Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 34989 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 175(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34989 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 175(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
“How many times has he bitten you?” Winter continued, ignoring Sky completely.
“Three.” A lump froze in the center of Nolan’s chest and he choked on the air in his lungs. “Is he turning me into a vampire this way? Is there a limit to how many times he can bite me before I turn? He keeps calling me his pet. I don’t want to be his pet, and I definitely don’t want to be a vampire.” He winced and threw up a hand. “Sorry. No offense.”
Winter snorted. “None taken. No one in their right mind wants to be a vampire. And no, he can’t turn you into a vampire by simply biting you.” He paused and there was something in Winter’s gaze that left Nolan’s stomach churning and burbling until he thought he was going to be sick. It was better when Winter was glaring at him. Sadness and sympathy were not good.
“What’s wrong?” Sky asked while Nolan was still trying to work up enough saliva in his suddenly dry mouth to get the words out.
“By not healing the wound completely, Christoph left a bit of himself embedded in Nolan. That’s why he’s able to get past your wards and how he can compel Nolan.”
“Compel him? What the hell is that?” Sky shouted while Nolan sank more into his chair. He didn’t need Winter to explain it, because he felt it as soon as Christoph was near. Just the sound of his voice made him want to obey the man, even while his brain was screaming to the contrary.
“It’s not brainwashing, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Winter replied, his voice turning grumpy. “Think of it as a hunting mechanism for vampires. Anyone we leave a bit of ourselves in means that we intend to return and use them as a source of food. Isn’t it nice when you don’t have to fight your prey a second or third time? There’s something left in Nolan to make him more malleable to Christoph’s wishes.” The vampire swore under his breath. “It’s hard to explain because I’ve never done it myself. I feed and move on. I’ve never kept a pet.”
“No, I get it,” Nolan whispered. A chill had swept through his entire body, leaving him feeling as if he’d never be warm again. His soul was frozen in his chest, and there was no thawing it. “I don’t want him to bite me. I want to run. But it’s like I can’t get my legs to obey when he’s near. There’s a voice telling me it’s better if I do what he wants.”
Someone touched his cheek, and he jerked his head up to see Sky watching him with worried eyes. “We’re going to fix this. Christoph isn’t hurting you ever again.” The necromancer turned his narrowed eyes on Winter. “Can you heal the wound? Remove whatever little bits of Christoph are left in Nolan?”
“No. The only one who can heal the wound properly is Christoph. It keeps us from stealing each other’s pets.”
Nolan jumped to his feet and paced across the room toward the windows. “I don’t want to be his pet! I don’t want anything to do with him.” He swung to Winter. “Don’t humans ever get free? Or are we just stuck until we die?”
“Pretty much.”
“Winter!” Fox snapped.
“What? I’m not sugarcoating it for him.” Winter stared at his mate and waved a hand at Nolan. “It doesn’t do him any good to lie. Most pets don’t ever get free of their vampire. We’re apex fucking predators. We have to be if we’re supposed to hunt humans exclusively to survive.”
“Well, I can be scarier than any vampire.” Sky stomped across the room and grabbed Nolan’s wrist as he stepped in front of him. “Is it safe to assume that Nolan will be free if I kill Christoph?”
“What?” Nolan shrieked. The edges of his vision were turning black and the room wobbled. Did Sky really just suggest murder to get him free?
“Yep, that would do it.” And Winter didn’t sound bothered by that idea at all!
People made crazy comments like that all the time, but sweet, tender Sky sounded completely serious about hunting down and killing Christoph Sandor.
The living room spun, blurring in front of his eyes. He didn’t recognize the world he lived in any longer. Vampires, witches, underworld minions, carnivorous plants that ate smelly pickles. How was he supposed to survive in a mess like this?
“Whoa! Nolan doesn’t look so hot.” Fox’s words sounded like they traveled a long tunnel before reaching his ears.
“Here, sweetheart. You need to sit.” Sky tightened his hold on his wrist and gripped his arm with his other hand, ushering him over to his chair. He sat heavily, and the air flowed more easily into his lungs.
Nolan blinked and stared into Sky’s wide green eyes as the witch kneeled on the floor in front of him.