The male scientist rubbed his temple. “No, you aren’t together?”
Alice huffed “Why are you asking him?”
“No, we aren’t not together.” Cain glared at the other male.
Willis gave a sharp nod and put his hands in the air, palms up. “Got it. Alice’s wonderland is off limits.” The words were barely out of his mouth when a book slammed into his forehead and dropped to the floor with a loud thunk. “Oww! Damn.” Willis howled and pressed his hand to the offended area.
“I’m not an amusement park ride.” The veins on either side of her neck pulsed. She glared at Willis for a few more moments before turning her attention back to Cain.
“You’re even more attractive when you’re pissed off.” He licked his lips.
Alice’s brow drew low. “Then I will have to work harder on channeling my inner peace.”
“Maybe channeling your inner humanity would be a better place to start.” The words were raspy and followed by a groan. They came from the figure on the gurney, who was staring up at them through heavily lidded eyes. She attempted to shift her position on the gurney.
“Why can’t I move?” she croaked.
Cain stepped closer and leaned down until he was inches from her face. He took a deep breath and smelled her dormant blood, but also his own, as well as Alice’s. “How do you feel?” he asked, barely able to keep the look of glee from his face.
Her eyes snapped fully open, and she tried to force her head back into the pillow. “I’d feel a lot better if there wasn’t a vampire so close to my neck.”
“That’s a legitimate concern.” Willis nodded and gave his forehead another rub.
Cain glanced away from the male and back to Lizzy. He gave her a little space, though he remained close enough to smell the slightest change in her emotions. To his surprise, there was no scent of fear coming from the female … or pain. “You’re no longer in pain?”
“No, should I be?”
“You said you were burning.” Alice held a penlight over Lizzy’s eyes and checked her pupils’ response.
“Well, I’m not now. But write that crap down in your notes because it was not pleasant. At least your next victim can be prepared for it.” Lizzy tried to move again and then huffed. “Can you please unstrap me?”
Alice began to unbuckle the strap at Lizzy’s head.
“Whoa, hold up.” Willis reached out to stop the other scientist. He looked down at Lizzy. “Do you feel like you might snap and go off all fangs blazing?”
“Fangs blazing?” Cain said dryly. “Seriously?”
“What?” Willis shrugged. “You just turned her into a vampire. Isn’t she going to be hungry?”
“First”—Cain stood up straight and slipped his hands into his pockets—“her transformation isn’t complete. It takes six days for the virus to fully take over a human. So her intense hunger shouldn’t hit until then.”
Alice scoffed. “Then why did you ask her how she was feeling when I first shot her up?”
Cain sighed. “Once again, I’ve never changed a dormant. I have no idea if her situation will be the same as that of a human’s. I thought perhaps because she possesses supernatural blood, then it was possible her change could happen faster.”
“In all seriousness”—Alice kept her eyes on Lizzy as she unstrapped her—“how are you feeling?”
“I’ve been serious from the moment I came into this supernatural psych ward.” Lizzy pushed herself up into a sitting position. “My organs aren’t cooking anymore, so there’s that.”
“What else?” Alice prodded. After finishing the last buckle, she walked over to a lab table and grabbed a notebook and pen. She made notes as she looked Lizzy over.
Cain watched the girl closely. He had no idea what her body’s reaction would be to the new blood in her system. He’d need to wait at least the full six days to make sure her transition was complete. Hopefully, she’d still be alive. If so, he’d count the experiment a success and try to turn more of the dormants.
Lizzy took a mental inventory of how her body felt, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. When she’d blacked out, she’d been in more pain than she could ever remember. Even taking all those beatings as a child hadn’t felt as bad as her insides becoming stew. She took a deep breath and focused on her heartbeat. “Is that supposed to be pumping still?” Lizzy pointed to her heart.
“We’re not dead.” The tone of Cain’s voice once again suggested he was talking to an exasperating child. “It’s a virus. Quit watching so many television shows about vampires.”
“Does anything hurt at all?” Alice ignored his commentary.
