The house was beautiful inside. Large and open, it even smelled good. I looked everywhere I could without lifting my head. There was a large stairway off to the side, an antique hutch, and fancy wallpaper with little birds on it. I’d been letting the blood drain out of my mouth, but I sucked it back as we moved over the hardwood floors, trying not to stain them.
“Danny,” a sweet voice called out as we entered a brightly lit room. “How can I help?”
I squinted against the light.
“We need to get her clothes off,” Daniel replied as he gently placed me on an uncomfortable bed with a railing on one side.
It took me a moment to realize it was a hospital bed.
What the fuck?
I glanced around the room. Six feet away, a small woman was wrapped from head to toe in a green cap and scrubs, ordering the person next to her quietly. Her hands flashed in and out ofview. At the head of the bed, my Uncle Dalton stood with his hands on Seamus’s head. My cousin’s face was covered with an oxygen mask. His skin looked gray.
Beyond them, Ian, Grant, and Aunt Halle stood along the wall. Grant’s head was tipped down, staring at the floor. Aunt Halle’s eyes were squeezed shut, Ian’s arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders.
I met Ian’s devastated gaze and held it until he looked away.
Shelves and cupboards lined the room. There was a sink in the corner. A backboard rested against the wall opposite my family. Chance and Erik stood next to it.
“What are you doing?” I gasped as cool air blew over my thighs. I slapped at the hands pulling my trousers down.
“We have to see your wounds,” Daniel said, catching my hand.
“Wait.”
My cousins wererightthere. So were Daniel’s father and brother.
“We can’t wait,” the sweet voice replied. She lifted her head to look at me, and my mate’s brown eyes stared back from a stranger’s face.
“Your mom,” I whispered, letting my head fall back.
“Yes,” Daniel replied, messing with my shirt.
I closed my eyes as cool air hit my chest and then my arms.
“Danny,” his mom called, her voice rising an octave. “Erik, come help me.”
“Great,” I mumbled. “Invite everyone over.”
No one paid any attention to me as multiple pairs of hands touched me, pressing and pulling. I could barely feel it anymore. Gauze pressed against my cheek, and then my pop’s voice was in my ear.
“Hold on, Flower.”
I tried to answer him, but my mouth didn’t seem to be working anymore.
Sometime later, it was Daniel in my ear. “Bite, baby.”
The scent of his blood filled my nostrils, and I clenched my teeth around his skin.
“It’s coming out her cheek,” someone murmured.
“She’s still getting some,” another voice replied.
“Let her take as much as she can.”
“I know,” Daniel said, his voice still near my ear.
Then there was nothing but a bitchy voice barking orders.
