Hunger: Volume 4 by Ella Price Page A

haven’t fed yet, and I don’t want to feed,” I said
softly.
    “You
have control. A normal new vampire would have been on me before Cornelius got
me through the door. You are in this small room with me and you pushed me away.
That is control. You can feed on me. I know you won’t hurt me,” he pleaded.
    “I
don’t trust myself,” I countered as I closed my eyes again. I had to get out of
here. I had to get Luca out of here. If I stayed I would end up hurting Luca;
or Cornelius would find a way to make me hurt him. “Does anyone know you are
here?” I asked trying to focus on the task of escaping instead of the scent of
blood.
    He
scoffed. “Let’s just say it isn’t a good idea to cross your uncle.”
    I
looked at him for the first time. “He gave you to Cornelius?” I asked angrily.
    “He
drugged me and I woke up here,” Luca said softly as he leaned back against the
wall. He was weak and tired.
    I
stood angrily. My uncle had drugged me before; so it wasn’t surprising he would
drug someone else and hand them over to Cornelius. I just didn’t really think
he would do it to Luca. “We have to get out of here,” I said softly.
    He
nodded and slowly climbed to his feet. “I don’t think it is going to be easy.”
    “Ya,
I know. I haven’t figured the how out yet,” I said watching him. I wasn’t going
to attempt to walk past him. I would probably end up killing him if I did. “You
have to walk out first. I can’t get close to you.”
    He
nodded and walked out of the bathroom. I followed slowly trying to battle the
urge to feed. The hunger was so incredibly strong it was painful. Luca was
sitting on the bed so I went to the door. I tried the handle, but like I
thought it was locked. I surveyed the room for anything that would be helpful.
I walked over to a small jewelry box sitting on top of a dresser. I opened it
and went through the contents. There was a couple pins that would be perfect
for getting past the lock. I walked back over to the door and knelt down. I
played with the lock for what seemed like hours. It finally clicked and relief
washed over me.
    I
opened the door slightly and peeked out. The hallway was clear, but I knew that
could quickly change. Cornelius had a way of thwarting my plans like he did
last time I tried to escape. The only reason we made it out was because Aubrey
showed up. “Let’s go,” I ordered Luca.
    He
stood and followed me out into the desolate hallway. I could hear a party going
on downstairs. The scent of fresh blood was stifling. It was apparent
Cornelius’s parties involved humans.
    “Are
you ok?” Luca whispered startling me a little. I was so focused on the scent of
blood I wasn’t paying attention.
    I
swallowed the hunger down again and nodded. “Let’s go,” I said softly and
started moving toward a window. I looked out it hoping it would be an escape.
Relief washed over me when I saw it led out onto a roof. Just below the roof
was a patch of grass; then woods. It was the only logical way to escape. I was
worried about walking further down the hall. I wasn’t sure if we would end up
running into someone; so I thought it would be best to just escape as quickly
as possible.
    I
felt weak just pushing the window up. Luca came up alongside me and helped me.
I stepped away quickly. The scent was too strong. He was too close. He
hesitated and looked at me, but before he could speak I cut him off.
    “Just
go, we don’t have much time,” I said softly.
    He
nodded and climbed out the window. I followed trying to keep my distance, which
seemed almost impossible. He jumped down and landed in the soft grass with a
thud. He cussed and fell over. He was getting weaker, and I was starting to get
worried. I landed next to him. The movement was almost effortless too me. It
was the first time I realized I had vampire abilities. I knew I was a vampire,
but I didn’t realize I was moving like one. The hunger was so overbearing I
couldn’t focus on anything else.