Page 84 of Benjamin and the Thief

She stopped breathing, while her heart beat in a rapid staccato. Benjamin’s words echoed in her ears, and she tried to comprehend them. But her mind refused to cooperate. It couldn’t be true. She couldn’t be a vampire. It wasn’t possible. That would make her a monster. And she didn’t feel like a monster. She felt alive. She felt vibrant.

“It’s not true. It can’t be.”

“It is,” he said quietly. “Look at your skin. Your wounds have healed. There are no scars. And your senses are sharper. You can hear better; your sense of smell is so much stronger now. And you’re stronger. You flung Maya against the wall. And it felt effortless, didn’t it?”

She knew that everything he said was what she’d been experiencing since she’d awoken. She was different. She felt it. Tears welled up in her eyes once more.

“And your tears are red,” he added.

“But I’m not a monster,” she choked out, a sob escaping from her throat. “I can’t be a monster.”

“You’re not. And neither am I. Nor my friends or my family.”

She watched through her tears as he came closer until he stood only a few inches away from her. His scent was more potent now, and her throat felt parched as if she’d been in a desert and needed water to survive.

“But what am I gonna do now? How can I live like this?”

“I’ll take care of you, and I’ll teach you everything you need to know. I’m here for you,” he murmured.

When she felt his arms wrap around her, she allowed herself to melt into his embrace. She inhaled his drugging scent. With it, hunger rose inside her. She felt her gums itch and her jaw distort painfully. Before she knew what was happening, she felt sharp canines descend from her upper row of teeth. She’d grown fangs. In that moment, instinct took over, and though she knew nothing about being a vampire, she knew this. She needed blood.

She nuzzled her face in the crook of Benjamin’s neck and licked over his soft skin. She felt him shiver, but she wouldn’t let him escape now. She gripped him hard, then sank her fangs into his neck. When the first drops of his blood reached her tongue, she felt her entire body awaken. Pleasure spread to every cell of her body, while the blood infused her with strength. Instinctively, she knew that she was strong enough to kill a man with her bare hands, hands that had turned into claws, claws that were slicing through Benjamin’s shirt as she forced him to submit to her. So she could take what she needed. So she could survive in this new form—by hurting somebody. By robbing them of their blood.

Disgust surged through her. Guilt wasn’t far behind. When shame collided with them, she removed her fangs from his neck and reared back. She stared at the wound she’d caused and watched how the blood was still seeping from it. Regret slammed into her.

“Oh God, what have I done?”

Tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision.

“Catalina.”

Benjamin’s voice sounded drugged, weak. She’d hurt him. How could she have hurt the man she’d professed to love? How could she have turned so evil? So selfish, so heartless.

“I can’t be this… I can’t…”

When a sob tore from her chest, she whirled around on her heel and raced to the door. She ripped it open and ran outside.

“Catalina, stop,” Benjamin called after her, but she ignored him and barreled toward the double doors that seemed to lead outside of the clinic.

She had no idea where she was, and barefoot in a hospital gown she wouldn’t get far, but she had to get away from him, so she wouldn’t hurt him even more. Because she’d lost control over herself, the need for blood was too urgent to deny. And next time, she might take too much of his blood and kill him. And she could never live with herself if she did that.

37

Benjamin still felt the pleasure that had pulsed through his body when Catalina had sunk her fangs into him and taken his blood. He’d never felt such a high, which was also the reason why he’d been too dazed to stop her from running off. When she’d looked at him just before she’d hightailed it out of the room, he’d seen the disgust in her face. She hated being a vampire. Hated what it did to her. And hated him for it.

He charged out of the room and nearly collided with Maya. “I need to catch her. I need to explain…”

Maya shook her head. “Give her time. She can’t get off this floor without an access card.” Her gaze veered to the wound on his neck. “At least she drank blood.”

He scoffed. “Yeah, and she hated it. She hates me for what I did to her.”

“No, she doesn’t. The first time can be traumatic. You wouldn’t know, because you were born into it.”

Whereas to him, it was natural. “There’s so much I haven’t had a chance to tell her about.”

“She needs to speak to somebody who understands what she’s going through.”

“You’re not suggesting she speak to Dr. Drake?”