anybody messed with a rogue, they messed with at least three—if not more—covens at the same time.
Natalie made herself comfortable on one of the Egyptian couches. “Do tell, Novak. Why have you summoned me here?”
“I want you to get a message through to Claudia at The Shade.”
A dark brow lifted. “Claudia? Okay…the message?”
“Ask her if there’s any way we can get Sofia Claremont out of the island.” I took out an envelope from my pocket. “I also want you to hand this over to my father. Make sure he gets it and make sure no one else sees the message it contains.”
Natalie stared at me long and hard—almost as if she couldn’t comprehend what I was trying to tell her. She eventually nodded her head—slowly and thoughtfully. She took the envelope from my hand and nodded. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Lucas.”
“Is that you caring about me?”
She shook her head. “It’s me caring about Derek.”
For the first time since I met her, I found myself fighting the urge to rip Natalie Borgia’s heart out.
Chapter 17: Derek
I took hold of Sofia’s hand and was surprised by how devoid of warmth it was. I held it tighter. There was no way of telling how Ashley’s body was going to react to the serum that would turn her into one of us. I’d seen many turnings go awry before. It rarely happened, but they weren’t the prettiest of sights.
Sofia slowly nodded, acknowledging my gesture of reassurance, but the shaking of her body was only getting worse.
“Let’s get out of here, Sofia.”
Just as I expected, she shook her head.
Stubborn little minx.
Kyle was positioning Ashley again. His eyes found mine as he bared his fangs. I gave him a nod. His one hand rested on her hip bone, while the other clung to the back of her neck to support her. He took a bite. For a moment, he gave in to the urge to drink her blood. I knew it from the way my body reacted negatively to a morsel that was mine being partaken of by another vampire, but the boiling in my blood subsided when he went from sucking her blood to injecting the deadly serum from his fangs into her system.
The snake has taken a bite.
None of us could question when the serum began to take effect on Ashley, because the moment it entered her system, she let out an agonized scream.
The blood drained from Sofia’s face. She let go of my hand and motioned to run toward her friend. I grabbed her arm to hold her back. When she fought against my grasp, I held tighter. “Sofia, don’t. You wanted to see this. This is what happens at turnings. You can’t be anywhere near her. She won’t have the presence of mind not to kill you.”
The mutations were beginning to happen and Ashley’s long, slender form was convulsing over the stone slab. She began coughing blood. Sofia once again motioned to step forward. I knew she wanted to do something to help, but at that point, there was nothing any of us could do, so we all just stood by and watched. Kyle was staring at Ashley’s form, his shoulders stooped low. We hated the sight unfolding before us, but we all knew that it would happen.
I expected Ashley to stop coughing after a few minutes, but it didn’t let up for another five minutes, at which point even I wanted to rush forward to try and do something about it, but I was held back by the knowledge that I had to stand by Sofia. Corrine was powerful enough to protect herself; thus, it left Sofia as the only human being in that room Ashley could possibly attack once the bloodlust took over.
When the coughing stopped, an audible sigh of relief filled the room. Still, Ashley’s fingers and toes were twitching—aftermaths of the violent tremors her body had just endured only minutes ago. When the claws began to grow, Ashley once again screamed in agony.
That’s when flashbacks of the night I was turned began to fill my mind.
I trusted him. I trusted my father. I was supposed to kill him. He was a newly turned vampire, and I was the
Natalie made herself comfortable on one of the Egyptian couches. “Do tell, Novak. Why have you summoned me here?”
“I want you to get a message through to Claudia at The Shade.”
A dark brow lifted. “Claudia? Okay…the message?”
“Ask her if there’s any way we can get Sofia Claremont out of the island.” I took out an envelope from my pocket. “I also want you to hand this over to my father. Make sure he gets it and make sure no one else sees the message it contains.”
Natalie stared at me long and hard—almost as if she couldn’t comprehend what I was trying to tell her. She eventually nodded her head—slowly and thoughtfully. She took the envelope from my hand and nodded. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Lucas.”
“Is that you caring about me?”
She shook her head. “It’s me caring about Derek.”
For the first time since I met her, I found myself fighting the urge to rip Natalie Borgia’s heart out.
Chapter 17: Derek
I took hold of Sofia’s hand and was surprised by how devoid of warmth it was. I held it tighter. There was no way of telling how Ashley’s body was going to react to the serum that would turn her into one of us. I’d seen many turnings go awry before. It rarely happened, but they weren’t the prettiest of sights.
Sofia slowly nodded, acknowledging my gesture of reassurance, but the shaking of her body was only getting worse.
“Let’s get out of here, Sofia.”
Just as I expected, she shook her head.
Stubborn little minx.
Kyle was positioning Ashley again. His eyes found mine as he bared his fangs. I gave him a nod. His one hand rested on her hip bone, while the other clung to the back of her neck to support her. He took a bite. For a moment, he gave in to the urge to drink her blood. I knew it from the way my body reacted negatively to a morsel that was mine being partaken of by another vampire, but the boiling in my blood subsided when he went from sucking her blood to injecting the deadly serum from his fangs into her system.
The snake has taken a bite.
None of us could question when the serum began to take effect on Ashley, because the moment it entered her system, she let out an agonized scream.
The blood drained from Sofia’s face. She let go of my hand and motioned to run toward her friend. I grabbed her arm to hold her back. When she fought against my grasp, I held tighter. “Sofia, don’t. You wanted to see this. This is what happens at turnings. You can’t be anywhere near her. She won’t have the presence of mind not to kill you.”
The mutations were beginning to happen and Ashley’s long, slender form was convulsing over the stone slab. She began coughing blood. Sofia once again motioned to step forward. I knew she wanted to do something to help, but at that point, there was nothing any of us could do, so we all just stood by and watched. Kyle was staring at Ashley’s form, his shoulders stooped low. We hated the sight unfolding before us, but we all knew that it would happen.
I expected Ashley to stop coughing after a few minutes, but it didn’t let up for another five minutes, at which point even I wanted to rush forward to try and do something about it, but I was held back by the knowledge that I had to stand by Sofia. Corrine was powerful enough to protect herself; thus, it left Sofia as the only human being in that room Ashley could possibly attack once the bloodlust took over.
When the coughing stopped, an audible sigh of relief filled the room. Still, Ashley’s fingers and toes were twitching—aftermaths of the violent tremors her body had just endured only minutes ago. When the claws began to grow, Ashley once again screamed in agony.
That’s when flashbacks of the night I was turned began to fill my mind.
I trusted him. I trusted my father. I was supposed to kill him. He was a newly turned vampire, and I was the
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