Alexander told himself as he lifted the bag of blood to his mouth.
The smell hit him first.
His nose wrinkled instantly. Disgust rolled through him so fast he dropped the bag before the blood even touched his lips.
He turned and yanked open the fridge, grabbing another bag of blood. He ripped it open. Brought it to his lips…
And dropped that one too.
“No…” he murmured under his breath, already reaching for another.
Same result. He couldn’t do it.
The smell alone made him gag.
“Fuck!” he screamed as he shoved his hands through his hair, pacing. The hunger clawed at him from the inside, making it hard to think, hard to focus on anything but the need to feed.
The moment he’d smelled Boaz’s blood… he couldn’t think of anything else
Sitting in that truck with him had been torture. And then he’d stepped into that fucking house. The thick, cloying smell of incense and melted candle wax hung heavy in the air, but it didn’t hide the werewolf’s scent, not even close. If anything, it made it worse.
Alexander could smell him over everything, making it impossible to focus on anything else. Every second had been a fight not to reach for him, not to drag him close and sink his teeth into him and take what he needed.
Alexander’s hand trembled as he grabbed another bag and lifted it toward his mouth, thinking this might be the one to save him, but smell hit again.
He gagged, turning his head, dropping it like it burned him.
“I can’t…” he breathed. “I can’t drink this.
The sound of hurried footsteps broke through the room just as the door was shoved open.
Someone gasped.
Alexander looked up to find Greer and a group of vampires behind him, staring at him like he’d gone crazy. Maybe he had.
“Uh…” Greer started, clearly unsure what to say.
But before he could fumble his way through, Blade pushed past him, forcing his way through the group.
“What is going on in here?” Blade demanded as he stepped inside, his eyes moving quickly over the scene before landing on Alexander. “Are you alright?”
“I—” Alexander started, but gagged.
He needed to get out of there. Now.
Blade seemed to understand. Without another word, he stepped forward and grabbed Alexander’s arm. “Come on,” he said, pulling him to the door. “Greer, get someone to clean this up.”
They left the kitchen. Quickly, climbing the stairs as they moved to Alexander’s room.
Blade guided him to the bed and sat him down before disappearing into the bathroom.
Water started running, then shut off. A moment later, Blade returned with a damp cloth and crouched in front of him, taking Alexander’s hands and wiping them.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “And don’t tell me you’re fine. I won’t believe you.”
“I’m…” Alexander swallowed hard, his throat tightening as the hunger surged again. It made no sense. He had fed just last night. “I need to feed, but…”
“You can’t,” Blade finished for him.