Feral Cravings

Chapter 10: Blood & Questions

Tasha’s POV

The city at night was a different kind of beast. I thrived in it. The pulse of neon lights, the rhythm of footsteps on pavement, the scent of life and secrets carried by the wind. But tonight, something was off.

I paced in the small alley behind the agency m, my phone cold in my hands as I checked for new messages. Nothing. No update.

Where the hell was she?

Is she still at the mansion?

Did they Kidnap her?

Rhea wasn’t the type to walk into danger. She might be reckless, stubborn, and utterly infuriating, but she always answered when I called. A growing pit of unease settled in my stomach. It wasn’t like she had many people to rely on—just me, and I wasn’t about to let something happen to her.

The last time we talked, she mentioned the cleaning job,but I didn't know it was that mansion else, I wouldn't have allowed her.

Something about it didn’t sit right with me.

I ran my tongue over my fangs, barely restraining the urge to hunt her scent down immediately. But a city was big, and I needed a starting point.

Flipping open my phone, I dialed the number she used to call me from the night before.

It rang once.

Twice.

Then a voice—low, controlled, but lethal—answered.

“She’s busy.”

I went cold. My grip on the phone tightened. “Where is she?” I asked, my tone sharp enough to slice through steel.

A pause. Then a chuckle. “And who the hell are you?”

I didn’t have time for this. “Listen, asshole. Put her on the phone, or I’ll—”

“You’ll what?” The voice turned amused. “I suggest you calm down before you start making threats you can’t back up.”

I could hear something in the background. A muffled conversation. A woman’s voice. Rhea’s voice.

She was alive.

Relief warred with the fury in my chest. “If you hurt her—”

“She’s not hurt. Yet.” The man sighed as if he were dealing with something tedious. “But she is… occupied. If you want her back, maybe you should wait for her to decide she wants to leave.”

And then the line went dead.

I stared at my phone. My fingers trembled with rage.

This was bad.

Very bad.

I needed to find her. Fast.

And I needed to be ready for whatever I was walking into.

Because whoever these bastards were—they weren’t ordinary men.

And I had a sinking feeling that Rhea had just fallen into something she wasn’t ready for