Page 64 of Tainted Gifts
"A calling? Who would call a hybrid and why?" Melania interjects when everyone ignores my question.
"Because they want her blood. They're after her," Mom says, her mouth dry as Uncle Brazen goes to pull her into his arms.
"What the hell is a calling?" I bark, not backing down from getting answers.
Uncle Brazen's eyes soften as they fall on me, and he gently begins explaining. "As a means of getting a full blood to change them against their will, humans have been known to ingest our blood, making it impossible to deny the bite until their digestive systems filtered out the toxins.
"Though it usually took about a week to fully be rid of it, the full bloods were crazy for months after if they never tasted the vein that called to them. It was dangerous and highly illegal, but some humans were desperate. They didn't believe that only those with a certain gene could be changed. They risked infection - turning into a monster - in order to gain immortality.
"During the new hybrid wars, Ty had a problem with some blood runners. He needed them out of the picture. He also needed us to be distracted. In an effort to kill both birds with one stone, he took their blood, and he spiked the meat grinders in a compound. We had to tranquilize all the full bloods affected, and then we had to lock them in solitude for months.
"After we realized someone could use this against us as a mass attack, Hale and I worked on a detoxifier to put an end to the suffering immediately, as opposed to letting it run its course. It was a huge deal that earned us both medals of all sorts.
"Hybrids don't digest. They turn food, water, blood... everything into energy, recyclable energy. It should burn up quicker, making you feel the pain for a shorter period of time, but during our research, we found that some ungifted hybrids are able to store different things within their bodies, saving it. Blood for instance. Some of the hybrids were able to ingest blood and store it in a special lining of their stomach, saving it for a time when they would need it. This stems from their human side, the side they're most in contact with - hence the ungifted rank.
"A human's body is complex, and it will do more than you know in an effort to survive. As life evolved, so did their bodies, allowing them to compartmentalize things in their minds and in their bodies. We learned some ungifted hybrids could store blood up to a year, making them twice as dangerous to us. We also prayed no one else would ever find out. Apparently someone has.
"If you've been dealing with this for over two weeks, it's amazing you're still lucid at all. You should be delusional, feverish, painfully needing the contact of the one calling for you. In all honesty, you shouldn't have been able to stay here."
"She went crazy," Kellan says, staring at me with pain in his eyes. "It was the day she took my blood."
Mom sighs out, wiping a tear from under her exposed violet eyes she'll never again have to cover.
"That probably brought her back. Our blood has so many healing properties. Though the other side effects alone should have driven her mad."
"I take away all the pain," Jase murmurs, kissing my forehead. "Had I known how severe it's been this whole time, I probably wouldn't have let her go."
And that's why I can't get over him. He won't let me let him go.
"Never will," he murmurs softly, his hand sliding into my hair.
"After she gets detoxified," Uncle Brazen continues, "she'll need to stay inactive for at least two days."
"Inactive?" Kellan asks, seeming confused for a change.
Uncle Brazen squirms uncomfortably, clearing his throat and looking to Mom for help. Then it dawns on me.
"Ah. Sexually inactive," Rex says, reading Uncle Brazen just as I did.
Kellan tightens his lips, nodding after. "I need to go grab a drink. Anyone else need anything?"
"Plenty of liquor," Uncle Brazen mumbles, coming to feel my forehead. As soon as Kellan is gone, my stepfather makes an observation. "It's amazing. You've brought her temperature down in no time. It will take at least two days for the detoxifier to break the symptoms. It'll be hard on her body for those two days. Can you try to touch her as much as possible?" he asks, looking at Jase.
My mind goes erotically awry with several dreams all colliding at once. Touching me as much as possible? Two days in his arms?
Jase looks at me, reminding me he can hear every-damn-thing I'm thinking. "I think I can handle that," he murmurs, smiling directly after.
Mmm.
He smiles bigger, leaning over to kiss me lightly on the side of the lips, and then Mom walks over, gauging our closeness as she sits down beside me.
"Can I talk to Aralia alone please?" she asks, looking at everyone still in the room.
Rex comes over and kisses my head, and then he and Melania disappear out the door. Jase kisses my hand before looking up to meet my Uncle Brazen's eyes.
"I'll go with you to meet Corbin. You can be the one to tell Kellan about the new sleeping arrangement tonight," Jase chirps, smiling and laughing with my stepfather as he stands.
He leans over and blows his icy breath against my head to leave me with some relief in his wake. I still feel the pain almost instantly when his touch is lost, and he frowns while making my mother's request happen, following my aunt and uncle out the door with my stepdad on his heels.
