Page 124 of Hawke

“Stop using magic,” I mouthed to him.

He curled his lip into a smile. Blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth until it fell into his beard.

The smile was convincing, but I knew it was fake when I saw the sorrow in his eyes. His pale skin and shallow breathing were a reminder of his condition, yet he still found it within himself to give to others.

“We are going to get out of this,” I whispered as I crawled to him.

His eyes closed as I ran my hand across his face, the bristles of his whiskers tickling my palm. “Hawke’s coming, and everything is going to be fine.”

Because there wasn’t anything I could do. I couldn’t even will the claws to come out of my fingers because my wolf wasn’t letting me do anything.

She would help me climb a tree, she let me run barefoot across the forest without it hurting, yet I stood in front of a man I wanted to hurt the most and nothing happened.

I gritted my teeth to the point of almost breaking my jaw.

“And yet you still have nothing to say,” I yelled at her.

“E-eat,” Bram barely whispered.

I shuffled closer, just to feel what little warmth he had left.

I had no knife to cut, no utensil to use for what little meat I had. It barely fit in my palm, but I picked it up and tore off pieces of the medium rare steak with my sharp teeth and ate it as quickly as I could, like a starving woman.

And it was the best steak I had ever eaten.

As I finished my meal, Shane finished up on the phone. I shoved the plate under the kitchen table, so Shane didn’t see it. I didn’t need a lecture about eating half-cooked steak on the floor conjured by magic.

Who knows what his expectations were by now with his whole vampire vibe he had going on.

As he turned, I was now sitting on the chair, cleaned, proper, back straight, hair drying somewhat satisfactorily. He smiled, approaching with even tapping steps.

“Delilah, I’ve missed you. I can’t wait to bring you home.” He kissed me on both cheeks, startling me.

I remained impassive and unresponsive despite the absolute repulsion running down my spine as he pulled away. I could see my wolf curling a lip as well.

“You will love what I’ve done to the place. More curtains, but not dark and dreary. They are cream and lavender but are thick enough to not let in as much light. Your skin will be sensitive to light for a few months.”

Uhhh, I do not like purple.

“It will be better as you transition.”

“T-transition?”

“Yes, the first year is the hardest. But after that, it’s much better. The scientists I’ve hired have actually improved on the formula, so you won’t have as much difficulty as I had. In fact, you may feel no adverse side effects.”

“Effects of what?” I tilted my head.

“To the vampire venom. You are going to change, like me.” He put his hand over his chest, like it was an honor to become a part of a prestigious institution or religion.

I felt the scrape of the chair legs against the floor as I pushed it away from him. “I don’t want to be a vampire. Why would I want to do that?”

“Delilah,” he said condescendingly. “I would have chosen fae, but Idris said that vampire venom is easier manipulated than fae. He already had scientists working on the vampire venom and by the time the fae venom was safe for humans, we would have already aged too much. So, this would be the safer route so we can freeze our youth.”

He laid a hand on mine. “This venom is very safe. No other supernaturals can detect that we have been changed to vampires. We do not have to drink only blood. We can also enjoy food and its tastes. We will no longer age, and we can have chosen mates. That means we can mate and not have to worry about some goddess choosing for us and still be powerful. It really is the best of both human and supernatural worlds, Delilah. Isn’t that wonderful?”

I shook my head, but his hand firmly gripped mine as I tried to tug it away.

“All this, eternal youth, physical powers, all to just help him step into the human world. We’ve become partners, he and I. It’s a win-win. He will work with part of the business you never wanted me to take on, and I will do the rest.”

---