Aurora moves out of the way, and Lucca takes her place. My weak pulse accelerates. If whatever Lucca is planning to do doesn’t work, I’ll die faster. He bites his own wrist, slashing a vein open. Dark blood quickly pours out of the gash, dripping onto my shirt.
“You need to drink this.” He places his wrist over my lips. “Take as much as you can.”
I can barely drink anything at first, but as Lucca’s blood enters my system, I sense my strength return. I clamp my teeth into his skin and swallow his blood in harder pulls to the point that Lucca twists his face into a grimace. I must be hurting him, but I can’t stop. My stomach tingles, then itches like crazy.
“Oh my God. I can’t believe this.” Manu’s jaw drops.
I feel strong… invincible. I’m also hungry like I’ve never been before. But it isn’t food I crave.
Lucca pulls away, pressing his arm against his chest. No one says a word, and all I can hear is the sound of my pulse pounding away in my ears. Everyone is staring at me. I sit up slowly, checking my abs and arms in complete awe. In the blink of an eye, all my muscles tense, and my gums ache. The hunger I felt before multiplies tenfold, taking over my thoughts and my will. I glance at Vivi, and all I see is the blood pumping in her veins. I need it like the air I breathe.
Lucca moves in a blur, pulling her away from me. I switch my attention to Aurora and prepare to pounce. But Ronan, Saxon, and Manu jump on me just before I can get near her.
“What’s going on?” I hear someone ask.
“Bloodlust. All new vampires suffer through it.”
I hiss and thrash on the ground, trying to break free. Why won’t they let me? Can’t they see I need to feed or I’ll die? This is a new agony, but it’s one that I can easily put a stop to if they let me.
Aurora jumps to her feet, clutching a stone in her hand now, and her eyes are doing a strange glowing thing.
“On the count of three, stay clear of Vaughn,” she warns.
“Are you crazy? We can’t let him go. He’ll attack you,” Saxon retorts.
“Let him go. I know what I’m doing. Ready? One, two, three. Now!”
At once, Saxon, Manu, and Ronan jump off me. Finally!
I don’t waste the opportunity. I jump to my feet, but Aurora hits me in the chest with a shining energy ball, and that’s the last thing I see.
Two
VAUGHN
THREE DAYS LATER
The time I spent under King Raphael’s care went by in a blur. I barely remember a thing besides being extremely hungry all the time. Truthfully, I’m glad I don’t remember much of my stay with him. The king scares the crap out of me.
I was at the brink of death, and Lucca was able to turn me into a vampire, something that hadn’t been possible for centuries. Newly made vampires suffer from bloodlust, hence why I was sent to King Raphael’s mansion. Being under heavy guard was both for my protection and to make sure I survived my transition without going on a killing spree. In theory, that was my sire’s responsibility, aka Lucca’s. But with everything going on thanks to Boone’s death, King Raphael took me in. Lucca will be under too much scrutiny, and the last thing we need is for others to find out he sired a vampire.
A couple of hours ago, I was told by Mauricio Libell, the king’s familiar, that I’d be leaving tonight. The news motivated me. I’ve missed my friends and my family, but I didn’t dare tohope. I only really believed it was true when I saw Vivi and Lucca waiting for me in the living room.
“Vivi!” I run to her and, forgetting that I’m no longer human, miscalculate. I would have knocked her down if Lucca hadn’t jumped in front of her and shoved me back.
“Watch it, newbie,” he snarls.
I end up sprawled on the floor, but I barely feel the fall. This is so weird.
“Vaughn, are you okay?” Vivi asks, stepping from behind Lucca.
“I’m fine.” I jump back onto my feet, nimble as a cat. “It’ll take time to get used to all my new abilities.”
“You may feel like you’re invincible now, but you’re as weak as a child,” Lucca grumbles.
“I don’t feel weak,” I retort.
“Trust me, you are. I shouldn’t have been able to send you to the floor that easily.”
