Page 59 of The Vampire's Guide to Wooing a Scholar
Marcus couldn’t move.It was as if there were a steel mesh draped over him, keeping him pinned in place. Winifred wasdying, and he was helpless to stop it.
He tried to do as she had taught, breathing and focusing on the present, but awful images kept intruding. Winifred’s wide eyes and open mouth as she’d plummeted to the earth. The sickening crunch of her body hitting the fence post. Damp hair falling out of her chignon.
Her human life had ended, but he could still save her, if he could only conquer his fear.
Then a bright light flashed in his mind, and it was as if the weight were being lifted from his body. Not all of it, but enough that he could move. He struggled to his feet, pushed the door open, and raced across the garden to Winifred’s side.
Her heart had stopped, but she was not yet gone. He lifted her off the fence post and set her on the ground. Then he brought his wrist to his teeth and bit until his fangs severed his nerves and he could no longer move his fingers. The wound had to be large enough that she would take what she needed before it healed. But when he placed the gash against her lips, she didn’t react. He cursed and cupped his mouth around the cut for several seconds, then transferred as much blood as he could to her, forcing it between her lips. She sputtered and coughed. Both were good signs. He took another bite of his arm, thistime farther up. Feeding her was a slow process, but he continued until her eyelids fluttered open.
Her irises faded to blue, then turned to pinpoints. She uttered a fierce snarl, and fangs erupted from her jaw. The thin connection between them burst open like a collapsing dam.
She jerked her head toward him. “Did you feel that?”
He touched their foreheads together. “Yes.”
She put her hands on his shoulders and struggled to her feet. She tottered like a lamb as he held his arms around her, ready to catch her if she fell.
“I feel so different.” She opened her mouth and touched her fangs again. “How do I get them to go back?”
“It’s the corpses,” he said. “The smell is triggering your new instincts. That’s why your eyes are blue, like mine.”
She blinked. “My eyes?” Then she smiled. “How fascinating.”
She shouldn’t have been so pleased to be a vampire, but he didn’t begrudge her excitement. The smell of death bothered him as well. If he released control, the vampire in him would bring death to any living creature within reach.
Winifred pushed his arms away and stumbled toward the castle. After a moment of staring at her back, he realized what was happening from the trickle of hunger and desperation coming through their bond. She was a fledgling, and she was hungry. Unless he stopped her, she would find the nearest human and tear out their throat.
She would never forgive herself, or him, if she took a mortal life.
The village was too far away, and he wouldn’t subject his staff to a fledgling. There had to be some other way…
His invention. That was their only chance. He caught her just as she picked up speed. She whipped her head around and bared her teeth. An animalistic reaction. Her new body required a fresh infusion.
He grabbed her upper arm and led her to the stairs to his workshop. He couldn’t easily bruise her, but he still hatedthe whimpering sound she made when she squirmed, and he had to tighten his grip.
“We’re almost there,” he said. “I have what you need in my workshop.”
She whimpered. “It hurts, Marcus.”
He knew, because he could feel her pain as if it were his own. The gnawing hunger was becoming impossible to ignore. She shouldn’t have been so famished, given how much blood she’d consumed, but his poisoned state had likely contributed to her weakness.
They reached the circular room at the top of the tower. He shoved her inside, then bolted the door behind them.
*
Winifred could feelher own blood pumping through her veins. It was a distinctly odd sensation, like something inside her was trying to claw its way out of her body through her throat. It was made stranger by the sharp pangs assaulting her stomach. She kept licking her lips, but every time she did, her tongue scraped along one of her blasted fangs.
She stared at the glowing orb of the moon, so bright, that it made her eyes burn. This was to be her life now. She would never see the light of day again. She would spend that time asleep or do whatever vampires did during the day.
Marcus would know. He would help her, as she had helped him. They would remain together forever, tied in a way more secure than the piece of paper that declared them married. Now that she knew how to ease his attacks, they could explore the ruins of Pompeii. Visit the site of the Coringa cyclone. Hike up Mount Tambora at night.
The pain in her stomach intensified, making her groan. She knew she was famished, but the thought of eating made her want to cast up her accounts. She turned around and found Marcus slotting a glass vial full of a dark-red substance into the top of his machine. Her mouthwatered.
She had to have it.
She lunged, but he was too fast. He caught her around the middle and lifted her into his arms in one smooth motion.
“My blood is tainted,” he said as he cranked. “I think that’s why you’ve regressed even faster than most fledglings. I hoped it might be different for mates. But I think I have a solution.” The machine creaked and groaned as if it were about to fall apart.
