CHAPTERFIFTEEN
MARCUS
Callum emerged from his room,stretching and yawning. It was late, nearly two in the morning, and he and Merry had been working for hours. I'd made them take a couple of breaks to eat and stretch their legs, but they were on a mission.
"Hey, do we have any snacks?" he asked, going to the fridge and opening it. He put one hand on his hip and stared inside as if it held the secrets of the universe.
"Yes. There's dip and veggies."
He scoffed and pulled a pitcher of cold brew coffee out of the fridge. We made it by the gallon because he loved it so much. "Veggies. Real snacks are full of preservatives and carbs. Or fat. Or sugar. Or all of the above."
"You mean the stuff that will clog your arteries and give anyone human a heart attack?"
"Well, yeah."
I groaned. "Look in the pantry."
"Sweet."
"Where's Merry? Do you think she's hungry?"
"Nah," he answered, gathering a bunch of junk food in one arm while holding the cold brew in the other hand. "She's asleep."
"I didn't hear her go to bed."
"Oh, no. She's facedown on her laptop."
"You just left her like that?" I asked, anger rising.
"No, I'm telling you so you can do something about it."
"Jeez. Why bother doing something yourself when you can have someone else do it?"
He set everything on the counter with a plunk and turned toward me. "Oh, so you'd be fine with me picking her up, holding her in my arms, and then gently tucking her into her bed? Then, that's what I'll do."
I snarled at him, sounding more like a shifter than a vampire, and he laughed.
"That's what I thought. Now, go put her to bed before she wakes up with a crick in her neck."
I left him in the kitchen and found Merry exactly as he described her. Her arms were folded under her head and the hood of her sweatshirt was pulled over her head.
I walked over to her and leaned down, sliding one arm under her legs and another around her shoulder.
She stirred, went rigid, and the next thing I knew, lights were exploding behind my eyelids.
My body locked up and I couldn't stop myself from dropping her as I fell back. The back of my head hit the floor with a thunk and white-hot pain seared every nerve ending. A dull roar filled my mind, blocking out any other sound.
The pain released me from its grip and my muscles finally relaxed. The bones of my legs must have dissolved under the intense shock because they refused to obey me and resembled jelly.
"Oh, my God, Marcus." Merry's face appeared above me, her eyes wide and her cheeks pale. "I'm so sorry. You startled me and, well, I zapped you."
"S'okay." My cheek was wet and I wondered if it was because my eyes were tearing or because I was likely drooling.
"What?"
"S'okay," I repeated. I tried to enunciate clearly but my tongue had gone the way of my legs and was refusing to cooperate.
"What in the hell?" Callum asked from the doorway.
