Hunger: Volume 4

Volume 4 begins were volume 3 left off. Lillian has become the thing she hates the most; a vampire. Now she has to find her place among the people she once hunted. Aubrey isn't happy about what she has become, and Cornelius is making her life more complicated as he fights to control her. Lillian has to decide how she is going to move forward in her new life.

The Lillian Rayne Series

Volume 4: Hunger

Ella Price

This book is a work of fiction, and does not
represent real events. Characters, names, places, and incidents are works of
the authors imagination and do not depict any real event, or person living or
dead.

Copyright © 2014 by Ella Price

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or
distributed in any printed or electronic form.

First Edition: March 2014

Cover by AEPBOOKCOVERS.COM

“I
think the new look suits you,” Cornelius said amused as he leaned against the
bathrooms door jamb.

I
spun around to face him. “I am going to kill you!” I screamed and lunged at
him. I really didn’t have much of a plan. I had no weapons. I was so angry I
wanted to tear his throat out with my bare hands.

He
laughed as he caught my wrists. He forced me to my knees. “You are weak.
Fighting me is pointless.” He shoved me backwards and I landed on my back.

I
glared up at him. He was right. I was weak. I could feel it. I felt drained. I
slowly climbed to my feet fighting the sluggish feeling.

“I
have just what you need,” he said looking amused. He walked out of the
bathroom. I stumbled toward the bathroom door. If he left I was going to
attempt to run. As soon as I stepped into the bedroom, I smelled it, fresh
blood. Part of me wanted to gag, and another part of me wanted to find the
source and taste it.

Cornelius
pulled a man into the room. I felt my chest tighten when I saw it was Luca. He
was shirtless and his chest was covered in cuts, bleeding cuts. I stepped
backwards. I could smell the blood and I wanted it. My mouth watered. It took
everything I had not to run to Luca. Cornelius pushed Luca down onto the bed.
Luca was barely awake. I wanted to run to him and check him, but I couldn’t go
near him. I knew I would kill him for sure.

“Cornelius
please don’t do this,” I begged as I dropped to my knees. I didn’t know what
else to do. I was fighting with everything I had not to move.

He
laughed harshly. “I know you are hungry. You look hungry. I thought you would
enjoy some fresh blood.”

“Please
don’t do this! Take him away,” I begged as tears rolled down my cheeks. I was
on my knees begging him. I knew it was what he wanted, he wanted me to suffer.

“Have
fun,” he said haughtily then walked out. I heard the lock click on the door
behind him.

My
eyes landed on Luca. He was watching me. He looked like he was in pain. My
mouth watered even more at the sight of the blood. I swallowed hard forcing the
hunger down. I turned and ran into the bathroom. I slammed the door shut, and
ran to the furthest wall. I shrunk down, and buried my head in my hands. I
should have listened to Colin and Aubrey. Everything was so messed up now.

I
tried to breathe in, and a fit of coughs followed. I heard the door open. I
could smell Luca’s blood. I squeezed my eyes shut even tighter fighting the
hunger. “Luca please go away. You have to stay away from me,” I whispered
panicked.

“Lily
what happened?” he asked sounding a little confused and disoriented.

I
shook my head without opening my eyes. I didn’t want to look at him. I didn’t
want to see the blood. “I don’t know. You just have to stay away,” I begged.

He
didn’t advance on me, but he didn’t leave either. “Are you ok?” he asked
sounding worried.

“No!”
I yelled glaring up at him.

He
stepped back when he saw my eyes. “You’re a vampire,” he said sounding
terrified.

“Why
do you think I want you to stay away?” I asked angrily.

He
didn’t listen. He hurried over to me. He knelt next to me and offered his
wrist. I groaned low in my throat and pulled away. I didn’t want to hurt him. I
could feel my will wavering as the scent of blood strengthened. “You have to
feed Lillian, bite me,” he ordered as he offered his wrist.

I
shook my head and turned toward the wall. “I would rather die,” I said softly.
The hunger was painful, and it was getting worse. The closer he was to me the
more painful the hunger, and he wouldn’t get away.

“Please,”
he begged touching me.

“Don’t!”
I screamed and threw him backwards. He slid across the floor and hit the
opposite wall. I immediately felt bad, but he was safer across the room than he
was touching me.

He
sat up and looked at me defiantly. “I know you won’t hurt me. You have to feed.
I know you are hungry.”

“I
have no control Luca. I 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. “Let’s go,” I muttered as I put his arm around
my shoulders, and pulled him to his feet. He was limping as I hurried through
the woods. I was weak, but I was determined. Luca was heavy, but I wasn’t
leaving him behind.

It
seemed like we had ran miles. We made it to a road. I wasn’t sure which road. I
just knew it was a road. I was pretty confident we had escaped Cornelius, but I
had no clue where we were going or how we were going to get there.

I
stepped off the road and set Luca in the grass just inside the tree line. I
collapsed to the ground and closed my eyes. I was exhausted. The hunger was
getting worse. Luca’s scent didn’t affect me as much since his injuries were
not fresh. Fresh blood was much worse than dried blood.

“You
should leave me behind. You would move faster on your own,” Luca said softly as
he moved so he could lean against a tree.

“I
don’t leave people behind,” I said softly as I tried to focus on my next move. I
didn’t really have a next move I just needed to come up with one.

“Come
on Lily. You have to know what the hunters did to your family. What I did,” he
said quietly.

“I
know, but it doesn’t change anything. I am angry with you, but you were my
friend at one point in time,” I said softly.

“I
am still your friend Lillian. I love you, you have to know that. I was young
and stupid back then. I was determined to follow orders,” he argued.

I
groaned and sat up. “We all have choices to make. You made yours and I made
mine. Now look at us,” I said trying to hide the annoyance in my voice.

“I
am sorry for everything,” he said as he watched me. He made no attempt to move.
I was kind of relieved I wasn’t in the mood to be touched.

I
climbed to my feet, then looked down at him. “We have to keep moving. The
longer I stay still the more I don’t want to move at all.”

He
groaned as I pulled him to his feet. “I am telling you, you would move a lot
faster if you would just leave me behind. You could come back for me.”

“No,
I…” I started, but quit speaking when I heard the howl of a wolf. A slight
amount of relief washed over me. Somehow I knew it was Drake. “Come on,” I said
excitedly. I started walking deeper into the woods.

“What
are you doing?” Luca asked sounding concerned.

“We
have to find the wolves. I can hear them. They aren’t far,” I said as I
continued to move into the denser woods.

He
stopped making me halt. “Werewolves are just as bad as vampires. They will kill
me,” Luca said sounding worried.

“No.
I know these wolves. They are not like that. Drake isn’t like that,” I said
trying to make him understand.

He
shook his head. “Go without me.”

I
scowled and attempted to pull him. “No!” he growled and shoved me backwards. I
fell landing with a thud. I felt my head hit something hard and everything went
black.