Bitten by Ecstasy: 2 (Dark Judgment) Read Free Page B

his hair and fisted the strands in a wincing grip at the back of his head. In spite of the gravity of the situation, Bastien couldn’t prevent the slight lifting of his lips at the familiar gesture. He’d joked on many occasions how Nicolai would go bald one day if he kept pulling on his hair as if engaged in a tug-of-war with his scalp. Then, as quick as it appeared, his smile disappeared. Here was something else he had to sacrifice. The last remnant of familiarity. Anger poured through him like hot lava. And in its molten wake left the ashes of his life.
    Nicolai paced several steps away before wheeling around and eating up the distance he’d placed between them.
    “Do you think I don’t know there’s something you’ve been keeping from me?” he demanded. “We’ve been friends all my life. Aside from Tamar, there’s no one I love more. Whatever has been eating you from the inside out since you came back, you can tell me.” The anger bled out of Nicolai’s voice, leaving a solemn entreaty for Bastien to trust him, to have faith in him.
    Bastien wanted to…damn, he wanted to reach out, crack himself open like a walnut and expose all his darkest secrets to the light of their friendship.
    The longing lurched inside him, hard and desperate. Yet even as he parted his lips to unburden his soul the hunger rumbled in his stomach. Not as strong as when he’d awakened, but enough to remind him why he could no longer delay his departure.
    Maybe Nicolai would accept Bastien. But Bastien didn’t trust himself. He didn’t know what he was capable of if the craving catapulted from bearable to insatiable.
    What if he transformed into a mindless, raging beast? What if he went after Nicolai? Or Tamar?
    A groan pressed against his sternum and broke free in a hoarse, low cry.
    No. He couldn’t risk their safety.
    Couldn’t risk morphing into a rogue—a betrayer and traitor to their people—and forcing Nicolai or one of their friends to be responsible for hunting and executing him.
    “Nico, I—” He bowed his head and turned around, reaching for the doorknob once more. “I’m sorry.”
    “Bastien,” Nicolai barked and grabbed Bastien’s arm, his fingers digging into his biceps. “Damn it—”
    A hiss exploded from Bastien as he whipped around, knocking Nicolai’s hand away. Fangs pierced his gums and dropped down, filling his mouth, nipping his drawn-back lips. Through a scarlet, misty haze, Bastien watched his friend stumble back, Nicolai’s eyes wide and black with shock.
    Terror slammed into Bastien. Its icy blast cleared his vision, forced his incisors to recede. Monster , a small voice purred inside his head. Bastien shuddered at the insidious accusation. He struggled for the control dangling just outside his reach. He grappled with the beast prowling in tight circles deep inside him, snarling and demanding to be liberated. Evander had stolen so much from him that day five months ago. It wasn’t just his face Bastien no longer recognized when he glanced into the mirror—it was him . The man. The hippogryph. The healer.
    Yes. He groaned, fumbling behind him as his chest rose and fell on the harsh pants roaring from his lungs. I am a monster. His shaking fingers finally closed around the knob. Desperate, he twisted it, his gaze never leaving Nicolai’s pale features. Sickening dismay faded from his friend’s eyes and pity entered and, somehow, that compassion stabbed as deep as any rejection.
    With a snarl that veered dangerously close to a sob, Bastien wrenched the door open, spun and bolted into the night. He didn’t slow or stop. Not when Nicolai bellowed his name. Not when the cliff the house was built on disappeared under his feet.
    As he plunged toward the dark waters below, he called to the magic within him. Obedient, it rushed to greet him, sizzling over his flesh like a live wire—across his arms, down his spine and legs to the soles of his feet. Bone snapped, realigned. Muscles and tendon