Page 121 of Our Sins in Blood (Coven of Sin 1)

She pulled the stethoscope from her ears and took off the cuff to write down my numbers on a clipboard that she seemed to produce out of nowhere. “Your blood pressure is ninety over sixty.”

“Is that good?”

“Extremely. You’re perfectly fine now.” She tapped my arm where an IV—one I hadn’t noticed until now—was taped.

“After the transfusion, that is.”

I blinked rapidly. “Wait. Transfusion?” Swiveling my attention to where she gestured, I noticed the IV bag suspended beside my head, filled with bright red liquid. Human blood.

“Yes,” Lavinia sighed like she’d grown tired of this conversation before it had even started. “You needed human blood to counterbalance all the vampire blood in your system. The O’Leary blood donor was kind enough to supply it.”

Kenzie. My guts twisted with guilt, knowing I still owed her an apology for almost killing her during my first feeding lesson.

“Um… So, why am I naked, and why am I tied down? It’s kind of freaking me out here.”

“Dr. Sharpe had to examine you to make sure the blood didn’t have any negative effect on your mortal body.”

My skin crawled, knowing Sharpe had seen my naked body.

Lavinia continued. “We’ve seen mortals intake too much vampire blood while being turned, and before the change could happen, they’ve often gone mad. Similar to humans reacting to synthetic cathinone, the drug known as bath salts. Bruising is an early symptom, followed by tearing off their own flesh and eating it.” She clicked her tongue, her blonde curls swaying around her tiny, heart-shaped face. “Not pretty. But you aren’t exhibiting any of those symptoms, so I suppose we can release you.”

I gave a thick swallow. “That’s good. So, will you untie me?”

Lavinia smirked before turning on her heel to march out of the room. “I’ll leave that to your callers. They’ve been very obnoxious, waiting around here day and night for you to wake up. They’ve even had all their coffins hauled into my and Master’s parlor, in the next room.” She twisted in the doorway, sliding me a brittle smile that sent a shiver skittering down my spine.

“Oh, by the way. While he was at it, my master also inserted an IUD. Figured you would want it until you’ve selected a king. Especially since it was the only way to end your heat cycle. Well, with the exception of becoming pregnant.”

I gaped at her, feeling pretty damn violated at this point. Sure, I wanted birth control. I’d been a little reckless with the whole protection thing. Eros hadn’t finished inside me, and Sterling was sterile, but I had to be more careful in the future. Not to mention that those pheromones would have been bad news if I’d had to walk around like that, so horny and on the edge of snapping literally every minute of the day. Dark flames licked at my core, thinking about the way Vincent or Eros might have reacted to my heat state. If sweet, mellow Corry could get so dominant, how would those two have reacted?

Still, no one hadaskedme. Sharpe had just assumed.

Then again, that was him. The cold and unfeeling doctor who had lied to me all those years, feeding me pills, saying it was for a heart condition.

He’d always been a slimy bastard.

There was no concrete evidence that supported Vincent’s theories on Sharpe being the traitor. Yet, something was definitely off about the coven’s resident doctor, and I was thankful to the guys for staying close while I’d been unconscious.

But that didn’t mean I was ready to have all of them be in the same room with me while I was tied to my bed with nothing but a sheet between us.

Before I could try to convince Lavinia to untie me and get me some clothes, she opened the door and summoned them inside.

Chapter fifty-eight

An Unexpected Moment

Laviniamovedawayfromthe door, allowing the princes inside. When Sterling was the first to enter the room, she peered up at him with wide doe-like eyes. A furious blush broke out on her cheeks, the infatuation in her gaze completely unguarded.

Well, well. It looked like Lavinia and I had something in common. We both had a huge crush on the coven’s eldest vampire prince.

Sometimes I forgot that Lavinia wasn’t a normal child. She was permanently stunted, a three-hundred-year-old woman in the body of a prepubescent little girl.

It had to be horrible for her. It reminded me of a book I’d read once,Interview with the Vampire, where the little girl vampire had gone mad with frustration because her body would never bloom into that of a full woman’s.

As bizarre as she was, I felt bad for Lavinia.

“Ms. Sharpe, how is our princess?” Sterling angled his head, so his moon-pale eyes bore through the child doctor, who, for the first time, looked like nothing but a shy kid as she peered up at the man who was at least twice her size.

“S–s–she’s just fine, My Prince. In perfect health!”

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