I could hear his pulse soaring off the charts as though my ear was pressed to his chest. “Of course. Who else would I be?”
“A demon,” Dane mumbled as he came over to us. “My grandmother believes that demons inhabit some people. Or will you turn into your sister Rianne?”
Sam squeezed me to him with such force I couldn’t breathe. “I can’t believe this. You’re in my arms. You’re alive.”
“Layla, what’s the last thing you remember?” Dr. Vieira asked.
I eased out of Sam’s embrace. “Rianne attacking me.”
Sam was feeling my arms, neck, my carotid artery. “How is Layla alive, let alone a vampire?”
“Did Rianne turn me?” That was the only explanation I could wrap my mind around. “Will I be a monster like her?” My stomach lurched.
“Rianne killed you,” Doc bit out.
Sam lifted my lips, touching my canines. “You were beautiful before you had fangs, baby doll, but man, I like seeing you with these babies.”
“Don’t rejoice just yet,” I said. “Doc, am I like Rianne? Tell me, please.”
“Her eyes are yellow,” Dane stated, staying as far away from me as possible. “Not red like Rianne’s.”
“That’s because I’m a witch,” I said. “Wait? I don’t have red eyes. Is that a sign I’m not a monster?” I was feeling dizzy.
Doc circled the lab bench. “Dane, there’s a lab coat in my office. Can you grab it for Layla? Sam, get Layla a bottle of blood.” Doc studied me as if he was examining a slide under his microscope, standing with one arm folded under the other while he placed his fingers on his mouth. “I don’t know what you are just yet.”
Great. Not the answer I wanted to hear.
Sam returned with an open bottle of blood.
I drank a mouthful and almost spat it out. “That’s disgusting.”
He chuckled. “It’s processed with a hint of red pepper. My favorite of the bunch.”
“You’re probably used to Sam’s blood,” Doc said. “Is your bloodlust any stronger than when you were craving it during your pregnancy?”
“Not really. The only difference is I have a stronger sense of smell.”
“You’re not famished for blood?” Doc asked again.
“I’m not going to suck anyone dry, if that’s what you mean,” I said.
Awe and disbelief were stamped in Sam’s expression. “I can’t believe you’re alive. Nobody will.”
Jordyn? “Where’s my sister?” From where I stood, I could see that her room was empty.
“She’s at Jo’s house,” Sam said.
“She’s going to faint,” I mumbled after taking another sip from the bottle. The second taste seemed to be better.
“As is everyone else,” Dane said as he returned with Doc’s lab coat.
Sam held up the sheet to block me while I put on the oversized piece of clothing that smelled like Doc, spicy and medicinal.
“How are our children?” I asked, buttoning the coat.
Sam closed his arms around me. “My dad is with them.” He sighed. “It feels so fucking good to hold you again. I don’t care if you returned to the living as an elf. You’re here. My heart is mending as we speak.”
I could actually hear how fast his pulse was racing and felt the elation soaring through him. But he shouldn’t get his hopes up until we knew for sure what I was.
