Chapter 2

I was a succubus.

Since I came of age, I had eaten maybe five decent meals in total.

Not because men weren't available. I was just picky.

Suppressants stopped working a while back. Without a proper meal, I went to class starving every day. Then one day, Victor showed up.

"Want to make a deal? You look hungry. And so do I," he said.

Victor was a vampire. Like me, he couldn't stand the taste of most people's blood, so he stayed hungry too.

But there was something about his scent that called to me.

I agreed without a second thought.

Succubus blood wasn't as good as a true-blood contract partner's, but to a vampire? It had a special kick.

The two species often helped each other because of that.

Victor and I struck a deal. I gave him my blood, and he let me feed on his body.

At first, that's all it was. He came when I called, even looked up ways to understand what I needed.

Eventually, we started acting like a couple.

But it didn't last.

During my next heat cycle, Victor flaked.

I'd gotten so used to him that suppressants barely worked anymore. My horns and tail kept popping out, and the heat was burning me alive.

He didn't answer my calls.

Three days later, he finally called back. "Sorry, I was at a work dinner. Got wasted. Are you... okay?"

I'd barely survived the worst of it, weak and wrecked.

Before I could answer, a sugary voice chirped through the speaker.

"Victor, do you like this bracelet?"

"Yeah, it's pretty," Victor replied softly.

"What about this one? I think it'd look so good on you."

There was a flurry of rustling and indistinct sounds on the other end.

Then Victor's breath hit my ear, rushed. "I'm busy right now. If you're okay, I'll hang up."

I wanted to tell him I wasn't okay.

But he'd already hung up.

Things got better for a while. He came back, apologized, drank from me like he'd been starving.

I thought we were okay.

But then my next heat hit, and he was gone again. He used different excuses every time.

Either his lab needed him, or a friend was sick.

Eventually, he just said it. "Jenny doesn't like me smelling like other women. Can you handle your needs yourself? Or at least not so often?"

But I'd been hungry for a month.

And when I caught that faint bond-scent on him, I understood.

He'd found his true-blood contract partner.

So what was I, then?

Yesterday, my heat hit hard. I begged him to help.

He turned his back and walked out. Jenny had been in a minor car accident, he said. She was scared, and he couldn't leave her alone.

So he left me alone instead.

My body started shutting down. Hair went dull. Skin lost its glow. I curled up on the carpet, fading fast.

And that's when Ryan's scent drifted through the wall.

He opened the door. "Want food? Come in. Want me? That's gonna cost extra."

I snapped back to reality and realized what I'd done.

I let go of his shoulder. There were teeth marks.

"Sorry. I'm just really hungry," I said.

Ryan pressed a finger to my forehead, pushing me back. Then he frowned. "You're burning up."

He felt my forehead and got it. "Ah. Fever."

He helped me to the couch and grabbed a thermometer.

When he saw the reading, his eyes went wide in shock.

"107 Fahrenheit?" he blurted out.

A second later, I was covered in cooling patches.

I looked up at him with sad eyes. "Not working."

"I'll take you to the hospital," Ryan said.

"No. Only you can help."

Ryan frowned. "I'm not a doctor."

After Victor, I was too scared to be direct about what I was.

So I tried something else. "Do you know what skin hunger is?"

A while later, I was leaning against Ryan's chest, arms wrapped around his waist.

He sat rigid, staring straight ahead. "You sure this helps?"

No. It made things worse. His body was so warm, I felt even hotter.

But I just nodded. I didn't want to scare him off.

Subtitles lit up.

[Come on, girl, you know what you're doing. Time to turn up the heat.]

[Such a liar. His ears are out, and he's acting like he's above it all.]

[Real predators always act like prey. Who am I talking about? You know.]

[Just go for it! The guy's tail is literally wagging behind his back.]

I looked up. Two black wolf ears were standing straight up on top of his head.

He was sitting there like nothing was wrong.

They looked so fluffy. I had to touch them.

Before I could stop myself, my hand was already there.

Ryan's breath hitched. "Uh... Don't!"

His eyes snapped to gold, his voice dropping in warning. "Oh, sorry. My bad."

I got a little too bold there.

But they felt so good. I squeezed them a little.

"Nn..." He made a sound, his ears twitching under my fingers. "Don't... do that."

"Are you a werewolf?" I asked.

Something flickered across his face. He shoved me away and stood up.

"Where are you going?" I called after him.

No answer. He was heading for the bedroom.

"Is it because I asked if you're a werewolf? Sorry if I offended you," I said. "I just think it's... cute."

He stopped.

His tail wagged a little. Then dropped. Then wagged again, like he couldn't help it.

I walked up and grabbed the tip of his tail.

He grabbed my wrist fast. "Do you even know what touching a werewolf's tail means?"

"What?"

I didn't know. I just knew it felt rough but smooth, and I wanted more.

He swallowed hard. "Don't... I'll lose control."

"But I'm hungry."

I let go of the tail and wrapped my arms around him from behind.

My willpower was shot.

He sighed. Then he turned and pulled me into his arms. "Hope you won't regret this."