Read Online Almost Human by Secret Cravings Publishing - Free Book Online Page B

hurry.”
    I heard the pop of cartilage as
Alaric bit into his own wrist. I tried to turn my head away, but he
grabbed my jaw in his painfully tight grip, keeping my mouth open,
unless I wanted to attempt to bite his hand. No matter what, he got
his way. He shoved his wrist against my tongue.
    The rich, copper taste of his blood hit me and a
spark of raw power flooded my body. All thoughts of resisting fled.
Hell, all thoughts period were gone. I grasped his wrist with both
hands and drank in giant gulps.
    He stroked my hair. He was
whispering something, but I couldn’t make out what he was
saying.
    I released his wrist as agony
flooded my body. It overrode the pain of being stabbed. I couldn’t
see or hear as I writhed on the floor. But I could feel hands on
me, adding to the blinding torture as they touched my sensitive
skin. And then everything went black.
     

Chapter Seven
     
     
    I moaned and cracked my eyes open.
I grimaced and shut them again. Even with the lights dimmed, they
still managed to go right to the source of my headache.
    “Turn the light out.”
    The clicks as someone turned off
the little lamp were deafening. God, was I hung over? Astra and I
had gotten smashed before after a high kill count, but I’d never
felt like this.
    It felt like I had two metal
spikes sticking in my temples, and my stomach felt like it was
taking a boat trip. Even the sheets against my skin were
uncomfortable. And I was hot. Burning up. Witches didn’t get sick,
so what the hell was going on?
    I could hear everything. The
whisper of clothing as the bed dipped under someone’s weight. And
breathing. There were at least four people in the room. And there
was pounding. It was faint, but for some reason, incredibly
comforting.
    “What’s that thumping?” I slurred.
My mouth was as dry as the desert.
    A rough hand caressed my jaw and
the most incredible smell filled my nose. Clean male. I turned my
face into his palm. “It’s heartbeats, babe.” His deep, slightly
accented voice was like a caress.
    I definitely wasn’t at Astra’s.
None of her friends sounded like that. I recognized that voice. I
opened my eyes again. A gorgeous, blond man with a goatee leaned
over me. He was close, and his hair fell in a curtain around us. He
licked his lips, and I desperately wanted to kiss him, but I was so
tired I could barely lift my head.
    It took me a second to realize who
this beautiful man was. “Alaric?”
    He nodded. “Good, you remember who
I am. How are you feeling?”
    “Achy, nauseated, exhausted. And
my memory is a little…gone.”
    Someone across the room cleared
his throat. “Is that normal? The not remembering thing?”
    Alaric broke eye contact with me
to look at whoever was speaking. “Dagger, you don’t remember your
own conversion?”
    “Not really. In my defense, it was
a couple thousand years ago, and I wasn’t exactly in my right mind
then.”
    Another person laughed. “Only
then?”
    “Don’t make me kill you, gnat.
Just because you’re of my line doesn’t mean I won’t gut
you.”
    “Fallon, please don’t goad Dagger.
I’d hate to have to try and steam clean your blood out of the
carpet. And to answer your question, Dagger, yes, this is normal
for someone who’s had a tough transition.”
    A little bubble of panic welled in
my chest. I grabbed Alaric’s wrist. “Transition?” The memory
surfaced, fighting past the barriers of my lethargic
brain.
    I pushed Alaric back and sat up.
It was a bad idea. My head felt like it was going to explode. I
dropped my hand to the hem of the tank top and pulled it up to
examine my stomach. There was no wound there—only tender, pink scar
tissue.
    “It’s healed. In a few more hours
there won’t even be a mark,” Alaric explained, his expression
completely vacant. He probably knew I didn’t need an
explanation.
    I ground my teeth together. “I
told you not to do this. I told you I’d kill you.”
    His eyes narrowed. “I’m not your
bitch, Kori.