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“You’ll kill me,” I say without missing a beat.
She purses her lips and runs her fingers through her hair idly. “Do you want to be a vampire, Calla?”
My brows knit in confusion, and I stare at her. “N-no.” That avenue is not something I’ve ever let myself consider. My answer is more automatic than necessarily truthful, but I cling to it with everything I have, because the alternative… Becoming a vampire is just too damn terrifying to consider. Thinking about tomorrow is too overwhelming at this point. Toss eternity into the mix? No fucking way my mental state will survive that.
“Hmm.” Her lips curl into a wicked smirk, as if my answer was exactly what she was expecting—and hoping for. “Then you will have Gabriel return to me. Otherwise, I’ll turn you myself.”
Panic clamps down on my chest, stealing my breath as my eyes widen. “You can’t,” I stammer. “I know how vampires are made, and I haven’t—” My voice cuts off, and I clamp my mouth shut. She fed me her blood to heal Dante’s bite marks and has been glamouring me all week. She could have easily forced me to drink it at any time, and I wouldn’t remember. Bile rises in my throat, and I swallow hard. “Wh-what did you do?”
Selene rolls her eyes, managing to make even that look graceful. “No need for theatrics, Calla. Try to understand. I couldn’t take any chances. I needed a contingency plan in the event you wouldn’t take my deal.” She shrugs, as if this whole thing isn’t potentially life-changing for me. “So, you’re going to go back to your little vampire hostel and tell Gabriel he needs to come back to me. So long as he does as he’s told, you have nothing to worry about. My blood will work its way out of your system, same with the venom from my bite, and you’ll be fine.” Her voice lowers and hardens. “If he doesn’t, there won’t be a vampire on this earth who will be able to stop me from tracking you down and siring you to me. So really, it’s either you or him.” The corner of her mouth kicks up. “And no offense, but I’d much prefer him.”
I press my lips together to keep them from trembling. “You are fucking insane,” I seethe. “This is all some messed up game to you. This is my life. You’re screwing with someone’s life!”
“A game?” she breathes, a muscle feathering along her jaw as she traps my gaze with hers. Selene shakes her head. “I’ve told you why this needs to be done, and still…” Her fangs flash, extending to their full length, and I instinctively lean back from the table, my heart beating a little faster. In the time it takes me to blink, she moves, appearing beside my chair and hauling me up by the shoulder. The jerky, quick movement sends the chair to the floor, and I immediately fight to pull away from her. The moment she sinks her fangs into the delicate skin between my neck and shoulder, I scream. I can’t help it. As much as I want to be strong and refuse to show weakness in her presence, the agony-filled sound rips through me before I can clamp my jaw shut. Ice fills my veins, but the spot Selene drinks from burns hotter than anything I’ve ever felt. I use every ounce of strength I have left and struggle against her, pulling hard, which only makes the feeding hurt far worse. Instead, I try pushing her away, but that gets me nowhere as dizziness crashes into me in waves, bringing with it a wicked nausea deep in my belly.
Selene growls at my struggle, shoving me back against the table. The blunt edge digs into my side, but I barely feel it. I put my arms back to catch myself, and my heart races when my fingers brush the knife next to my plate. I pick it up and swing blindly, praying it’s enough to get her to stop drinking from me. If she takes much more, I’m going to collapse—and I might not get back up. I pull my hand back as she snarls viciously, then drops the blood-covered silver to the floor. The sound rings through my ears sharply, and I wince, the edges of my vision starting to blur and darken as I sway on my feet.
“You little bitch,” she snaps, and her voice sounds as if we’re underwater. Muffled and far away. As the wound quickly seals itself, she bares her fangs that are dripping with my blood; my attack did nothing but piss her off.
I open my mouth to say… what? I have no idea. But it doesn’t matter. Before I can get a word in, Selene grabs me by the throat and slams my head into the table. Glass shatters and food goes flying. The room spins violently fast around me and every inch of my body hurts. Probably not as much as it should, which isn’t a good thing. I’m starting to lose it, to go numb. I pull myself up, gripping the table to remain standing, and the second I catch my breath, Selene comes at me, backhanding me so hard across the face, my mouth fills with blood. I choke on it, spitting what I can onto the floor as I keel over, groaning. Sinking to the floor, my cheek presses against the cold marble. All I can smell is my own blood. The bitter, copper scent makes my stomach clench as my head pounds. Warmth trickles down the side of my face, and I don’t have to reach up and touch it to know it’s blood.
As my eyes start to close on their own, the pain ebbs away. The chill in my bones thaws, replaced by a soft, pleasant warmth.
I think this might be what dying feels like.
9
Gabriel
We all sense her at once.
Calla’s presence returns just as quickly as it faded just over a week ago.
The four of us converge in the living room within seconds, but before we can get out the door, my phone chimes. With three sets of silver eyes on me, I pull it out and open the text.
“It’s Selene,” I say in a gravelly voice. “She says not to bother going after Calla. She’s… she’s heading to us anyway.”
What the hell?
I shake my head, anger and confusion coursing through me at record-breaking speeds. A quick glance at the others tells me they’re experiencing the same.
“She’s just giving her back?” Kade says, crossing his thick arms over his chest. His eyes are narrowed and filled with doubt and suspicion. I don’t blame him. He doesn’t know Selene—none of them do. They don’t know what she’ll do to get what she wants—whatever the hell that is this time.
“That doesn’t make any fucking sense,” Lex adds, his brows furrowed as he looks to me. “What game is she playing, Gabriel?”
I wish I had a better answer than the one I give. “Your guess is as good as mine. None of this makes sense.”
Atlas remains silent, but the dark look on his face says it all. He’s ready to go to war.
We take turns pacing the room while the others sit around, waiting. It’s driving us all nuts, feeling her getting closer. The connection isn’t as strong as it once was, which could be from her being away from us for so long. Magic is unpredictable that way.
Half an hour after the text from Selene, a town car with tinted windows pulls into the driveway. We’re outside before the vehicle has a chance to shift into park, and Kade is a blur of movement, tearing down the stone steps and opening the back seat. The smell of her blood hits me, and every muscle in my body tenses. My gums throb as a growl rumbles in my chest before I move to stand beside Kade, sucking in a shallow breath at the sight of Calla, half-conscious and covered in her own blood in the back seat.
Lex curses in a sharp tone and moves toward the driver’s door, but Atlas grabs his arm, pulling him back.
“He’s human. Likely hired help.” There’s a warning in his voice. Translation:don’t kill the driver.
Lex tears his arm away from his sire’s grip and stomps off toward the house as Kade scoops Calla’s limp, entirely too pale body into his arms and carries her inside. Atlas and I follow close behind. I steal a glance at him, wondering if he’s struggling to not breathe in the scent of her blood as much as I am. The other two seem to be channeling it into rage. The thought of wanting to taste her blood again—right now of all moments—makes me sick to my core. I wholeheartedly despise the part of me I have to fight to keep control over. The part that wants to feed on the human Kade is laying on the couch with a gentleness I’m not sure I’ve ever seen from the vampire before.
