Axel bolted upright in his bed, his chest heaving and his body drenched in cold sweat. The dream still clung to him, vivid and unrelenting. Anya. She had been in his arms again, her soft cries echoing in his mind, her body surrendering to his every touch. His hands clenched the sheets as the memory of her warmth sent an involuntary shiver through him.
But then the hunger surged, overpowering everything else.
His stomach twisted painfully, as if his very insides were eating themselves alive. He reached for the tray of food and blood on the table beside him, desperate for relief. The moment the blood touched his lips, he gagged, his body rejecting it violently. The smell of the food made his stomach churn, and he shoved the tray away with a frustrated growl.
The hunger was maddening, a fi
