Page 6 of Eternally Yours

Chapter Three

Loren

Ijolted awake with a gasp, memories of disturbing dreams dissolving into fractured images. The injured man in the alleyway. His clawed chest. The beast lurking in the shadows. My body shredded to ribbons. Bile rose up from my stomach as fear rushed through my veins at the memory of the monster—of the pain.

In a panic, I patted my body, looking for signs of the attack, wondering how it was possible I was still alive.

Just a dream…

It must’ve been. There was no way I would have survived—but then, why was I now dressed in a black, velvety robe? The material was so luxurious it had one hundred percent not come from my closet. Nothing made sense. And where was I? Sitting upright, my head spun as I tried to take in my surroundings. The immense bed I lay on wasn’t mine either. Even draped in shadows, the entire room looked foreign.

Something’s not right.

“How long is this going to take?” a deep, rumbling male voice drifted into the room, drawing my attention to the half-opened bedroom door.

What the hell? Who was that? Had I been drugged? Kidnapped?

Was that why I was in this strange place without my scrubs?

Before I launched into a full-blown panic attack, the man spoke again. This time, something in his voice made my body vibrate with an indiscernible tingle.

“What if it doesn’t work?” he demanded, his deep tone a blend of an old-world accent mixed with a modern one. As unfamiliar as he sounded, a strange calm overtook me at the lilt in his voice. My body had an affinity to it, a draw I couldn’t describe. A feeling that teetered on absurdity. I had no clue who this man was, or why I seemed to be in his home—his bedroom. But I didn’t care. Not anymore. All that mattered was the hunger burning in my belly—a fire I couldn’t squelch.

“Don’t know,” a female voice said. “All humans react differently to the virus in the blood. She was so savagely mangled her body will need time to mend.”

Was she referring to me?

I looked down at the robe wrapped around my body and again wondered if the attack had been real after all. Was that why I’d been stripped of my clothes?

“What happens after?” he asked, his voice louder, yet an octave deeper.

“She will need to feed. Immediately. To complete the transformation.”

Transformation?

I’d need to feed to complete a transformation... into what?

But as I strained to understand, my vision began to change. Suddenly, my surroundings were bathed in a bright, greenish hue, as if I were looking through a pair of night-vision goggles. How was that even possible? I didn’t notice a light coming on. The lines and details of the bedspread, the plush texture of the robe around me, even the fine brush strokes on the walls were so clear, it felt more like enhanced vision. But focusing on one thing too long made a stabbing pain build behind my eyes.

I squeezed them shut, pressing the butt of my palms against my lids, attempting to stop the intense pressure.

What the hell is wrong with me?

I must’ve been drugged. There was no other explanation. A pang of warning fired off in my brain. Whoever these people were, they weren’t doctors, and this place was not a hospital room. I needed to get out of there fast. Sliding from under the covers, I tried to stand, but as soon as I attempted to push to my feet, my knees buckled. Bracing my body on the mattress, I tried to remain as quiet as possible as I looked around the room for my clothes and a potential exit.

“Nic…” the woman said, her voice a mere breath, yet it sounded as if she’d been standing right next to me.

“Thank you,” the man cut her off. “What you did…”

“Will get us both thrown into the Solaris,” she replied with a sharp edge. “Why did you really ask me to do it?”

“What do you mean?” he said.

“I’ve known you for centuries. We’ve had our share of collateral damage, but not once did you ever ask to sire a human.”

Centuries? Sire a human?

Oh, yeah. That was my cue to skedaddle. These people were eccentric, and not the let's grab a matcha latte and go to open mic nighttype of eccentric. I looked around the room for my stuff but recognized nothing that was my own. I attempted to walk only to trip over my feet as my body moved faster than my brain had planned. Falling hard on my ass, I yelped as I hit the floor.

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