Learning to Bleed (Vampires of Coal Dust, #2)

You can take the girl out of Penny Harbour, but you can‘t take the monster out of the girl. When Spencer and Laurel left Penny Harbour after her death, he promised she could learn to control her hunger. Once she stops being a danger to the people she loves, he can bring her home. His centuries as a vampire should have prepared him to guide her, but every night, he cleans the blood from her hands and hides the corpses she‘s made. No amount of careful planning stops the inevitable, and Spencer can‘t figure out why. Laurel is lying. The monster that took root in her veins never left. It whispers to her, robs her of reason, and twists the truth. Out in the big, broad world for the first time, she‘s overwhelmed by cities, her own queer reckoning, and the monsters waging war inside her. Terrified of what will happen if she tells Spencer, Laurel has decided to push through in isolation. Things were supposed to get easier, after all. With practice, she should have been in control by now. Will Laurel be able to overcome the rage long enough to take advantage of her new freedom, or will the violence destroy everything she‘s fought so hard to get? ---- This book is the second part of a queer Gothic horror series with romantic themes and handles heavy, complicated topics such as generational trauma, spousal abuse, and grief. A full list of trigger warnings can be found on Cat‘s website.