Submitting to the Bloodlust

The First Feed

Mauri POV

I woke up this morning with a massive migraine and an ache in my stomach that won't go away. I’ve tried peppermints, ginger ale, a bubble bath, and I even chewed on a ginger stick. I tried to eat breakfast, but it only made the ache worse. I’m starting to think I got food poisoning from the party. Mom and I have been packing my things in silence for most of the morning. I can tell she wants to say something, but she hasn't yet. Finally, I give in because I can't take the silence anymore. “What is it, Mom? You have that look on your face when you want to tell me something.”

She looks around the room, her gaze stopping on a fan. She walks over and turns it on full blast, then returns to me, getting very close. “Demon can never know what I'm about to tell you, okay?” Her eyes plead. I nod in silent agreement. “The king helped me escape this city when I was pregnant with you. He was tired of seeing Demon mistreat me. When I came here originally, I had no clue what Demon was. He wanted me to be his queen, to become a vampire like him. I was only nineteen, I wasn't ready for that responsibility. Once I told Demon I didn't want this life, he collared me and made me his pet. He refused to let me go home, said he wouldn't lose me. Countless times, I went to the king begging him to help me escape after failed attempts at running away. A human who comes here willingly is allowed to leave willingly; they cannot be turned into pets. Seth took pity on me after two years of being Demon's pet and helped me escape. He then compelled Demon to spare my life if he ever saw me again and compelled me to forget that he was the good guy for once. Seth didn’t know I was pregnant; otherwise, he wouldn’t have let me leave. The king is a kind and charming man, but he has a temper and a dark side that I'm scared you will see. Please be respectful to him while you are with him. Demon told me how you talked to him last night. He usually does not tolerate that kind of behavior, and he won't. Last night he let you slide, but he won't next time. I've watched him rip the hearts out of his friends for simply calling him by his name on the wrong day. I've watched him drink countless humans dry of blood and leave their bodies to rot. Please be cautious with him.”

With everything that Mom told me, I still do not fear him. It's odd that he helped Mom escape, but it makes sense. He's the king of this city. If he sees something he doesn't like, it's his right to intervene, especially if the rules are being broken. I was angry when he confessed that he compelled me; I had every right to express my anger. I’m not afraid of what he will do to me or say to me if I anger him back. Honestly, the idea of seeing his calm nature fired up excites me.

*****

With each stair I climb in the high castle, the pounding in my head intensifies. I can't feel anything else to know if my stomach still aches. When Demon opens the door to my new room, I immediately walk inside and lay on the bed. I pull the covers up over my head and close my eyes. This pain is unlike anything I've ever felt before.

“Are you okay?” I faintly hear Demon ask.

“I don’t feel good. I want to sleep.” My words are as faint as his. The light switch clicks as the lights go out, and the door closes. I grab my head and try to cry, but the pressure is so great that it won't let tears escape. Soon, I fall into darkness.

Seth POV

Mauri has been in her room since this morning, and it's now 8:00 pm. Demon said that she wasn’t feeling well, thinks it's a girl thing. I know the truth, though; she’s starving. She doesn't know that the hunger will drive her mad. As a vampire, if you don't drink blood, your body will eventually give out, and you'll lay dormant somewhere waiting for your body to be replenished with someone else's blood. But for a living vampire, if you don't feed on blood, you can survive on normal food, but your mind goes mad. The pain of trying to deprive yourself of the glorious crimson liquid is enough to drive you insane. It feels like you're addicted to blood, that's all you think about day in and day out, like an alcoholic craving the taste of liquor on their tongue.

After my pet fills a bottle of fresh blood for Mauri, I go into her room. She's curled into a tight ball on her bed, hands tangled in her hair, squeezing her head. Her knees are forced into her abdomen as she tries to relieve the ache in her stomach. Poor girl. I sit on her bed and shake her awake by her shoulder. When she looks up at me with her heavy, dull eyes, I know my theory is true.

She's starving.

She doesn't attempt to sit up; she only repositions herself on her pillow so that she can look at me without effort. When I bring the bottle up to my lips, her eyes redden. Her tongue darts out and licks her dry lips. I take a drink, and a quiet groan escapes her lips. “Do you want some, Mauri?” I ask her. Her eyes grow big, but she stays silent – not admitting that the idea is crossing her mind. I can almost see the wheels turning in her head. She's fighting with her natural cravings.

“I am a living vampire too. This is one reason why you interest me so much because I have never met anybody like myself. When I was first turned, I didn’t know it at the time, but I went through a transition that is similar to yours. Your body is craving blood, Maurianna. You can fight it and not drink it, like I did. But you will run yourself mad. After my third wave of headaches and stomach cramps, my self-control switched off, and I slaughtered an entire village without the ability to stop myself. Men, women, children, babies… I drank them all dry.” I confess one of my darkest secrets to her.

Her attention falls from my face and favors the bottle of blood in my hand. Her eyebrows scrunch up as she thinks. She shakes her head and closes her eyes, rolling back over and facing the wall, dismissing me and refusing to drink.

***

It’s been eighteen hours since my confession to Maurianna. I have checked on her a few times. Her tiny form never moved from her position on her bed. I have had to send both Olivia and Demon away multiple times today. They are worried about her.

I notice the time on the clock reads 4:00 am; it's now been three hours since I last checked on her. I grab a water bottle and head down the hall to her room. When I open the door, her bed is empty.

Shit. I hear something coming from the conjoined bathroom and rush inside. She is sitting in the corner of her bathroom, curled up into a tiny ball. She is rocking back and forth, banging her head on the wall behind her. Tears are streaming down her face, and her eyes are tightly closed. She is constantly rubbing her palms up and down her thighs.

“Maurianna.” I say her name softly, so my tone doesn't hurt her head more.

She opens her eyes; her blue irises are gone – Crimson red rings stare back at me.

She needs blood; she is on the edge of breaking. I look down at the water bottle in my hand. f**k, why didn’t I bring her blood?

“It hurts, Seth.” She whispers. She grabs her head tighter and cries out in pain, pulling her knees deeper into her abdomen.

I stand there and watch her fall apart on her floor. My heart wrenches for her as I remember being completely clueless just like her. What do I do?

“JADE!” I call for my pet, hoping she can hear me. I can't leave Maurianna like this; any second now, she can turn savage, which would be the worst thing that could happen.

“Seth, please help me!” she cries out again.

Fuck.

I run my hands through my hair, contemplating whether to feed her myself. It will go against the law. She is off-limits because of who she is to Demon. She peers back up at me, her eyes pleading for me to help her. “Maurianna…” I’m about to tell her to wait here so that I can go get Jade when her fangs start to drop from her gums.

Shit, she’s about to lose control.

I rush over to her and sit next to her. I pull her over into my lap and offer her my wrist. Her face turns white, and she shakes her head. Her eyes search the room for an alternative solution, but she doesn't even know what she’s looking for.

“Eyes on me, baby.” I tell her softly. Her eyes bounce back to mine, and just as I'm about to compel her, her voice stops me.

“Please don't compel me… just tell me how.” She peers down at my wrist I have a few inches from her mouth. She runs her tongue over her fangs, exploring them.

“Your fangs will tingle when they are on the vein. Once you feel the tingle, gently break the skin by biting down.” I tell her. She wraps her delicate fingers around my hand and arm and slowly guides my wrist up to her mouth. She opens her mouth and places her fangs on my vein.

The first time is a charm; she can sense the right placement. Her eyes meet mine, and she slowly bites down into my skin. I feel a stinging pinch and then hear the skin pop beneath her fangs.

“Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth and suck.” She follows my instructions quickly. I suck air through my teeth when she starts to drink from me, surprised by the sensation - it's pleasurable, making my entire body burst with electric energy. My outburst draws her to stop. She stares at me, waiting for permission to continue.

“Drink, Maurianna.” She does not hesitate. The tingling starts again, more intense than the time before. She's taking it too fast, though; she will get sick the first time if she drinks too fast. “Slow down, baby.” I whisper and run my fingertips down her spine. I feel her suction slow.

God, she takes direction well.

Her eyes peer into mine - she's watching me closely, waiting for me to guide her. As I stare back at her beautiful face, I feel a wave of submission race through me. The need to please her takes over my emotions. Holy hell, she is a Siren, and she's using her powers on me. I close my eyes, breaking the connection, and rest my head back against the wall.

I forgot how good it felt to feed someone. The burning from her venom and the tingling from the feed makes my d**k twitch. These sensations bring back so many memories.

Fuck, I shouldn't be feeding her. Feeding another vampire is an intimate act. I wonder if she knows this?

Her feeding pace slows gradually. I glance down at her, and she is still staring into my face, waiting for instructions. “If you have had your fill, baby, slowly pull your fangs out of the vein. You will then need to lick the puncture wound. Your saliva, when mixed with your venom, will seal it.” I didn’t realize how out of breath I was until I spoke.

When she pulls her fangs out, I feel warm liquid run down my arm, followed by her wet, hot mouth as she laps it up and seals the wound.

She crawls from my lap and sits back onto her heels in front of me. “The pain is completely gone.” Her voice is just as breathy as mine. I look over her beautiful face. Her color is back in her skin and eyes. She finally looks sedated and she’s more beautiful than ever. Her skin glows with how rejuvenated she is after feeding.

My eyes rake down her body and I notice she is only wearing a t-shirt and panties.

Fuck.

“Go get dressed.” My lip pulls up into a snarl as if I’m upset, but I am completely mesmerized by her and pissed off that she has no clue how intimate our moment just was. I want to scoop her up and ram my d**k inside of her and taste her blood. I want to bite her in every place that she lets me. I want to do so many things, just for her to bring those sensations back to me.

She leaves the bathroom and I let out the breath that I had been holding. I look down at the tiny bruises on my wrist. Damnit I shouldn’t have fed her. I should have grabbed a bottle of blood instead of a bottle of water before coming to check on her. I need to be better prepared next time, I can’t feed her again because if I do the connection that I feel with her will only grow stronger.