Page 104 of Crossed Fates
Todd?I repeated in my head, still fussing with the cuffs. They were so tight that I could barely move.Vamp’s name is Todd, Al—
The bloodsucking son of a bitch stuck the needle into my arm before I could finish my thought, shooting the liquid straight into my vein and momentarily blinding me to the world.
Alaric raged in my head, but I could barely hear him over the rushing sound in my ears.
I couldn’t hold it in. My head fell back, and a bloodcurdling scream ripped from my chest. My body shook, my limbs trembling beneath the onslaught.
Liquid silver.
In my veins.
Going straight to my heart.
Oh. Fuck.There was no stopping this, no cure that I knew of, no… way… to… survive.
A tear trickled down my cheek, the weakness stirring a laugh from my captor. Or captors. I couldn’t really tell, their reaction swimming around me in a wave of distortion.
Makayla!
I blinked, uncertain of whether that voice belonged to me or Alaric.
I… I don’t know… what to do,I thought, my usual flavor of wit… gone. My breath stunted. My mind… fracturing.
Was my heart even still beating?
Someone patted my cheek that I barely felt beyond everything else. “I’m sure you’ll be much more docile in just a few minutes.”
My veins burned, eliciting a whimper from my throat. Or maybe another scream. I… I couldn’t hear. No, wait, I could, but it was all just so loud. So intense. So… cold? No, hot. No, cold. Oh God…
My kind were susceptible to silver, but it took a hell of a lot to kill us. However, a concentrated dose directly to the vein…Will I be able to survive this?
Alaric shouted something in my head.
Shh…I needed to focus. To think. To… to… something.
Don’t you dare leave me, Makayla!
What? I didn’t understand. Leave whom? Alaric? Why would I leave? I tried to open my eyes, to study my surroundings, to remember what I’d been doing with my fingers.
But everything was shutting down.
Except for a link. A subtle connection. A rope tethering me to another.Alaric.
His presence soothed me in a manner I didn’t really understand. I’d never wanted a mate. But Alaric… I… I liked Alaric. His scent. His wolf. His touch. His comfort. I could feel him all around me, caressing me with his essence, kissing my spirit with his own, and anchoring me here.
I tugged on him.
Reveled in his protection. His strength. His power.
So much energy. So much heat.
His mortality didn’t matter. Not to me.Right?Right. I… I wanted more time, though. Sixty years would be a gift. Much better than days.
Days.
Days.
Days.
