Max slowly steadied his breathing, forcing the violent pulse within his veins to subside. The urge had come so suddenly that for a brief moment it had almost drowned his reason, as though something ancient inside him had awakened and was clawing at his restraint. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, pressing down on the instinct that whispered of conquest and devouring.
'I will have to investigate her bloodline more carefully,' he told himself. 'I need to know what it is and why mine reacted like that.'
The more he replayed the sensation in his mind, the more unsettled he became. It had not been simple greed or curiosity. It had been hunger.
A primal, overwhelming hunger that did not belong to his conscious will. His bloodline had surged with a violent resonance the instant he sensed hers, as if recognizing prey or perhaps recognizing something that could complete it. That reaction alone made his heart grow heavy.
