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Caleb gives her a hard look, fighting the urge to scream and tear out his hair. His aunt should have asked him what he wanted before she turned him back into a human. He’d been on the path to forging peace between vampires and the Order, ending centuries of conflict. Now, all of his efforts have gone to waste.
“I’m leaving,” Caleb declares, making his way towards the door. If Kenna and Rachel don’t see the urgency in finding Maddy, then he’ll do it himself.
Kenna stands in his way. “I can’t let you do that.”
“You’re not safe out there,” Rachel adds, keeping her voice soft as if she can lessen the blow.
Caleb can feel the tornado inside him raging even more than before, filling him to the brim with the desire to destroy everything. He clenches and unclenches his fists, the pressure of his emotions building up in his gut. He wants to explode into a million pieces and disappear. He’s suddenly worried what will happen if he does.
Just when he feels like he can’t hold on any longer, the doorbell rings.
Caleb rushes to the door, leaving Kenna and Rachel to follow in his wake. Maybe it’s Maddy! Maybe all this freak out is for nothing.
When he opens the door, Cora is standing outside, alone, a dejected look on her face. “Maddy’s gone,” she sighs.
Caleb loses the tight grip he had on his emotions. A wave of energy bursts through him, tossing Cora back into the hallway. She hits the wall with a loud thud, but lands on her feet, her face a mask of shock.
Kenna and Rachel, who are standing behind him, don’t have vampiric strength to protect them. They’re thrown against the far wall of the apartment, cracking the plaster, then crashing onto the bureau below. It fractures and splinters, the sound like a sonic boom in Caleb’s head as their still bodies sprawl on the floor, glass and shattered wood decorating their surroundings.
“No,” he mouths, shocked at what he’s done.
He takes a step toward his aunt and friend but his knees give out. Blackness engulfs him before he hits the floor.
Chapter3
Madeleine
Maddy flees beneath bloody skies, fighting against the barrage of sensations pouring through her mind. The highway will take her away from here, and she follows the white lines along the edge. She slows to a jog as she reaches an intersection, pausing before she darts between two cars and up onto the sidewalk in front of a shopping center. Moms with children loiter in front of the shop windows as they stare at the crimson sky while Maddy’s teeth beg for blood.
The air fills with the hint of iron, and it’s the only thing in her head. The heat of each person burns through her mind. So much blood, delicious blood, all around. How many would it take to fill her? Consuming a community would put her face on the front-page news.
She shakes her head, hoping to clear her thoughts. It doesn’t work, so she launches into a sprint once more. A car horn blares, but she doesn’t stop. Instead, she leaps over the vehicle without slowing.
She’s so much faster, so much stronger than she was before, and her strides eat away the space, covering more distance than she imagined possible. The wind rushes over her skin, the scents fill her brain, every light seems brighter, almost glaring. But none of it matters.
Her phone buzzes, and she knows without looking.He’s trying to call her. Giving in isn’t an option.
She needs Caleb, needs to see him, check on him, be with him, but she cannot risk him—no matter how much she wants to run to his side. What if she consumed him the way she polished off that lab worker? Losing him like that would shatter her into a million pieces.
No.He’s better off without her. She’s a messed-up muck of vampire-warlock now. They can’t be together anymore. Each footstep becomes the wordcan’t-can’t-can’t. Even as the words echo through her mind, a wail works up from her middle and threatens to spill over.
But it’s no match for her bloodthirst. Humans are all around her, walking blood factories, begging to be devoured. For all this time, she had no idea what it was like being a vampire. Now, now, she’s beginning to grasp an inkling of what it means to have bloodthirst as the hollowness spreads from her stomach out toward her arms.
Her control is waning, and the only way to get it back is to feed.
What did the others do? Blood banks. Where’s a blood bank?
Maddy’s phone buzzes again, and she slows to a stop at the corner of two streets in a part of the city she doesn’t recognize. She should be winded, worn out, something. But she isn’t at all. At least she’s at the edge of the city. Wide open spaces surround the metro, and maybe humans will be safer from her now. She grabs her phone to search for the closest blood bank.
She checks the screen.Eight missed calls.Eight! He keeps trying, but she doesn’t answer. How can she? It hurts too much. Instead, she tucks the phone in her back pocket. When will he take the hint? He’s better off without Maddy now that she’s a vampire-warlock hybrid. Her heart clenches, but she can’t give in to the rush of emotions.
Caleb…God. Caleb. Her stomach clenches, and her heart twists. Her emotional pain wars with the physical pain of her hunger until Maddy doesn’t know what to do. None of it matters without Caleb.
She types inblood bank. Maddy wants to keep others safe, so this is her next best option. There are multiple locations around the city.
There’s one a few miles away, in a less populated side of town—not far from her current location if her map is to be believed.
Another hunger pang makes her gasp, and she presses her hand to her middle. It’s getting worse, so much worse. Her knees buckle, and she drops to the ground. She must feed before she loses all control and attacks the first walking blood bag.
