Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
I rushed back to the kitchen and tore open the drawers until I found the steak knives. If Beau was sick because he needed blood, then logically, the blood of his mate, composed specifically for him, would help. Since there was no way I could carry him anywhere, and I couldn’t stomach the idea of leaving him alone while I searched the monstrosity of a house, I figured it was worth a try. Climbing onto the couch until I was straddling Beau’s thighs, I tried again to wake him up.
“Come on, you handsome bastard,” I called, tapping at his cheeks. “Wake up and be a dickhead again.”
After a few moments with no response, I held my breath and sliced over my wrist.
I hadn’t anticipated gagging at the feeling of dragging a serrated knife over my own flesh or the way little stars surrounded my vision as I swayed. Dropping the knife before I accidentally cut myself again, I lifted my wrist to Beau’s mouth and used it to pry his lips open.
Just as his teeth clamped down, his mother came flying into the room, and it was lights out.
When I came to, I was lying on the couch with a furious Beau leaning over me, his skin the color of parchment. It was an improvement, barely.
“What the hell were you thinking?” he asked.
“How did this happen?” his mom asked worriedly. “Why are there bags in the sink?”
“Sit down before you fall down,” his dad ordered Beau. “I’ll get the medical kit.”
My gaze shot back and forth between them, trying to get my bearings.
“I told you I’d be fine,” Beau said to me, ignoring both of them. “Why would you hurt yourself like this?”
“You said that a mate’s blood is made for their particular Vampire,” I replied, confused. Where was the appreciation for saving his ass? “You passed out.”
“Oh, Beau,” his mom murmured as Danny and Chance bumbled into the room.
“You said no blood,” Beau grit out, his eyes on mine.
“You were obviously hurt or something. You—”
“It doesn’t matter,” he cut me off. “You said no.”
“What are you talking about?” Beau’s mom asked sharply, her tone switching from worry to anger.
“You didn’t tell me that it was going to make you sick,” I argued.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it fucking matters!”
“No,” Mattie said flatly, her attention on me. “Vampires do not, under any circumstances, take blood from the unwilling or coerced.”
“Informing me that going without would make you sick isn’t coercion,” I countered, looking back at Beau.
“You said no,” he repeated quietly.
“What, none of you have ever bitten someone who didn’t want it?” I asked, looking around. “That’s bullshit. The banks haven’t existed for more than fifty years at most.”
Beau stiffened, his eyes darkening with disgust. “We don’t bite anyone but our mate. Ever.”
“It’s been that way for hundreds of years,” Danny added quietly. “For a Vampire to bite someone without the mating bond—” He shook his head.
“There are other ways for humans to donate,” Chance added. “Both dead and alive. To bite one is as abhorrent to us as…cannibalism is to humans.”
“You’re kidding me,” I replied, dumbfounded.
“You shouldn’t have done this, baby,” Beau said, peeking under the towel he’d wrapped around my wrist. “Dad’s going to have to stitch it.”
The endearment almost made me miss the second sentence.
“What?” I shot up from the couch and tried to pull my arm back. “Just lick it.”
Danny started laughing.
“What?” I spat, glaring at him over the back of the couch before turning to Beau. “It works on my neck. Do it to my wrist.”
“The punctures in your neck are tiny,” he replied gently, his hand pressing on my thigh to keep me seated. “And I made them myself. This is something entirely different.”
“Did you try?” I asked accusingly.
“He’s right,” his mom chimed it. “You’ll need stitches and maybe an antibiotic. I’ll call Alice.”
She walked away while I stared at Beau. “Who the fuck is Alice?”
“Uncle Sven’s wife,” he replied calmly. “She’s a doctor of a sort.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means she went to medical school—”
“A couple of times,” Chance said nonchalantly. “Medical advances, you know. Have to keep up with the times.”
“But she specializes in Vampires.”
“I’m not a Vampire,” I reminded him, trying to ignore the pain in my wrist.
At least the mating heat seemed to have disappeared for the moment. I was thankful for small mercies.
“Yes, but you’ll have biological changes happening now that we’ve cemented the bond,” he replied distractedly, peeking at my wrist again. “Better to get advice from someone familiar with mate physiology.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I asked, jutting my chin forward and tilting my head so he’d meet my eyes.
“Gods, you still haven’t told her anything, have you?” Danny muttered.
“What exactly am I supposed to know?” I looked between each of them. The brothers seemed to be waiting for Beau to answer me, but he was conveniently not meeting my eyes. When he finally tilted his head up, he seemed nervous for the first time since we’d met.