Page 7 of Nearly Dead

“So you made this choice for me?”My voice breaks.“To make me this… this…?”

“I made the only choice I could.”His voice is low and urgent.“Life or death.I chose your life.”

“That wasn’t your choice to make.I told you I didn’t want this.”The rage bubbles up again.The magma of it is right beneath the surface ready to erupt through any fissure in my emotions.My vision sharpens, and I feel my canines lengthening against my elongating mouth.

“Costin,” Anthony warns.“Step back.”

Costin doesn’t move.His beautiful, unreadable eyes hold mine.“I can’t let you go.”

The sire bond pulses between us, a living thing with its own demands.Part of me wants to surrender to it, to let it soothe the chaos in my blood.Another part, the part that’s always valued my independence and humanity, recoils.

“I hate this,” I whisper, tears welling.“I hate feeling like I’m not my own anymore.”

Astrid clears her throat.“Tamara.”

I turn my attention to her.

“We need to discuss practical matters,” she says, ever the pragmatist.“Although we have tried to keep this quiet, there are rumors circulating in the supernatural community, and the elders will need to be informed.Mortimer and your father are already asking questions.”

Great.Just what I need.Uncle Mortimer, the family doomsayer, who spent years warning me that mortality was a curse and who tried multiple times to marry a powerful supernatural to ensure the survival of the Devine bloodline.I can just hear his condescending voice bemoaning this new embarrassment I have brought onto the family name.

“Let them ask,” Costin says sharply.“Tamara’s condition isn’t up for debate by the council.”

“Tamara’s condition,” I repeat, letting out a bitter laugh.“Is that what we’re calling this?Not abomination?Not freak of nature?”

“You’re not an abomination,” Anthony puts forth, finally stepping closer.“You’re my sister.”

The simple declaration nearly breaks me.A sob builds, but it comes out as a strangled growl.My body tenses against my will, and that awful shifting sensation comes over me again, my bones wanting to crack and reshape.

“Something’s happening,” I groan.“I can’t… I can’t stop it.”

“Her eyes,” Anthony says urgently.“They’re changing again.”

The room spins as pain lances through me.I arch off the bed, straining against the chains until the metal cuts into my skin.Blood wells from my wrists, the scent intoxicating even though it’s my own.

“Hold her down!”Astrid commands.“We can’t have her breaking free again and attacking the staff.”

Hands press against my shoulders and legs.The bond I have with Costin intensifies as his touch lands on my chest, right above my heart.

“They’re probably how the council found out about this,” Anthony adds.“I’m sure one of them talked about her condition.”

“I’ll handle my staff,” Costin answers.

“The council won’t order her destroyed, will they?”Anthony asks.

The fact no one answers him worries me.

“Tamara, listen to me,” he says, his voice compelling.“Focus on my voice.You can control this.”

But I can’t.The beast inside me surges up, drowning out reason and humanity.

Costin’s hand slips onto my cheek and I snap at him, fangs fully extended now.He jerks back just in time.

“Astrid,” he says.I hear the fear in his voice.Real fear.“This isn’t working.We need to sedate her again.”

“No!”I try to say, but it comes out as another inhuman sound.

Astrid steps forward with a syringe filled with red liquid.

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