Chapter 18 - The Call Of The Blood

• Alina
• The cold bites my skin as I stand frozen in the forest, my arms around my waist in a futile attempt to keep warm. The echo of Damon's footsteps has long since faded, but his absence burns me more cruelly than the icy wind that seeps through my light dress.
• My heart is still beating wildly. The sensation of his lips on mine, of his hot hands on my skin, is etched in my memory. And yet he ran away. He ran away again.