As Victoria rebutted that she hadn’t been following him, Vail casted her a brief glance before focusing on the woman he had targeted again. As long as she wasn’t shouting to everyone in London that he was a Hygrace, he didn’t care what she was doing either. Perhaps it really had just been a coincidence that they had found each other at two different pubs. Whatever the case, he wasn’t going to let her appearance distract him from his goal. She was untouchable. The other Lady was not. If he didn’t feed tonight, his cravings would only grow worse too. For his own sake, he had to satisfy them so he wouldn’t have to leave his family’s manor again.

For a moment, it nearly seemed like Victoria was going to leave him alone. As she turned to walk away from him, he was able to put all his attention into luring the dark-haired woman away from the tavern. Since she was drunk, it wouldn’t be difficult. All he had to do was make an excuse to interrupt the group’s conversation and remain close to her long enough that she would go with him willingly when he invited her to accompany him outside. He was just about to make his move when Victoria spoke up again.

This time, she caught his attention.

Vail turned toward the Lady when she offered him “a small taste,” eyeing her with new interest. Despite everything he had told himself before, he couldn’t deny that he was tempted. He wondered why she would make such a sudden gesture though. She obviously knew who and what he was. Why wasn’t she afraid? His feral gaze swept over her. As Alexander’s daughter, she surely must have been fed the lies of the Order: that vampires were demons who bled their victims to death in a cruel and sadistic manner. It surprised him that she was facing him so calmly as she made her proposal.

However, he didn’t get a chance to question her before she reached out to wave her fresh cut beneath his nose. The alluring fragrance of her unique blood made his heartbeat quicken and his pupils dilate with envy. Already hungry and sensitive to his carnal instincts, it was simply too much for him to withstand this time. All sense went out the window as she hurried out the door, further exciting his inner predator with the prospect of a chase. What did it matter if she was a Crest? She had [i]volunteered[/i] to be his prey tonight, and he had every intention to accept.

Without giving it another thought, Vail took off after her, walking briskly through the pub until he reached the street. As soon as the Lady was back in his sight, he broke into a sprint, easily closing a large portion of the distance between them as he pursued her. In the back of his head, he knew he should be more careful about chasing her so obviously—if a member of the Order saw him now, it would be clear what he was doing—but at the moment, the impulse to feed was too consuming to listen to reason. He hastened his pace.

At one point, he noticed absently that he passed someone else on the street when he rounded a corner to follow Victoria into an alley. However, he didn’t pay the man any mind. His target was right in front of him now. He almost had her.

As soon as she was close enough for him to touch, Vail caught her by the arm and pulled her roughly against himself. His usual gentleness had fled, replaced with a frenzied urge to have his fill of her rich blood. He pinned her effortlessly and curled his lip, baring a sinister set of fangs just before he leaned in to bite the soft skin of her neck.