by V. Vaughn
I feed on the man until the vampire tells me to stop, and we place him behind a tree far enough away from the woman that they won’t stumble upon each other. The vampire turns to me and takes my face in his hands. His touch is soft and comforting. “You’re done feeding on people today. You won’t remember what we did. Although...” He chuckles. “You will remember that you fed on people. Now go back home to Sebastian and Alexander. They’re bound to be missing you.”
I blink in confusion as I walk through the center of Port Porpoise. It’s early in the morning, and none of the shops are open. Rain falls in a gentle mist, and I twirl around slowly. I feel as if I were just dropped onto the street because I’m not sure how I got here. The last thing I remember is trying to eat a seagull, and I grimace when I recall the nasty flavor. An older woman in a tracksuit approaches me. She’s carrying a water bottle and pumping her arms as she walks. She says, “Good morning,” before she frowns in confusion as she stares at me.
I gasp, afraid I shouldn’t be this close to her. But when she passes by, I feel only a flicker of bloodlust. What is going on? Is this a cycle Adly and Sebastian forgot to tell me about? Dread hits my stomach like lead, because I remember I ran away from the Hart mansion last night with the intention of killing myself. Oh god. Sebastian must be so pissed off.
I need to get back, and I begin to jog toward the mansion. I’d really like to use my vampire speed, but I guess being seen by a person when I’m moving that quickly wouldn’t be a wise idea. It seems to take forever for me to get past all the shops. When I manage to get to the road I used to walk on, a car’s wheels screech behind me, and I turn to see the Hart limo. The passenger door opens, and Adly yells, “Get in here. Now!”
I scramble in, and when I shut the door, the locks click. “Where the hell did you go?” Adly’s in vampire form, and his eyes are flashing with his anger. “Do you have any idea how worried we were?”
He lets out a huff of disgust and rakes a hand through his hair before he grabs his phone from the dash. As he holds it to his ear, he looks at me, and his eyes widen. “Is that blood—” He stops short and then says, “Sebastian. I’ve got Maggie.” He nods and says, “She was jogging back from town. We’ll be right there.”
Adly clicks the phone off and reaches over to the glove compartment. He pulls out a napkin. “There’s water in the back. You need to scrub that blood off of your face before Sebastian sees you.”
“Blood?” I reach up and touch my mouth, and when I lick my lips, I taste it. A vision of me sucking a person’s neck flashes in my mind. “Oh no.”
“Maggie.” Adly reaches for my hand. “Did you—?”
Blood from my stomach rises in my throat, and I swallow hard to keep it down. If I fed on someone with my bloodlust, there’s no way I kept them alive. I couldn’t have. I shake my head in confusion, because it doesn’t make sense that I can’t remember. I gaze at Adly as fear grips my heart. “I don’t know.”
Maggie deals with the aftermath of what she did while Lyndsey is faced with a dangerous new challenge in Called by the Vampire Part 8.
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V. also writes about werewolves, bears and aliens. Find out more at www.violetvaughn.com.
About the Author
V. Vaughn lives on an island in Maine with her three Portuguese Water dogs.
V. Vaughn also writes Contemporary Romance as Violet Vaughn and Cozy Mysteries with her bestie as Lucy Quinn.
www.violetvaughn.com
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