“Wait! You’re part of the Dragons?”
He lifts a derisive eyebrow. “Yep. Now, get your ass on the back or walk away.”
“Scoot up,” I mutter.
He eases up to give me room. “Welcome aboard the love machine, baby.”
Douche.
We take off and fly past Duncan Hall then hit a trail that goes into the woods. My teeth chatter as I tighten my hold around his waist. He guns the motorcycle as we jump a hill and catch air. I scream as he laughs. Death feels certain as we land on the snow and continue through the forest, weaving crazily between trees and bushes.
Finally, he spins in front of a rectangular, dilapidated barn and stops. A wooden door is cracked, a small light coming from within.
He puts down the stand, eases off, and marches away.
“Thanks for the ride, jerk!” I snap at his back.
He flips me off over his shoulder as he walks inside the barn.
Taking a deep breath for courage, I open the door and step in. It’s warm, too warm, and I shrug off my coat and drape it over my arm. My face feels flushed, and I realize I’m sweating. Perfect. Feverish—again.
I hear male laughter upstairs, and a tingle zips up my spine at the scent in the air, rich and masculine, soothing. I look around, taking in the jackets by the door, the boots lined up on a shelf. This is where they live. Must be nice to not have to reside in the dorms.
I take the staircase and reach a loft, big and spacious, the area cut up into smaller rooms and a den, which is where they are.
Sitting on a couch, Bodhi looks over his shoulder and nudges Rune. “She’s here.”
Rune doesn’t turn around, and I assume he’s glued to the book in his hands. “Come in so I can see you,” he says absently.
I walk forward and end up in middle of the room.
He glances up and starts. “You.”
“Me.” I lick my lips nervously, feigning like I don’t recall the planetarium. “We have a class together. I’m Everly.”
Bodhi waves. “And you know me. We have swim together.”
“Yes.”
Besides the overpowering smell of them, my mouth waters at something coppery in the air. I glance around, and sitting on a wooden chair to my left is Evan, his face scrunched as he twists his body around to stitch a wound on his right forearm. Blood drips on the floor, and my eyes follow it. I inhale sharply and move toward him without thinking.
“What happened?” I ask as I bend down to inspect it.
He growls at my proximity, black eyes glinting at me, a snarl on his face.
I back away with my hands up. “Sorry. I just want to help.”
I indicate the needle, the one he’s having a hard time managing since his wound is on the underside of his arm. “Let me?”
I expect him to snap, but he only frowns. “Why?”
“I have a steady hand and small hands. I can make quick work of it.” I give him a half-smile. “I’ve tended to my own wounds for years. I’ll be a great doctor someday.”
He indicates an alcohol wipe from the kit next to him to clean my hands then thrusts the needle my way. I press his skin together and make quick work of it, tying it off at the end. A smear of blood remains on his forearm, and I stare at it, wondering—
I shake myself mentally, grab a thick bandage from the first aid kit we’re using, and apply it carefully. It takes all of five minutes, and my hands are shaking as I feel the gazes of Bodhi and Rune on me.
I lean back on my heels, feeling off kilter. I push up to standing and swallow.
“Why are you here?” Rune bites out.
“I think someone is trying to kill me.” I pull the letter from my coat and lay it on the coffee table. “Someone sent me this.”
Rune picks it up off the coffee table, his granite face expressionless as he reads it. He passes it over to Bodhi.
The air in the room grows thin, and I sway on my feet. I forgot to eat dinner. I meant to, I did, but worry and anxiety have ruined my appetite. I cling to the side of their fireplace mantle then lower myself to sit on the brick hearth. My heart flies, so fast, so fast, and I hear them talking to each other, but it feels far away. Can your heart stop from beating too fast? I lick my lips, my skin prickling with fire. I unwrap my scarf, and when that isn’t enough, I take my boots off and unroll my socks.
I reach over, grab the leftover strips of bloody gauze from Evan’s wound, and stick them in my mouth. No! I tell myself, mentally gagging, while the other side of me, the primitive side, the stronger side, screams, Yes!
Tension zips through the room, something sharp and dangerous, and while I notice it, I can’t seem to care what it’s about.
After I finish the gauze, it falls from my hand, and I gaze hungrily at Evan’s wrapped wound. I lunge and someone stops me, their arms tight around my waist. They use that power-voice on me, but I can’t stop wanting to drink him. I think I’m dying.
“You’re not dying,” Rune growls.
An electric arc of fire buzzes between us, and my breath quickens at his scent. Oh, how I want that! Heat pools in my body and I reach for him as hands, many of them, move me to the rug on the floor. Someone pulls my shirt off, then my pants. They open my mouth and check my teeth. Another person peels down my panties to study my hips. They shout in excitement.
“She’s dragon-marked” someone yells.
“Do something,” I rasp out, a vicious pain rippling into my stomach. I curl into a ball and wail.
I hear things like ‘half-breed’ and ‘Omega’ and ‘vampire’ and ‘what the fuck’.
Rune curses and I feel his anger. His rage singes my skin and smoke comes from his nostrils.
They argue around me, their voices growing louder and louder.
I cry. I beg. I want.
A body lies on the floor next to me and pulls me into his arms, holding me rather awkwardly at a distance. He’s warm and sweet, luscious…
He holds his wrist over my mouth, and I catch his shaved head, the sharp cheekbones. Evan.
I bite into his skin, but nothing happens.
What am I doing?
I don’t have fangs! I’m not a vampire. I’m just not.
“Drink,” comes Rune’s power-voice.
I realize they’ve cut Evan’s wrist, and my mouth latches on and takes. And takes. Pleasure slides over me and I groan, my legs scissoring as another desire rises.
“I can’t smell her,” Rune says. “She still feels human—except for the blood sucking. Fuck, I hate vampires.”
I swallow down more blood, my teeth aching to pierce Evan’s skin.
“She belongs to the Reds. They sent her the letter. We need to hand her over,” Rune says.
No! reverberates in my head. I don’t belong to the Reds. I belong to me!
“We have a claim with that birthmark,” Bodhi murmurs. “She’s not bloomed, but she might later.”
“I want no part of a half-breed, especially a vampire,” Rune says scathingly. “They murdered my family. Daniel can have her. We’re not here to get involved in a clan war.”
“Daniel sent this to summon her…” Bodhi murmurs. “He must have been watching her or had a hint of what she was.”
Daniel? Daniel? The football guy? He’s in all my classes. Tall, blonde, sexy as fuck, with a come-to-me-baby smile. He’s a freaking vampire? And he wants me to be one too? Because I’m not one, I’m not. I take more blood, rapture filling me. Okay, something is definitely up with this blood thing, but…