Marked: City of the Damned Book 1 by Everly Drummond Page B

inflicted puncture marks.
    The sight of his fangs made Sara thrashed
wildly against the strong arms holding her in place. Fear mixed
with the sight of blood caused the bile to rise up in the back of
her throat. She looked pleadingly at the man with the black hair
and husky voice, knowing that he was her only hope of escape, her
only hope of survival.
    “Pryse, let her go,” he demanded again. “I’ll
give you what you want in exchange for the girl.”
    “No thanks. I think I’ve changed my
mind.”
    Momentarily, the gloved hand slipped away
from Sara’s mouth, only to be replaced with a bloodied wrist. The
metallic taste of rust rolled across her tongue and down the back
of her throat, causing her to gag.
    “Don’t play games.” Gedeon’s thunderous voice
echoed through the alley as he took another step forward. “I will never give you the remedy if you mark her.”
    “With blood this sweet, who needs the
remedy?” Pryse replied.
    A gurgled scream escaped Sara’s lips as Pryse
forced her head to the side and lowered his mouth to her neck. His
fangs sliced easily through the rosy flesh at the base of her neck,
and Sara trembled as the pain started to spread throughout her
body. The skin around the puncture marks on her neck burned, and
the fire quickly spread through her limbs. Trying to fight against
the pain that was now consuming her, she staggered head first into
the brick wall, and fell to the ground on her hands and knees,
hoping that death would come quickly for her. The sounds of the two
men scuffling echoed through the alley, but the fire that burned
within was too intense for her to be able to concentrate on
anything other than the pain. As a set of footsteps rapidly
approached, she looked up to see Gedeon rushing towards her. Sara
cowered in fear as he knelt down on the pavement beside her. The
last thing she remembered before succumbing to the pain was the
pair of aqua blue eyes that shone in the moonlight, and the heady
scent of male that lingered in the air around him, permeating his
clothing and the denim jacket he was wearing.
    “Damn humans,” Gedeon mumbled under his
breath. He bent over and effortlessly lifted the limp body of the
girl into his arms. Her head rolled to the side and her cheek came
to rest on his shoulder. Pryse was right, the smell of her blood
was intoxicating, but it was still no reason for the bastard to
unwillingly mark her. Now this poor girl would have to spend the
rest of her life hiding from the monsters that lurked in the
darkness.

Chapter
2
     
    Sara awoke to a throbbing headache and
unfamiliar surroundings. Sweat poured in rivulets from her forehead
as the fever raged through her, burning every single nerve ending
in its path. Her body felt as if it were smoldering and ready to
ignite at any second. Sara tightly closed her eyes and forced
herself to think through the pain, trying to make sense of where
she was. Panic took hold as memories started to flood her mind; a
gloved hand, the alleyway, a leather clad man, and the fangs, the
long razor sharp incisors that glistened in the moonlight as they
moved swiftly towards her neck.
    A key in the lock alerted her to his
presence. Ignoring the fiery pain that shot through her body, Sara
propped herself up on her elbows. She had to get away from here, to
run as fast as she could, but her body loudly protested. She lacked
the strength necessary to stand, let alone run. The door creaked
and swung open, and Sara closed her eyes as the man dropped the bag
of groceries on the floor and ran towards her. She waited for the
agonizing pain to start again, for his fangs to penetrate her skin,
but it never came. Instead, a strong pair of calloused hands pushed
her shoulders gently back onto the sofa.
    “Don’t move,” the brutish voice ordered.
    The thud of his heavy footfalls on the floor
echoed throughout the room, followed by the sound of the door
closing. One by one, the man picked the items up off the floor and
placed them