Page 29 of Undying
I don’t doubt the vampire could break free, but I suspect he’s allowing the wolf to pin him to avoid a real fight.
Though I’m enjoying the show, I don’t want to be locked in this cage any longer than necessary. Even now, my energy is waning, and the comforting peace of darkness is beckoning. I give a sharp whistle. Though they really shouldn’t be able to hear me over the music, the guys jolt like I put a whip to them.
Milo’s shoulders slump in relief, and he blows out a heavy sigh. The Viking is studying me as if looking for cracks. The barbarian just looks pissed, which I suspect is his normal expression, while Stanton appears bored, like my trauma is an annoyance.
Fucking twatwaffle.
Needing them gone, their presence more unsettling the longer they remain, I recall the question everyone wanted answered. “You wanted to know what happened at the mansion? Not what happened to me, but what happened to your precious vampires? They killed me. They took every last drop of my blood, then dumped me in their murder pit without a second thought.”
I give them a nasty smile, flashing them my fangs. “When I woke up, I decided to take back what they stole—every fucking drop of my blood.”
Milo’s eyes go wide, his mouth dropping open, then he closes it when he can’t seem to find any words. The barbarian gives me a vicious smile, revealing massive fangs that make me shiver, almost looking proud of my accomplishments. The Viking looks troubled, almost like he’s concerned for me, but it’s Stanton’s reaction that captures my attention.
“You’re lying.” He actually looks disturbed for a second before his normal imperious expression takes over. “That’s not possible.”
I snort and lift my brows, enjoying that I caught him so off guard. Something tells me it doesn’t happen often. “Oh, I assure you, it’s very much possible.” My voice drops until it’s almost a purr. “You have a whole mansion as proof.”
I give them a dismissive look, then turn and resume my spot on my cot, suddenly beyond tired. I’m just closing my eyes when Stanton speaks again.
“No, you misunderstand.” His British accent is so heavy and posh that the imperious tone makes him sound like royalty. “It should be physically impossible. Creating a vampire is difficult. Not only does it take an equal exchange of blood to replenish what you lost, the transition is especially harsh on women. Without help…it would be agony. Most vampires are locked away for months as they gain control of their bloodlust.”
My skin prickles with warning, and I slowly push myself upright, fearing the worst is yet to come. My mouth is dry when I speak, and nausea churns in my stomach. “What are you saying?”
“That even if you were somehow miraculously reborn as a vampire, you needliveblood to sustain you. If you only fed off vampires, you would’ve starved within a week.”
Well, fuck me.
I want to call him a liar, but something he said resonates deep in my bones. Hope leaps in my chest, and I slowly push to my feet. “If I’m not a vampire, then what am I?”
ChapterTen
MILO
Though they might try to hide their reactions, I’ve been with the guys too long to miss the truth—they’re furious by her answer. Not that she killed the vampires. The guys didn’t give a fuck about Dafoe and his clan. What sets them off is what she had to endure at their hands.
“You’re a fledgling, a vampire who has just gone through a brutal transition. The process usually takes a few days to a few weeks, depending on your blood supply and its potency. It took minutes, maybe an hour to drain you—”
“A week, maybe more,” Jolie interrupts me, her voice cracking at the confession. “I lost track of time after a while.”
I flinch at what she must have suffered, not sure how she was able to endure the pain of being drained so slowly over such a prolonged period of time. I swallow hard before I finally find my voice. “Then we have to be very careful on how we finish your transition.
“Not enough blood, and it can send you into stasis and you might never wake up. Too much blood can speed up the process and literally turn you inside out. Or worse, send you into bloodlust, where you become a mindless monster with only one focus—the need to feed. We would be forced to hunt you down and kill you,” I mumble, then flush when everyone turns to gape at me.
I mentally curse myself for opening my big mouth and blurting out my thoughts. After drawing the attention of a group of rogue vampires and being turned against my will, I still recoil sometimes when the guys look at me a little too directly.
I’m much better now, no longer cowering in a corner, but sometimes I still get triggered, like when their aggression is so heavy in the room that it’s hard to breathe.
“A fledgling? How is that even possible? Turning a human isn’t a simple or easy process. It isn’t something that’s done by accident. Especially a female,” Stanton says in his calming accent. My unease settles somewhat, relief flooding me when he doesn’t immediately shoot down the idea.
I roughly clear my throat, then run a hand down my shirt in a nervous habit, fussing to make sure the scars that ravage my body are covered. “What if she wasn’t dead when they tossed her into the pit? Not completely, anyway. Though it’s unlikely, she could’ve had enough vampire saliva and blood in her system from fighting back that it started the change. It would explain how she was able to kill them. The thirst for blood is a powerful thing for a fledgling.”
Stanton looks so doubtful that I hurry to speak before he can dismiss the idea. “We all know females have a harder time going through the transition than males. Maybe it’s because we’ve been assuming it’s the same process. But what if we’re wrong?
“With each vampire she drained, their blood would’ve helped with the transition. She grew stronger and would’ve been compelled to hunt them to complete the process. It would almost make sense why she’s rejecting the human blood—she needs more potent vampire and shifter blood to complete her transition.”
The wolves turn to Stanton, waiting for his verdict, and I gaze at him as well, silently holding my breath.
For the first time, Stanton looks unsure. “It’s unlikely. I’ve never heard of anything like that happening.”
