Chapter 135. He Refuses the Feed

He vanished for a moment—an eternity—then returned with Marku standing just inside the door. The older vampire knelt beside me, concern etched into his chiselled features.

“What’s happened to her?” Marku’s voice rumbled softly.

“Monster bite,” Daniel replied, voice taut with tension. “She won’t heal.”

Marku’s long hand pressed onto the wound at my neck. I cried out, dull agony flaring like white fire.

“My blood will heal her,” he declared. Then, with no delay, he sunk his fangs into his own wrist. Silver droplets blossomed on his skin, the scent of iron flooding the air—bitter, heady.

I opened my mouth on instinct. The moment Marku’s blood hit my tongue, a shock jolted through me. It tasted cold and metallic, far sharper than any blood I’d ever known. It was nothing like the bags of refrigerated O‐ne