Page 55 of Shut Up and Bite Me

Opening my eyes, I find the slightest spark igniting in Ethan’s stare, the light flickering, teetering on the edge of powering on or shutting off again.

There’s only one other vampire I know of that can control minds like this, other than myself.

“Ethan? Can you hear me?” Greyson pleads, his voice ragged.

Securing my grip on his mind, I command him, “Remember everything that he made you forget.” Forcing my power through the cracks in his mental wall, I encourage him, “You are in control, Ethan. Remembereverything.”

As if he’s pulling on the bricks from the other side, he creates an opening, large enough for my power to burst through the wall completely, shattering it apart until nothing stands between our connection.

He sucks in a sharp breath and blinks rapidly, the cloudiness in his stare fading away, his gaze locking onto Greyson’s as his eyes well with tears. “G-Greyson? Is…is that you?”

Greyson throws his arms around him, and I step back, letting them embrace each other as tears flow down Ethan’s face and he violently cries out. Ethan stays like that for a moment, shouting in agony as everything comes back to him.

This hasn’t cured him. It only restored his memory. We are still battling the clock to get the antidote into his system. I want to give them privacy, but I also need him to confirm who hisassaulter is. But I remain quiet for a little longer, giving Ethan’s mind a few minutes to settle.

He’s not in pain, and that only means one thing—the venom has spread far enough that it’s numbed his nervous system, one of the last steps before it takes his life.

“Where am I?” Ethan asks as they pull apart, and he looks around my living room, taking everything in.

Taking a seat on the coffee table across from him, I clear my throat. “You’re in my home. We brought you here after Greyson found you at the university.”

Something clicks in his gaze like he recognizes me. “You’re Ms. Barlowe.”

Nodding, I smile. “Call me Vivian.”

“Vivian. Thank you,” he murmurs, his eyes wrought with pain. His gaze falls to his hands and his wrists before he lifts the sleeve of his sweatshirt and studies the spider vein lines leading out of dark bite marks, spreading further along his skin with each passing second.

“We will find whoever did this to you. He will never be able to hurt you or anyone else ever again. I can promise you that.”

His head snaps up to me. “You saidhe. You know who it is?”

Wetting my lips, my jaw ticking, I say, “I have an idea of who it might be, based on his ability to nearly wipe your mind.” I take a breath. “Do you remember what he looked like? Could you describe him to me?”

His eyes slam shut, his face contorting with fear, anger, and disgust. His hands start shaking in his lap, and I hate that I have to make him go through that trauma again right now.

“H-He’s older-looking. His hair is dark brown, longer, stopping at his shoulders. A couple of inches taller than me.” He pauses, and I reach out and take his hands in mine, opening my senses to him. My eyes burn from the emotional agony coursing through him.

You’re doing amazing. He can’t hurt you anymore.

He huffs, his eyes fluttering open as his thumping heart rate spikes. “A tattoo—he had a scorpion on the side of his neck.”

It’s him.Victor Archer.

His voice shakes, tears pooling in his eyes. “Can I ask you a question? And you promise to tell me the truth no matter what?”

“I promise,” I tell him, meaning it.

His words ghost across his lips, almost too quietly to hear. “Am I going to die?”

Squeezing his hands, I shake my head. “Not if I have any say in the matter. I’m going to find him, finish the antidote, and you will be just fine.”

He mouths the wordsThank you.

Lachlan’s wolfy odor invades my nose. He’s here.

Speeding over to the door, I open it before he even knocks, his hand raised in the air. “Come in.”

“Thank you,” he grumbles, stepping inside and following me into the living room. “This is Maeve and Pierce.”

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