Page 56 of Vameer

I take a deep breath.

Focus on reality, Rune.

Reality reminds me that I should go back upstairs to get my laptop. So I can log in to my freelance job and do a transcript or two to earn some money. But I don’t really feel like going back into my potentially cursed apartment, so I pick up the tablet instead.

As I press the button to turn it on, the black screen reflects my furrowed expression.

I start to relax my features, then lurch forward, my heart thudding.

Are my eyes black?

The screen flashes to life, my reflection disappearing with the light, but…

Pressure builds in my chest.

My eyes are not black. I’m not turning into a vampire. I’m not Nix. I’m⁠—

The tablet slips from my grip, thumping onto the desk.

I shake my head.

I’m not a vampire’s mate.

I can’t be.

Heat smolders beneath my skin.

A weight sits heavy inside my rib cage.

My pulse slows. Even though my emotions have not.

My heart beats with another’s.

I breathe.

As my heart tries to race.

But it doesn’t.

Can’t.

With trembling hands, I pick up the tablet, open the internet, and start to read every article I can find on Nix Novak.

“It won’t hurt.”

I press my lips together and glance toward my bed.

The bracelets from my parents are either on my wrist or in my bowl of bracelets, but the box they came in is under my bed. Hiding.

I shake my head and look back down at my hands. I don’t need to recreate every tiny detail.

Blowing out a breath, I set the box cutter on the table, go to my freezer, and take out one ice cube.

I’ve already washed my hands three times. Already washed the box cutter. But the anticipation of pain is making me freak out. So I press the pad of my thumb to the frozen cube.

The rest of my shift in the shop today was dead, so I did a lot of reading. But I didn’t come across anything new. And the more I searched, the more I accepted that there aren’t any details on what Nix may or may not have noticed in the days leading up to finding out she was Volik’s mate.

Maybe there were no signs.