Page 50 of SummerTime Madness
“Spread!” the voice demands. “DEVOUR!”
Instead, I freeze.
Because in the darkness consuming my mind, light flickers.
Stars.
A sky above a cheap blanket that feels too rough on my bare skin. Tate’s hand in my hair. Chase's chest pressed against my back. The world felt… safe. Maybe for the first time.
We didn’t fuck that night.
We just existed.
Holding our breath as I whispered. “I think I love you both.”
And no one ran.
“Cordelia, baby.” Tate groans, his voice cracking in the end. “I’m yours.”
The darkness takes the stars. The voice grows louder. Clutching the side of my head, I cry–then laugh as my eyes flutter open.
“Infect,” the voice continues but Tate also continues.
“I’m sorry it took me this long. I love you. I love you both,” his voice calls to me through the dark.
I snarl before I lunge at him, stopping just before my teeth pierce his flesh. Licking the spot, I savor the salt from his skin.
Mine.
I pull away with a growl, the veins in my body glowing. My mouth is full of blood, spores, and numerous other things I can’t name, but my chest is burning.
Because I remember who it belongsto.
Who I belong to.
Them.
Tate
A breath escapes my lips as I watch her fall on her ass, and Chase’s grip loosens around my neck. Both glowing–panting, but not snarling.
People crash into the door as if their weight will tear the metal doors down. What the fuck do they want? I look over at Chase, who’s head hangs between his legs, waves falling over the side of his face. “Cordy, I’m sorry,” he whispers.
I glance over at Cordy–her eyes still bioluminescent, but no longer wild. Instead, they are focusedand sharp. “Little snake?” I whisper. She looks up at me and then at Chase. Then the screen flickers.
Subject: Queen B
Status: Ascension
Hive Queen - Active.
Cordelia stands slowly, mouth wiped clean as I look at the screen with terror and admiration.
“Let them in,” she says. “They want a queen.”
I shake my head. “What are you talking about?”
But it’s Chase who answers. “Professor Daniel stole your thesis and hers. Sold it to Luxor Labs, and now we are smack in the middle of their experiment.”
