“Lucy’s the only reason I remained sane whilegrowing up. If it weren’t for her, I would have lost my mind inthere. I can’t lose her now.”
Kyle leaned forward to kiss her forehead.“And I will do my best to make sure that doesn’t happen. Now, tellme what you went through in there. You know what they did to me, oryou can at least guess,” he said as he waved a hand over his body.“Tell me, Melanie.”
And so she did. She rested her head on hisshoulder and stared at the wall as she told him what happened. Shegave him the watered-down version, but she didn’t keep anythingback. When she finished, she felt the wrath thrumming through histense body, but he held her tenderly as he continued to feedLucy.
She wasn’t sure how much time passed beforehe pulled his wrist away from Lucy’s mouth. Staring at her friend,Melanie tried to find some difference in her, but she didn’t seeany.
“Kyle…?”
He hated to tell her this, especially afterall she’d endured, but he couldn’t keep it from her any longer.“This isn’t going to be enough to heal her. She’s too far gone. I’mnot sure if it’s because I’m weak from blood loss and everythingdone to me, or if it’s the amount of damage she sustained, but Ican’t heal her.”
Melanie tried to speak, but words failed her.She stared at her friend as memories of their childhood flittedthrough her mind. When they were too young to understand what washappening, they were content to play in the woods, laughing, anddaydreaming about their trolls and escapes from capture.
As they got older, they realized being lockedaway wasn’t normal. They saw other kids going to school on TV andwanted to do the same, but their schooling remained inside thefacility, where they whispered over their notes and endured thedisapproving scowls of their tutors.
She’d watched Delilah repeatedly beat Lucydown with her words, only to watch Lucy spread her wings and flywhen they went to college. Though sheltered, they succeeded inliving a somewhat normal life once they were free. That life hadbeen taken from them.
Worse, he was saying Lucy wouldn’t seetomorrow.
Her heart was shattering into a thousandpieces, and each of those pieces sliced her veins, tore them open,and shredded her heart. Life wasn’t fair; she’d learned that lessonwhen she was young, but this was exceptionally cruel.
She didn’t realize she was crying until tearsdripped onto her hand.
“I can change her,” Kyle said.
Melanie’s head snapped up. She glancedbetween him and Lucy and back again. Her mind spun as she tried toprocess exactly what he was saying. Change Lucy?
“Into a vampire?” she squeaked and felt likean idiot because she knew that’s what he meant.
“Yes, but it’s your decision.”
“I… I… can’t make that choice for her,” shestammered. “How am I supposed to choose between her life and… and…I don’t know what.”
He squeezed her hand. “I realize that untilmeeting my family and me, you’ve only ever known about Savages, butnot all vampires are like that. Many are like me, my siblings, andtheir mates.”
“Mates?”
Kyle quickly explained what a mate meant to avampire. He didn’t tell her that she was his mate; she had enoughto deal with, considering her friend’s life was in her hands. Lucyhad saved him, and he didn’t want to see her die; he’d prefer tochange her, but he would let Melanie make the choice. She knew Lucyfar better than him and would be better at deciding for herfriend.
“My siblings and their mates are all happytogether,” he said. “Some of them have children.”
Her jaw dropped so fast she wondered if itunhinged. “Vampires can havechildren?”
“How else would I have siblings?” he askedteasingly and managed to coax the smallest of smiles out ofher.
“When I learned you were a vampire, Ithought… well… I’m not sure what I thought. That maybe you calledeach other siblings, or the same vampire who turned you also madethe vamps you call your siblings… or maybe brothers and sisters andso on meant something different to vampires.”
“No weird terminology or same vampirecreating us. They are as much my brothers and sisters as any humansiblings. We were all born this way. I’m what we call a purebloodedor purebred vampire.”
“Shit,” she hissed out. “I believed therewasn’t anything about vampires that could shock me anymore, butthere’ssomuch I don’t know.”
And there was still more to tell her, but hewould wait.
“Is that why your skin turned that weirdcolor when you broke the glass and again today?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said. “As a purebred vampire, I’m alot closer to the demon part of my DNA.”
When she gulped, he continued. “Do you knowwhy vampires are the way we are?”
