Lucian's POV
I watched them walk away, Elias's arm wrapped protectively around Maeve's waist, her small frame leaning against him for support. Support she needed because of what I'd done to her.
Because I'd tried to kill her.
The front door closed behind them with a soft click, and then I was alone with the weight of what I'd just done, with the memory of her terrified eyes and the way she'd gasped for air when I'd finally let her go.
I sank to my knees right there in the grass, my hands shaking as I pressed them against my face.
I could still taste it, the hunger that had consumed me when I'd heard her heartbeat, when I'd smelled the sweet copper scent of her blood beneath her skin. For those few moments, she hadn't been Maeve.
She'd been prey. Nothing more than a source of sustenance for the monster living inside me now.
