“Is that your wolf?”
“Yes, mate. I am the wolf that lives inside of the man. I am yours.”
The beast said the words with such conviction and finality that they settled in her bones. “Why do you say I’m hungry?”
“I can sense it through the bond,” the wolf explained. “But not for food. I sense the vampire virus in you and the healer blood. They are beginning to mingle and become one.”
She frowned. “Have you sensed it before?”
“I would have if the man had let me have more control.” He sounded quite put out about the fact that Finn had been keeping him under lock and key.
“He’s worried that you will attack someone,” Lizzy said.
“Yes.”
She would have smiled if she wasn’t in so much pain. “Is that a yes, he’s worried or yes, you would attack someone?”
“Yes,” the wolf repeated. “You need blood.”
The nausea she’d felt earlier came back in full force. Blood? Could she really drink blood? She gagged, but there was this tiny place in her brain that knew the wolf was right.
“The wolf within you. It knows.”
“This is still new to me, wolf. Cut me some slack.” She huffed and swallowed down bile, which also felt like fire. Lizzy was pretty sure she never wanted to be near any fire ever again after this experience.
“You are doing well.” The wolf’s approval made her feel all warm and tingly. “Once we are free of this place, you will get to know me, and you will claim me.”
Her lips turned up slightly. “Your confidence is quite attractive. And if I wasn’t about to vomit, I’d attempt to push your buttons just to see how vain you are.”
“Vanity is not the same thing as confidence. Confidence means you know you are capable. Vanity is simply wishing you were capable and wanting to fool others into believing that you are.”
Okay, that was deep. Were all wolves that introspective? Not that he was a normal wolf, obviously. He had the soul of a man mingled with his own, which gave him a different level of intelligence and knowledge. Why in the world am I thinking about that while I’m starving to death? And that was exactly what was happening. When his wolf suggested she needed blood, the truth clicked into place for Lizzy, though the thought still disgusted her. She knew her body was screaming at her to give it what it needed.
“I need to get the vampire king’s attention,” she told his wolf. “Can you let Finn back out?” She had no idea if that was the correct way to describe having the two switch places. Were they like multiple personalities where one was in control and the other was unaware?
“Lizzy.” Finn’s deep timbre filled her mind, and it felt different from when his wolf spoke to her. “My wolf is getting impatient.”
“He’s interesting.”
“He’s preening right now,” Finn said dryly. “He also made a valid point. You’re hungry. I was too focused on your pain to think about why you were in pain. The transition is working.”
“I will not lie. I’m feeling some mixed emotions right now.” Lizzy knew there was no point in trying to deny her situation. She couldn’t change it. What’s done was done. The only thing to do now was to move forward. “I need to get to the door.” She pushed herself into a sitting position. Her clothes were soaked with sweat, and everything hurt. “I feel like I’ve been trampled by something big, like a cow. No.” Lizzy shook her head. “Bigger than a cow. Like an elephant, but like, the biggest elephant in the history of elephants.”
“My Lizzy, focus. I’m going to push as much of my power into you as I can. I can draw some from Fane since he’s allowed a mental bond between us. Hopefully it will be enough to help you walk.”
Lizzy didn’t say anything back because all she could focus on was sliding down so that her feet touched the ground. She groaned the entire time. It was absolutely pitiful, and she wanted to slap herself and tell herself to suck it up. Warmth flowed into her, and she felt a burst of energy fill her muscles. She stood up. Though her legs were shaking, they held her weight. Lizzy picked up her foot and nearly laughed when she realized she could barely take a step. “Good grief, if the druggies on the street could see me now,” she muttered. “They’d consider me easy pickings and turn into vultures. Focus.” She repeated Finn’s words. She took one shaky step and then another. Lizzy wanted to shout in victory. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to take two steps. She’d never take the ability to walk, skip, and run for granted again.
It was slow, and the door seemed a mile away instead of twelve feet. But she gradually made her way. Finn didn’t speak, but she felt him with her. She felt the power he was giving to her. When she finally reached the door, she fell forward and lifted her arm to brace herself against it. Then she pressed her forehead to the cold surface. Breathe. In and out. Her muscles cramped up. Like a rubber band that had been stretched and then released, they retracted inside of her.
“Are you all right?”
“I didn’t face-plant, so that’s something, right?”
“I wouldn’t have let you face-plant.” He spoke with the same confidence that his wolf had. And Lizzy was grateful because the determined tone she heard gave her a sense of confidence of her own. Somehow, she knew she wasn’t going to die in that room. At least not from a heart attack. Lizzy lifted her other arm, fisted her hand, and pounded on the door. She could tell that Finn had directed his power into that arm because there was no way she would have been able to hit it that hard. “HELLO,” she called out. “Any vamps out there? I’m in need of a juice box.”
She waited, but there was no response. “Finn.” Lizzy felt her legs growing weaker.
“I won’t let you fall. Trust me.”
