Page 67 of Twisted Gift

I shake my head. “I’m not going to be human again.” No. Tristan and I are going to be together forever. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. After everything we’ve been through, we deserve it.

Carter closes the distance between us until my back hits the wall, and my panic surges. He frowns at my wide-eyed expression. “I don’t want you to be scared.”

My brows tug together. “Bullshit. You’re doing what you’re told. Congrats. You’re The Experiment’s bitch. That make you feel big and powerful?”

Anger shimmers across his face, but it’s gone as quickly as it came, and then he smiles. “Why don’t you let me know?” He grabs my arm hard and pulls me against him. Before I can react, he has the needle in the side of my neck.

When I wake, my back hurts, my head hurts—fuck,everythinghurts. I try to open my eyes, but when I’m met with bright white lights, I squeeze them shut. I lift my arm to cover them, only to find I can’t move it. My heart kicks up when I try the same with the other arm. I’m strapped down—again.

I force my eyes open, blinking in a panic to clear my vision and find out what the hell is happening. I regret that move the moment my eyes settle on Richelle and Carter standing a few feet from the table I’m restrained on.

“I take back what I said before,” I struggle to say, my throat stinging when I speak. I meet Carter’s curious gaze. “Youarea monster.” I put as much force as I have left into those words.

He frowns but says nothing in response. Instead, he turns to Richelle and says, “I’ll prepare for the transfusion while you start.”

Richelle offers a smile and nods. “Thank you, Carter. That would be helpful. Please notify the others we’ll be starting the transition momentarily.”

Oh no. No, no, no. I need more time. I have to come up with a way out of this. I need thisnotto happen.

Carter leaves the room without a backward glance, and I struggle to sit up. Richelle watches.

“I’m sorry we had to do it this way, Aurora. I had to ensure the safety of my people as well as yourself.”

I bark out a laugh, ignoring how it rips through my throat. “You’re worried about my safety? You’re about to do something that could kill me. Don’t fool yourself.”

She smiles. “Please don’t be concerned. We’ve done this before and—”

“Killed plenty of fae,” I cut in.

“AndsavedCarter.”

“One out of how many?” I shoot back. “You’re not a hero, Richelle.”

“Considering I could’ve killed you instead of giving you your life back, I think you’re very wrong about that.”

A man walks into the room before I can say anything else. His expression is strained, his shirt is wrinkled, and he’s got a nasty bruise on the side of his face. The guy looks like shit.

“What is it?” Richelle asks.

He waves her off. “Nothing to worry about.”

“Where are the others?”

“He’s causing a bit more of a problem than we anticipated, so I have several of the staff staying with him as a precautionary measure.”

They’re doing this to someone else?

Richelle nods. “All right. I’m just about ready to get started.” She turns to face me. “The procedure isn’t pleasant. I’m sure Carter has told you about it.” She doesn’t wait for me to answer. “Depending on how your body takes to the elixirs, it could take some time. Despite your recent attitude, we’re going to do our best to keep you comfortable.”

My mouth is too dry to respond. My entire body is shaking, and if there had been any food in my stomach, I’m sure I’d be wearing it by this point.

“The process is fairly involved. We’re going to inject you with several DNA splicing elixirs. One to break down the fae magic, another to wipe it out, and lastly one to mend the strands of DNA that weren’t related to your fae transition.”

My head is spinning so fast I’d fall on my ass if I weren’t lying down.

“Afterward, you’ll need a blood transfusion to clear out any remaining magic that runs in your veins. This will also complete the repair needed from the elixir. It is quite potent. There’s a chance it’ll cause damage elsewhere, which is part of the reason for the transfusion. That, and the only way to ensure the procedure is one hundred percent effective is if we take all of your blood, destroy it, and give you new,humanblood.”

“You’re crazy,” I deadpan. “Literally insane.”

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