Chapter 22

Ren had to think fast. His ears rang as he watched in slow motion as Ashton pulled his hand out of his pocket. The melodic beat of his own heart was wedged in his throat and in both of his ears. His face was flushed, eyes burning just like his fangs were, and not even the cold air could cut through the heat. He was chained to the ground. His limbs were full of cement and just when he needed to react, he lost all ability to do anything.

Then, he was released. It was like he'd been stung up and then the strings had been cut.

He firmly wrapped his left hand around Ashton's right wrist. He kept it steady with all his strength in case Ashton was actually trying to kill Darrien. He expected some resistance, but when he got nothing, he furrowed his brows. He didn't chance looking at Ashton. He already knew that he would see Ashton's red eyes. Ren hadn't forgotten how he'd felt last night when they'd been so close. He was stronger now, but he could still feel the pull inside of him that was calling for more.

"If you don't mind, we have somewhere to be." Ren dragged Ashton away from the building.

Darrien raised both brows. Ren didn't care if it was rude or that it was suspicious. He needed to get Ashton out of there right the fuck now. They were turning the corner again, heading in the opposite direction of his house, when Ashton yanked his arm away.

"I can fucking walk myself," he spat out.

They hadn't made it that far. Darrien could be right behind them. Instead of arguing like Ren wanted to, he kept on marching, hoping that Ashton would follow him.

When he heard heavy footsteps—ones that sounded more like stomps than steps—some tension left his shoulders. He was still anxious, waiting for Darrien to come running after them. That would be when all hell would break loose. Forget Hell Hounds and his mom being witch, Darrien being attacked by Ashton with Ren there would be the quickest way for the both of them to be killed.

The government was bad enough. He didn't want to find out how bad it was now with the Hunter Society back with their hands in the politicians' pockets.

Ren was out of breath, practically running toward the end of the street. He knew this block. It was going to lead them to the Main Street. He stopped, looked around, and ran a hand through his hair. Ashton was staring at him with that stupid frown on his face. The one that meant that he was a split second from storming off.

It was funny how much Ren knew about Ashton even though they hadn't known each other for long. It wasn't because Ashton wore his emotions on his sleeve or that he was an open book. Ren guessed on some level, they were more alike than they were different. However, their differences set them so apart that they could never get along.

Ren hated Ashton Mantel.

He hated everything about him and more.

Ashton let out a frustrated noise. "Who the fuck was that?"

He pointed in the general direction that they'd come from.

Ren tried to ignore him, turning to walk down a gravel road that would keep them away from the busy street.

"Oh, let me guess, he's a vampire sympathizer and he wants to be your friend." He snorted. "Fucking pathetic. Don't tell me you're fucking that lump of meat?"

Ren clenched his hands.

He wasn't going to do it. He wasn't going to do anything. Ashton wanted a reaction. That's all he wanted. He wanted to get under Ren's skin and make him embarrass himself.

The beating of his heart was lost as the heaviness in his chest took over. It was a need. A lust for mayhem and blood. He wanted to turn around and rip Ashton's throat out. The burning inside of him was getting higher and higher.

His vision was blurry. The path in front of him was nothing but a swirl of colors. His feet were steady. The need was taking over, putting him on autopilot.

Ashton laughed. "You're fucking joking right? That's disgusting."

Ren turned around. He caught Ashton off guard. Ashton took a step back, but it was too late.

Ren punched him in the face.

He did it as hard as he could. He heard a crunch under his knuckles, felt the splitting pain that traveled up his wrist and to his shoulder. The scent of blood hit the air. His fangs elongated, his gums ached, and the need inside of him became too much. He was riding on the high. It was dangerous. This feeling inside of him. He was lost to it, almost blacking out, but he was still there to feel everything.

It felt like himself, but it wasn't. It was almost like there were two of him in the same body.

Ashton sputtered. He covered his bloody face as he stumbled back. He almost tripped over the rocks, yet he was able to catch his balance.

He pulled his hand away. His red eyes stared down at his bloody palm.

Ren stared as well.

The scent was strong. Stronger than anything Ren had known. He'd smelled human blood before. He'd smelled his mother's blood before—witch blood. Human blood was savory while his mom's blood had a hint of spice.

This smell—the scent that drove the feeling inside of him wild—was sweet. It was so sweet that it made his back molars ache in anticipation. He didn't know if it was just vampire blood in general or if it was Ashton's in particular. He only knew that he wanted it so much. He knew what it tasted like when he bit Ashton on the night they met.

That seemed like so long ago.

And he hadn't been this angry. He hadn't been on the verge of killing someone.

He was losing control and he didn't know to what lengths he would go to get what he wanted.

Ashton looked up. He met Ren's eyes.

"Is that all you got?"

He lifted his bloody hand to his mouth. He slowly licked from the bottom of his palm all the way to the tip of his fingers. He swiped his tongue over his upper lip. A light stain of pink was left on his lips. His eyes pulsed and glowed a bright red.

Ren felt something else tug within him. A fleeting thought about backing down and sinking to his knees. He pulled away from it. It wasn't a thought of his own.

Ashton wrinkled his nose. "There's something you're not telling me."

He wiped his hand on his thigh. The blood wasn't evident on the black material, but Ren knew it was there. He could see the imprint and his nose knew the smell.

His nose twitched. There was a heavy lump in his throat. It was making it hard to breathe. But he didn't want to breathe. If he did that, he'd just torture himself with the scent. The blood was calling to him. He was disgusted and so attracted to it at the same time that it was making it stomach get tied up in knots.

He curled his upper lip.

"Get over yourself," he said. The threat was there, but it was empty on his part. The feeling inside of him wanted to fulfill it. It wanted to put Ashton in his rightful place under Ren's foot.

His vision was so blurred that he could barely make out any details of Ashton's face. The one thing that was piercing through the fog was Ashton's brilliant red eyes. They weren't helping to calm the rising anger and mayhem inside of Ren.

Ashton snorted, turning his head to the side.

There was just a split second of silence before Ashton launched himself directly at Ren.

He slammed full force into Ren. They went down to the ground. Ren grunted as his back hit the rocky path. He gasped for a breath of air, but he was winded. He stared wide-eyed up at the sky. The trees were swirling above him. There were traces of Ashton mixed in it. Around and around his vision went. Nausea rose within him. His body shook.

Ashton's blood dripped from his nose. It fell onto Ren's cheek.

The smell hit him full force.

He launched up, wrapping his arms tightly around Ashton's shoulders. He rolled them over so that he was straddling Ashton's thighs.

They were a pile of limbs as they fought against one another. Ashton shoved the palm of his blood-covered hand into Ren's face. Instead of flinching away from the pain, Ren opened his mouth and let his fangs graze the skin. Ashton let out a yelp as Ren clamped down on the hand.

Blood pooled in his mouth. He wrapped his own hands around Ashton's throat, keeping him down as he sunk his fangs deep inside Ashton's hand. The blood was all over his tongue, the roof of his mouth, and down his throat. His vision came back slightly, but the quench for death was still high in his system.

Both of their chests were heaving. As Ren looked up and locked eyes with Ashton, he saw how much Ashton wanted his blood. He saw the hunger, the desperation reflected in his eyes. This was one of the instances where they weren't so different. They were alike at this moment, floating in the need to let their instincts take over.

The fight within him was waning. It was steady, still looming, but it wasn't clouding his vision. Slowly, he could feel it becoming one within him. It wasn't leaving like it usually did. It was still thriving inside.

But there was another feeling that he'd felt before.

He was hard.

The blood in his mouth had awakened lust. The sweet taste that he couldn't get enough of was laced with an aphrodisiac.

Ashton hadn't pulled his hand away. They were both frozen in place.

Ren ran the tip of his tongue over the wounds he'd left. He panted as he sucked the tender skin. Ashton hissed. Beneath Ren's clenching hands, Ashton's throat tightened. His Adam's apple moved up and down.

Ren wanted to trace his fingers over the fragile bones. He could kill Ashton right now. All he had to do was tighten his hands. He'd cut off Ashton's airflow. And as Ashton took his last breath, Ren would drink his sweet blood until his body was empty.

Ashton's breath hitched.

"Your eyes..."

Ren simply stared down at him. He didn't know what he meant.

Ashton moved his hand away almost like he was going to touch Ren's eyes. Ren bit Ashton's pointer finger. It was a soft bite that didn't break skin, but it was a warning.

Ashton jerked his hand away. He was still at Ren's mercy, held down, but he wasn't afraid. He was still gaping at Ren's eyes.

"What?" Ren asked. His voice was rougher, lower than it usually was.

For a moment, Ashton didn't speak. His eyes had diminished in the time. They were a steady glow and he was still projecting the thought onto Ren to submit.

Persuasion. Ren only then realized that Ashton had one of the powers that full vampires could possess. He'd tried to do it to Ren the first time they met and he was trying to do it now.

It wasn't working though. Though it shouldn't have taken much since Ren was half-vampire. It didn't matter that he was half-witch either.

"They're grey."

Ashton was limp under him. Somehow, he managed to pull his hands away from Ashton's throat. He didn't want to let go. He wanted to pull Ashton toward him and just go to town on his throat.

Not to mention he was hard. He wasn't even going to start on decoding that. It was just the effects of feeding. That was it.

He rolled away to sit on the ground. He expected his hands to be shaking like they always were. He held them up, preparing for the inevitable sight.

They were still.

"I hope you enjoyed that. It's not going to happen again." Ashton got up. He pointed an accusing finger in Ren's face. "When we get back, you're going to fucking explain to me what the hell is going on with you."

Ren glared as Ashton started to walk away.

"Fuck you!"

In answer, Ashton held up his middle finger.

And because Ren had the weakest spine on the fucking planet, he got up and followed him.