Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
She would have killed me if I let her.
So, should I let Xavier kill her? She never took being beaten by me lightly. Even losing to me in Uno sent her into a tizzy. My mind flashes to what life would be like without her. Would I miss her? Feel guilty I gave my husband the say-so to kill her? It kind of scares me to think I wouldn’t.
But Leo would be devastated. They’re twins. And Gia—she doesn’t understand how cruel her oldest sister is. She would be heartbroken.
“They thought he was a vampire,” I say with certainty, but then question what I’m about to say next. “And they wanted to save me from, uh, I guess you guys.”
Xavier raises an eyebrow. “Save you?”
“I don’t know. At first, of course, I didn’t want to be here,” I say, meaning here as in the next breeding stock for the Malus family. “But they could see I was happy at dinner that night.”
Xavier’s eyes cloud over. “They kidnapped Mabel. Devon finds out something, and then they shoot him, with the intention of taking you.” Darkness starts to take over and my god, he’s terrifying. “How did you get away?”
I shake my head. “They didn’t try to kidnap me. Antonio helped keep Devon stable and Leo called 911.”
“How helpful after they shot him.”
“It wasn’t them.” My chest tightens and I suddenly can’t take in any air. I’ve lost so much in such a short time, starting with my identity.
“Wren,” Xavier says gently and unzips my jacket so he can put his hand on my chest. “Breathe.”
Feeling his cool skin against me brings instant comfort. He wants to keep pressing me for details but knows I’m about to come undone.
He runs a finger across my collarbone. “I wish I could tell you everything is going to be okay and let you believe it for a little while.”
“Me too,” I agree. Right as my heart starts to settle back into my chest, Theo comes rushing in.
“Where is he?” Theo demands, stopping just inches from us.
“I don’t know,” I reply and start to cry again, tears rolling down my face.
With a dramatic huff, Theo speeds away. Xavier just holds me, and I swear, if his arms weren’t around me, I would be a puddle of tears on the floor. I have no idea how much time passes before Theo comes back into the waiting room, getting us to follow him through the doors. Xavier keeps a steady hold of my hand as we move through the hospital, walking past obviously spellbound workers who would have normally stopped us from going into restricted areas.
We come to a stop right outside an operating room. Theo squares his shoulders.
“Well, brother,” he starts. “We don’t have much time.” His eyes meet mine for a half second, glaring at me as if I’m an annoyance. “And we have a decision to make.”
Chapter
Four
“What do you mean?” The words tumble out of my mouth as it hits me: Devon isn’t going to make it. The decision is to either let him die or turn him into a vampire.
“This doesn’t concern you,” Theo tells me.
“The fuck it does,” I snap and the lights above us flicker.
“Control your witch, brother,” Theo says snidely and Xavier growls, moving in front of me.
“Watch your mouth,” Xavier snaps, and I assume he’s drawing his fangs. My heart is racing and I clench my fingers into fists, trying not to freak out completely. A nurse walks by and Xavier stops her, asking about the status of the patient in the OR next to us.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know,” she says, looking confused. Her eyes land on me, taking in the sight of my bloody clothes. “Let me take you to the waiting—”
“Find out,” Xavier orders, catching her eye. She slowly nods and then hurries away. I swallow hard and lean against the wall, feeling like I’m going to pass out. My vision starts to fade and I slump down, trying to convince myself that I didn’t actually hear Devon’s last spoken words.
Don’t let them turn me.
We hadn’t really had time to talk about it at length. And when I suggested he rethink this whole becoming a vampire thing, it wasn’t factoring in a life or death situation. I don’t want to lose him. Is that selfish? Maybe. If it is, I don’t care. I’m not able to accept that Devon would rather bleed to death and die from being shot by a wooden arrow than become a vampire.
When he changed his mind about not wanting to be turned, it was because he wanted to live his life in the sun, grow old, and die of natural causes. We hadn’t even thought about what would happen in a situation like this and my mind is going in circles, feeling guilty for wanting him to live but then feeling even worse if I let him die.