amused. I could almost hear Ian laughing at me.

Isn’t this what you wanted? To be reunited with your precious Alpha King?

“I’m going to kill you for what you’ve done to me!” I yelled again, my voice echoing as I started to beat on the door. “Do you hear me? I’m going to kill you!”

“The vampire who put me in here said that you wouldn’t be able to leave without killing me.”

I stiffened and looked at him. “What?”

Candido looked at her. “Tall enough, blonde—a real jerk.”

I scowled and slammed my fist on the door. “I’m done with your stupid tricks! Let me out!”

I beat at the door until my hands went numb. I shrieked and rammed my shoulder into the door before crossing the room in search of furniture that would help. The chairs broke as I tried to break through the stone.

I bent a coat hanger out of shape until it snapped against the door and went flying across the room, narrowly missing Candido. He seemed unphased, watching me, but I couldn’t meet his gaze.

“I’m not going to kill him,” I said. “I’m not going to let you make me do that! Not after all of this! Not ever! I love him. You’re going to have to—”

Something surged through me. A light, a darkness, some sort of power that I could barely breathe through as if I had been struck by lightning. Something was screeching in my ears and holding me against the door.

Then, I was flying across the room and everything went dark.