Amy waited patiently, and then asked, "How are you feeling now?"I nodded. "Better," I said as I straightened. Then, I noticed something different about my body. "I'm starting to feel different somehow.""Here," Elias said. "Give me your hand."I did as he asked and he cut the palm of my hand with a knife. "Man! That hurt!" I said, unable to believe it. Normally, a cut on the hand would have tinged a bit, but would not have actually hurt."Look!" Elias said. "It's not healing!""You mean I'm becoming human?" I asked."You aren't fully human yet, but it definitely means that we're on the right track," Amy said. "We'll need to observe you to see how long these affects last."I nodded in agreement. "How long do you need me to stay?"Amy sighed. "At least until you're no longer in pain."Elias did something odd. He leaned over and inhaled deeply. "Dr. Ryan, his scent is changing, too."She nodded. "He's becoming human, although he isn't completely human yet." Amy then examined me
As I started toward the penthouse, I realized that this was the first time that I had clowned around with Amy. Since Jase was born, she had been letting her hair down a bit more, and I think that being around a baby had a lot to do with it. If I knew Amy, it probably wouldn't take much to get her to move into the castle permanently. I smiled to myself, making a mental note to ask Lorenzo later if he was available.Channing and Blake were standing outside the front door. "How is everything?" "Fine, sir," Channing said, and Blake gave me a nod of agreement as I passed. "Thanks, men," I said as I opened the front door. From the hallway, it seemed eerily quiet, but when I walked in, Leila was sitting in a chair with her feet curled up under her, laughing at something that Xander had just said. Kalyssa punched him lightly on the arm as he feigned injury, but we all knew better. It was funny that I hadn't heard them out in the hallway. Usually, my vampire hearing picked up the slight
I needed to feed her; I just hoped that my blood was enough. A slight twinge of guilt pulled at my chest, knowing that after I was fully human, I wouldn't be able to feed her my blood to heal her. I made a mental note to start filling blood bags with my blood to save for her. I would speak with Elias about it in the morning. Also, I needed to ask Kellen if he would feed her his blood in the event that I couldn't."If I told you, then it wouldn't be a surprise," I said, smiling as I opened the door. Two vampires wheeled in a cart covered with a white cloth and silver trays. The men entered the room and the smell of Italian herbs and spices filled the room, smelling heavenly. I thanked them, and a moment later, they headed out, but when I opened the door, Amy was standing on the other side. "What? Are you stalking us?"Amy smiled. "I was just about to knock."I laughed. "Get in here. You're just in time."She smiled as she entered the room. She looked over at Leila, who looked over a
"Well, everyone," I said, laying my napkin on the table beside my plate after dabbing my mouth. "I think it's that time of night." I looked around the table. "Thank you all for enjoying this moment with us. I know we will have many more to come, but I must get Leila into bed now."Amy burst out laughing, almost spitting out the mouthful of wine in her mouth. "Didn't I tell you to leave her alone?"Leila blushed as Adeline gave her sole attention to her glass of iced tea, embarrassed. I laughed. "I guess I put my foot in it, didn't I?"Amy laughed some more, thinking dirty thoughts. "I sincerely hope not.""All right," I said, rising from the table. "I think you've had enough wine." "Yeah, yeah! I guess it's time for me to go," she said, rising from her seat. "At least I don't have far to dive.""If you have to drive there, then I'd worry about you," I said, knowing that she only had to walk a few steps to her front door. Her apartment was right across the hallway on the other
Leila nodded and turned back over, pulling the sheets over her curves.Suddenly, the scent of her blood wafted toward me and my throat began to burn with thirst. I needed blood and I needed it now. Rushing from the room, I threw three blood bags into the microwave as the scent of Leila's blood followed me into the kitchen. I took a deep breath and I could smell Jase's blood, as well. "What's happening to me?" I asked myself as I shoved a straw into the side of a blood bag and drank it down greedily. But it wasn't enough. Discarding the empty pouch onto the floor, I grabbed another and repeated the process, drinking it down, as well. After the third blood bag, the need and urgency to feed finally started to dissipate.As I started coming to my senses, I knew one thing for sure: I couldn't trust myself around Leila and Jase until the transformation was complete. Without thinking twice, I rushed to the closet, pulled out a pair of jeans, a white T-shirt, and my black leather jacket
There was a long pause at the other end of the line. "Are you leaving permanently?"I shook my head, even though he couldn't see. "No; just until my vampire is gone. Then, Leila and Jase can join me before the baby is born."He took a deep breath of relief at the other end of the phone. "I'll come and get you and will fill you in on the details of the cabin along the way.""I can meet you," I said. "Tell me where.""No; it's too risky," Xander said. "Someone may be listening in.""How long will it take for you to get here?"There was a pause at the other end of the line. He was talking to someone, probably Elias. He came back on a moment later. "We'll be there in a half hour. We're leaving now.""Sounds good," I said just as Amy was walking into the lab. "Amy just came in. I'll tell her what's going on.""Elias said that he wants to examine you, too," Xander added."Okay," I replied. "I'll see you in a few."A moment later, the line went dead, so I closed my phone. I looked
The ride to the cabin was long, or at least, it seemed that way. In truth, I hadn't been to the Diamond Pack compound in years. But, although we were driving the same path, we weren't going there today. We passed by the airport and drove on I15 N, away from the city and into the desert. Soon, the bright, neon lights gave way to a desolate wasteland, marred with dismal peaks in the distance. It was a sharp contrast to the sensory overload of the city to which I had become so accustomed to. Soon, we pulled onto US 95 and then onto NV 157. On the right side of the road was an old abandoned buckboard that had been there since the 1800s, a rusted reminder of the barren desert through which we were traveling. We drove up a deserted mountain, but as we arrived at the top, a forest of lush foliage was on the other side, a green oasis within this desolate wasteland-Charlestown Peak. This was the area that belonged to the wolves.Elias took a right turn down a secluded path within the forest an
Elias set the bag down onto the kitchen table. "Lance, this is going to be home for the next few days." Then, he looked directly into my eyes. "You can't leave until The Change is complete, understood?"Against my better judgment, I nodded.Elias began unpacking the bag. "We'll make sure someone is with you at all times until the transformation is complete.""That's okay," I said. "Kellen is coming to stay with me at night."Amy nodded. "And we'll be here during the day." Then, she started organizing the things from the bag on the table. "Which brings us to our next order of business." She picked up a syringe, a cotton swab and alcohol, and a small bottle that I thought was the serum."Really? Seriously?" I asked as she dabbed the cotton with alcohol. After all, I couldn't be killed by a few germs. "I'm a vampire ""Who is soon to be human," she finished, ignoring my jab as I rolled my eyes. Then, she jammed the syringe into the bottle and pulled out the plunger, filling it with