Page 51 of Shut Up and Bite Me

He turns, trying to step forward, but I stop him, securing my hand around his wrist. I’m getting to the bottom of this.

His condition can’t possibly be something humanly possible, and it can’t be a coincidence that until this morning, he was still under the contract of the Culling.

Digging my phone out of my pocket, I call Vivian.

“Hello?” she answers on the first ring.

“Hey, how fast can you get here?” I ask her, panic laced in my voice. “Something’s wrong.”

I know I don’t know Ethan well, but he was kind to me and seemed like a genuine guy. He definitely doesn’t deserve whatever the hell happened to him. No one does.

She ends the call, the phone beeping in my ear. Stowing it back in my pocket, I know she’ll be here soon, so I guide Ethan to a bench in the hallway, helping him sit down. He lets me move him any which way, like a puppet to my command. A disgusted, rage-filled chill races down my back.

The air electrifies, and the hair on the back of my neck tingles right before Vivian appears before us, crouching in front of Ethan. “What’s going on? Do you know him?”

Looking at Ethan, I murmur, “I met Ethan at the Culling. He was joking and having a good time. Said he’s done it for years.I barely recognized him when I bumped into him just now. It’s like he’s a shell of himself. Have you seen this before?”

Glancing at her, I suck in a breath. Her eyes are glazed over, like a memory is playing behind her eyes. But her face contorts from worry to anger a second later.

“You know, don’t you?” I whisper. “Is he going to be okay?”

She nods, her jaw clenched tightly.

“What is it?” I study Ethan’s empty gaze, wondering where his spark has gone.

She tugs at the side of his hoodie, and my stomach churns at the image on the side of his neck. Two blackened, open wounds sink deep into his neck. Bite marks.

From the edge of the holes, jagged, bruising spider veins bulge beneath his skin, the red, black, and yellow lines disappearing beneath his hair and clothes. It almost looks like it’s spreading further and further.

“What thehellis that?” I scoff.

“Thatis what our venom does when a human isn’t willing to accept the bite and the vampire does it anyway. Whoever did this nearly drained him. I don’t know how he’s still walking.” Rage is rolling off her in dangerous waves. “We need to find whoever did this and as fast as possible. The venom will continue to spread.” Her words fall off, and I know she’s holding something back from me.

“What happens if we don’t find the one who did this?” I ask, demanding to know.

She meets my stare, her hazel eyes flickering with red as she struggles to control her rage. “We need the blood from whoever bite him. We have to mix it with the antidote. The venom will continue to invade his body until there’s more of it than there is of him, and eventually…it will kill him.”

Sliding his arm beneath Ethan’s legs and his other arm around his back, Greyson picks him up and cradles him against his chest. “Can you grab his bag?”

Nodding, I grab Ethan’s backpack from the bench and sling it over my shoulder. Thankfully, the hallway is empty as we head outside. I pull open the back passenger door, and Greyson carefully lays a very submissive Ethan into the back seat of Greyson’s car.

Ethan can’t help the subservient demeanor; the venom and loss of blood are the causes. But there’s something different about his mind. I opened my senses to him immediately when I got there, and I didn’t feel anything coming from him. Like there were no emotions at all to be felt.

Whoever did this to him tampered with his mind in some way, whether it was from an overdose of the venom or another sinister form. It’s too early to know exactly what is causing this.But I will get to the bottom of this, and I will destroy the vampire that dared to do this to him.

Something catches my eye on his wrist as he settles into the seats, and I bunch his sleeve up, exposing a whole new level of horror.

The vampire didn’t just bite Ethan’s neck—he bit his wrists, the same disgusting venomous wounds left behind on his arms. A vampire would only do that if they wanted to inflict the most agonizing pain possible. It’s cruel and sadistic on a whole new level.

My blood boils as I study Ethan, memorizing every single mark and discoloration on him, committing it to memory. No human that participates in the Culling should ever suffer like this. They volunteer as a bloodling, auctioning their blood to keep us sustained. Every vampire knows the High Council’s motto:Enough to sustain, never drain.

“He bit him there too?” Greyson’s voice is disconnected, cold, and quiet.

“Exactly what you think it is,” I murmur, pulling Ethan’s sleeves back down and gently shutting the car door.

“Take him to our house, and don’t let anyone in,” I order him.

“Where are you going?” he questions, his brows furrowed, his worry on the tip of my tongue.

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