**Lex**
I jolted upright, my heart pounding in my chest, breathing heavily. It was pitch black, wherever I was. I looked around wildly, the feeling of claustrophobia making my breath come in ragged gasps for air.
"Oh shit! Hey, hey, easy. Easy! Calm down, it's okay. I've got you, you're going to be fine," David's voice came from the blackness to my right as a set of hands caught my flailing arms and firmly pressed them to my sides.
"It's dark, I can't see. What did you do to me?" I whimpered, unable to hide the fear in my voice.
A pause then, "Hades…I'm not sure exactly what he did. I can try to heal you, but I don't think I'm strong enough."
I felt a gentle and slightly calloused hand cover my eyes then I felt the warmth of David's energy as it slowly seeped into me. I waited silently, my claustrophobia growing from anxiety to panic. I felt the uneasiness of David's energy and I knew there was something wrong. I jerked away from David's touch and lashed out at him with a fist.
David caught my arm and pulled me toward him. I was yanked off-balance and threw out a free hand to catch myself. I collided harmlessly with David's heavily-muscled torso. His arms wrapped around me, preventing me from pulling away.
"Stop fighting me. I'm trying to help you, damn it," David growled, a deeply primal sound that I felt rumble through his chest. I froze. Had he actually growled? What the hell?
"W-what was that?"
"If I tell you, will you stop fighting me?" David asked. I nodded silently and he released me cautiously. When he was satisfied that I wasn't going to try to escape he began. "When I was younger, I was captured by a race of people who were descendants of King Lycaon, the king who was turned into a wolf by Zeus. These children of Lycaon, they called themselves 'Lycans,' had inherited Lycaon's wolf form. They could transform themselves into wolves at will and, as humans, they still retain some of their wolf-like traits. They also gained enhanced hearing, vision, sense of smell, and healing abilities. They have a very strong predatory instinct and a pack mentality. These Lycans can force their curse onto others by forcing their victims to ingest a mixture of the Lycan's blood and saliva. In this exchange, the Lycans enjoy drinking the blood of their prisoners. It has no nutritional value, but it is their custom and some have even developed an affinity for the taste of blood."
I shuddered involuntarily, "That sounds brutal."
"It is. Anyway, when I was younger, I was captured by those bastards. During the short time I spent as their prisoner, they had forced their curse on me. My fa-Hades rescued me but it was too late. They had already turned me. Hades considered me ruined and worthless, 'tainted' he'd said. He practically disowned me. He told me he didn't want me to 'contaminate his reputation.' As if him being the fricking god of death and ruler of the fricking Underworld wasn't enough. The point is, I'm one of them," David admitted.
"But why are you telling me this?" I asked, trying my best to scoot away from David inconspicuously but unable to see if he was looking at me.
David's hand clamped onto my wrist instantly and I swung at him with my free hand. I missed and silently cursed Hades for robbing me of my vision. David caught my other hand and shoved me onto my back. I tried to get up but David had both my wrists pinned above my head with one hand. I struggled but it seemed the more I moved, the tighter David's grip became.
"Are you done yet?" David asked, and I could tell by his tone of voice that he was smiling.
"Screw you," I told him, straining against him.
I felt him lean down until his lips were brushing the side of my face. "Oh no, I'm going to screw you," he laughed softly into my ear.
Panic flooded me and I struggled against his hold more forcefully. It made little difference, no matter how hard I fought. I went limp and resigned myself to my fate, gathering my strength. Fingertips brushed lightly along my jawline. My body betrayed me, shivering slightly with pleasure, even as I opened my mouth to curse David.
Before I could utter a word, David clamped his mouth over mine, silencing my protests. His lips were warm and his kiss was intoxicating, I felt myself losing control. The cool, airy feeling of energy wrapping around my wrists started to bring clarity, then he buried a hand in my hair.
David finally broke the kiss, his breathing heavy. I had barely drawn a breath when I felt David slide two fingers slide down my throat. I stiffened slightly and my breath caught. David chuckled darkly. Fear mixed with desire spread through my body. David kissed me deeply then pulled back. I lay still, trying to catch my breath.
"Here," David ran a damp finger along my lips. The sharp, coppery scent of blood filled my nostrils.
I tried to restrain myself but I couldn't stop. My tongue darted out and tasted the liquid that David had placed on my lips. The warm, thick taste of blood blossomed on the tip of my tongue.
"That's it," David murmured, "Just a little more."
David ran his blood-coated finger over my lips then kissed me again. Suddenly, an earsplitting noise filled my head and I yelped in pain. I curled into a ball, covering my ears with my hands. As the pain in my skull reached an unbearable pitch, I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness.
So sorry that I missed posting a chapter Monday. Crazy-busy week at school. I'll post two today to make up for it. ~Jo
