I Bite She Sucks Bloom, Penelope (howl and other poems TXT) 📖

that your bodyguard duties have been mostly completed? Although, I have to say I’m asking for a discount since you let me get kidnapped.”

“And me,” Felix said.

Riggs chuckled. “A self-respecting werewolf shouldn’t have been allowed to be taken captive alive, Felix. Did you bend over before, or after they took you?”

“They surprised me,” he said. “Fuckers came out of the shadows and restrained me. Wasn’t a thing I could do.”

“Speaking of werewolves without any self respect,” Riggs said.

Fang came jogging toward us and managed to sneak a hug from Riggs before Riggs could stop him. “I knew you’d rescue me.”

Riggs groaned, shoving him out of the hug. “I rescued the others. Your rescue was an unfortunate side effect of my efforts.”

Fang grinned. “You know I like it when you play hard to get. Anyway, I got so much good shit for the blog from all of this.”

“Blog?” Felix asked.

“Trade secret,” Fang said with a wink.

“He writes werewolf fan fiction under a pseudonym online. He told me when he was drunk one night,” Riggs said.

“Bro,” Felix said, looking hurt.

Riggs shrugged. “Last weeks’ post was pretty good though. I’ve got to admit.”

Fang clapped a hand to his mouth like a maiden in shock. “You read my blog?”

Riggs folded his arms. “Tell a soul and you’re dead.”

Fang crossed his heart with his fingertip, then walked off, fist pumping to himself.

“Where is everyone going?” I asked.

A minute ago, the graveyard had been busy with activity as the Silverback pack was regrouping and mingling with the rebels. But now there were only a handful of others remaining. I’d felt like we were safe, but seeing so few people around reminded me how close we still were to whatever forces had clashed at Westwick.

“Getting the hell home,” Riggs said. “Come on.” He went and got Kyla, who was talking with a rebel vampire, and ushered her into the truck with us. Maisey and Felix hopped in the bed of the truck with Gravy Boat, who was showing obscene levels of affection to Maisey at the moment. The hairless little bastard liked to pretend he didn’t care if we lived or died, but he was showing his true colors right now.

“To Blackridge?” Riggs asked.

I nodded. “For now.”

47

Riggs

I stretched out, groaning as my back popped and the stiffness drained from my legs. I was comfortable between silky sheets with Sylvie’s small, soft form at my side. The windows were blacked out as was standard at Blackridge, but I could sense the sun had set. I took a few minutes to admire Sylvie before I woke her.

Adorably, she’d taken to sleeping on her back with her arms crossed over her chest like she was in a coffin. I wasn’t sure when or why it had started, but it had been a couple weeks now since our encounter at Westwick and she was still doing it.

Vampires. Bizarre fucking creatures. But now I loved one of them, crazy or not.

My feelings for Sylvie had completely re-written that part of my brain. I guessed hearing my sister’s real story had helped somewhat, even if it did confirm my worst suspicions about what they’d done to her. At least my sister hadn’t betrayed us for them on purpose. That helped, I’d realized.

“Syl,” I whispered, running my fingertip down the gentle slope of her nose. It had become something of a routine for us. She wrinkled her nose at me, smiling sleepily and rolling to face me. Her hair cascaded across the pillow, wafting her sweet scent toward me. “The sun set.”

“I can feel it,” she said. She put her small hands on my chest, running her fingers through the hairs there before she squirmed closer and tucked her forehead against me.

I wrapped my arms around her, holding her closer. I found myself thinking of all the things I’d imagined I wanted in my life. Power. Leadership. Success. Money. I’d imagined all the things in my life that would make me happy. They’d always been so complicated. I’d pictured moments where I would look around and realize what kind of throne I’d built for myself.

Then I’d left the Silverbacks and my aspirations had changed. All I wanted was to become someone else. I wanted anonymity. Oblivion.

But I was struck in that moment as my arms were around Sylvie and she wiggled closer, giggling softly. I was struck by how this was what I should’ve been striving for. This moment was it.

For as long as I could remember, I’d felt hollow in more places than one. Everything was just an attempt to fill those holes. I was always stuffing violence and accomplishments into them, thinking it might plug the gaps. But Sylvie had gradually filled them all, one by one. She was what I’d needed all along, and now she was mine. I’d already sworn it to myself a thousand times, but I swore it again.

Nobody. Nothing. No fucking force on this planet was ever going to take her from me. She was mine, and that claim was for life. And in our cases, “for life” might as well mean for eternity.

She arched her neck back so she could see me, wiggling out of my grasp. She tapped my chin, then my temple. “Is wolfie in there?”

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I already felt him stirring. Letting my wolf rise to the surface was as simple as letting go. The trick was not to let go completely. He could have some control, but not all of it. I felt my skin start to radiate heat as he rose to the surface and knew my eyes would be flashing yellow.

Having him at the front of my mind felt like being power drunk. The things I wanted didn’t seem to have any barriers anymore. Nothing mattered quite as much as taking what I craved, and Sylvie knew exactly what she was doing.

She met my eye, then bit her lip and arched one eyebrow. When she breathed in, it forced her chest against her pale