Page 22 of Bite of Sin

My lie would either bury me or save me. I bit my tongue before quickly stopping myself. He was so close that he’d be able to smell the blood if I accidentally bit down too hard. The lotion seemed to be working, and I couldn’t mess this up.

“You don’t know who turned you?” he asked, his voice dangerously soft.

I shook my head. “No.”

“Irresponsible fucker,” Viggo cursed from behind Zan. “Word is supposed to be everywhere by now. If this is happening, we have a problem.”

Zan turned to face him, and I barely listened to them, sagging against the bricks, relieved that they believed me. They exchanged a few more words, and I subtly crept along the wall, ready to get the hell out of there. Until a hand caught my arm, tugging me back.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Zan asked, his hold going tight as he kept me against the wall.

“I’m leaving,” I said firmly. My confidence was much higher now that they believed I was one of them.

“Can’t let you do that.” Zan’s gaze swept over me. “You’re too new. You know nothing. That’s why you should be at the center.”

“I’ll have someone take her there—” Viggo began to say until Zan cut him off with a shake of his head.

“Not yet.” Zan raised his hand, brushing hair out of my eyes. “Consider me curious. We never see them this young.”

“Don’t touch me,” I snarled, shoving his hand away. Fear had invaded every part of me, but I didn’t want to show them that. I wasn’t sure how new vampires were supposed to act, but I didn’t want any of them getting this close to me.

Zan chuckled. “You should watch your attitude until you can back up your words.”

“I can back them up just fine,” I retorted.

“Really?”

His hand was suddenly around my throat, and he squeezed tight enough to cut off my air. I grabbed his wrists, my nails digging into his flesh, pure terror swallowing me whole. Reaching my stake was impossible as my lungs burned from lack of air, and I writhed and struggled uselessly until stars danced in my vision. A moment later, he loosened his hold just enough that I could suck in a shallow breath.

He leaned closer until his lips were an inch from mine. “You know nothing of your new race. The humans don’t teach the truth. That’s why you’re supposed to learn at the center.”

“Learn what?” I choked out.

“Your changes come slowly. It takes an entire year for you to grow into your true self. You’ve been a vampire for two weeks?” He pried one of my hands off his wrist and slammed it against the wall. “You’re practically still human. You can survive without blood for at least another month.”

“I don’t understand.” My head was spinning. New vampires were weak? Why didn’t we know about this?

“The cravings. The strength. It’s not instant, even though the humans think it is.” Zan’s words had my mouth parting in shock. “We let them think that’s how it is.”

I wanted to run back to the forest and leave a note at the tree for Tim right now. This little piece of information could help us in so many ways. The new vampires were the weakest, which was why they kept it such a secret. If we could stop their population from growing, we could get the upper hand.

I stayed silent before asking a question. He believed I was clueless, which I clearly was. I needed to learn everything I could. “So new vampires aren’t crazed for blood like everyone thinks?”

“Oh, that does happen,” Viggo spoke up. “But not until around the six-month mark.”

“I’m sure you’ve noticed the small changes,” Zan murmured. “Your taste buds changing. Your hearing becoming a bit sharper.”

“Yeah,” I muttered, my lies coming easier now that I had a handle on the conversation.

“Your feelings have changed toward humans,” he continued, watching me closely. “You don’t have the same commitment to them.”

“I only want to survive,” I bit out.

My answer came from what I’d learned, and I hoped it was the right thing to say. Tim had always taught me that once someone is turned, they lose empathy. They don’t care about the war anymore. They only want to look out for themselves.

“Come on.” He pulled me off the wall, keeping his hold on my wrist.

I planted my feet. There was no way in hell I was going anywhere with them. I needed to get out of here as soon as I could.

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