PERSE POV
I woke to the taste of blood.
Not mine.
That was the first piece of information my brain handed me, which was honestly rude, considering there were many other things it could have prioritized. Basic location, for example. Current state of limbs. Whether I still owned all my organs. Whether anyone had finally explained to the universe that kidnapping girls for underground science projects was extremely tacky and also illegal in several moral frameworks and would backfire spectacularly when said girl would wake up.
But no.
Blood.
That was where we started.
Warm. Metallic. Fresh.
On my tongue.
On my lips.
Sliding down my throat with every breath I was not the one choosing to take.
For one stupid, horrifying second, I thought I had bitten someone. Then sensation arrived in
