Page 159 of Taken By the Fae

His anger hits me like a slap to the face, but it’s gone as quick as it came, and then he smiles. “Why don’t you let me know?” He grabs my arm hard and pulls me against him, jamming the needle into the side of my neck before I can react.

* * *

When I come to, my back hurts, my head hurts—fuck,everythinghurts. And 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 Dr. Collins and Carter standing a few feet from the table I’m restrained on. She wears the same black gloves as Carter.

“I take back what I said before.” My throat stings when I speak, and 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 Dr. Collins and says, “I’ll prepare for the transfusion.”

She offers a smile and nods. “Thank you, Carter. 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. This cannot happen.

Carter leaves the room without a backwards glance, and I struggle to sit up.

Dr. Collins watches and gives me a thoughtful glance. “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.

“Andsavedmany, including Carter.”

“You’re not a hero, Richelle,” I shoot back.

“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 respond. 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 expected, so I have several of the staff staying with him as a precautionary measure.”

They’re doing this to someone else?

She 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 responds to the elixirs, it could take some time. And 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. The idea of them waiting to do this to another fae only intensifies the nausea rolling through me. Do I know them? Were they ambushed and taken from the hotel as well? My mind immediately runs through the group of fae I know, making my panic rise higher as the list grows.

“The process is fairly involved. We’re going to inject you with several DNA splicing elixirs. One to break down any fae magic in your system, another to wipe it out, and lastly, one to rebuild strands of human DNA.”

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

“Afterwards, you’ll need a blood transfusion to clear out any remaining fae magic running 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. Luckily, we have connections with several nearby blood banks.”

We’re close enough to a city center that can have blood transported here then… I’m not sure what good that information does me now, but I hang onto it, anyway. “You’re crazy,” I deadpan. “Literally insane.”

One of the white coats steps forward. “I have a feeling you’ll change your mind once the procedure is successful.” He pauses, arching a brow at me. “Unless youwantto remain fae.”

It wouldn’t matter to them if I did. Their entire mission is to rid the world of fae. But if it were up to me, if it wasmychoice, I wouldn’t let them do the procedure. I’ve already lived through the hardest part of being fae, learninghowto live with it. Fuck, I wasjustgetting to the good part, and now… I stop that train of thought before it brings me to tears in front of these monsters. “What Iwantis to not be held against my will. To have a say in what happens tome. To have a fuckingchoice.”

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