Blood Awakening (27 page)

Where his
destiny
was waiting.

Marquis threw open the heavy bedroom door. His eyes
immediately searched out Kristina, and what he saw sickened his stomach. The
pint-size female was lying on the enormous cherry-wood bed, doubled over into a
fetal position. Her wild, curly hair was damp with perspiration. Her body
trembled with fever.

“Dear gods,” Marquis exclaimed, rushing to the bed.

Kagen glanced up from Kristina’s side and nodded
his greeting. He leaned over the frail wisp of a female and began taking her
blood pressure. “She’s getting worse.”

Marquis blanched. Instinctively, his hand went to
her forehead, and he pulled it away when it burned his skin. “She’s burning up.
Kagen,
what is this
?”

Kagen smiled warmly at the quivering female and
whispered in her ear. “We’ll be right back.” He gestured at Marquis and walked
over to the window.

“Is she dying?” Marquis’s voice revealed his
alarm.

“Yes and no,” Kagen answered.

His temper flared. “
Yes and no?
What the
hell is that supposed—”

“If you don’t take care of her immediately, she
will die. But if you see to her needs, she will be just fine.”

Marquis’s lips drew back in a snarl. “I’m not a
healer, brother. Speak plainly.”

“She needs to feed, Marquis. And right away.”

Marquis took an inadvertent step back. “
Feed
?
Are you kidding me?” He glanced at Kristina, suddenly recognizing all of the
signs of his species’ severe hunger, but still not understanding: Newly
converted
destinies
did not have to feed for at least six months following
their conversions. Even then, the female would have to endure months of neglect
to become this ill. “How is this possible?” he asked.

Kagen looked down, his eyes solemn. “Normally,
that is true, but Kristina wasn’t well when you converted her.”

Marquis slumped against the wall, a sudden wave of
guilt washing over him. “What do you mean, she wasn’t well?”

Kagen placed his hand on Marquis’s forearm and
gave him a firm grasp before releasing it. “Do not take it so hard, brother. I
didn’t catch it either—that day at the clinic. And I was her doctor.”

Marquis snarled, “Enough of the riddles! Tell me
what is wrong with her, Kagen!”

Kagen squared his chin and raised his shoulders in
a cocky shrug as if to point out that Marquis’s words were water rolling off
his back. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and waited
patiently…for Marquis to show some respect.

Marquis appraised his little brother then. The
healer had always been the epitome of kindness and good manners—until he wasn’t.
And now was not the time to rub him the wrong way. With everything that had
gone on that day, Marquis was in no mood for a heated brotherly argument. There
wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he would throw the arrogant ass right out the
stained-glass window if Kagen pushed him too far. And then Kagen would turn
into
Mr. Hyde
.

And then...

He exhaled slowly through his nose. “What happened
during the conversion, Kagen?”

Kagen crossed his arms over his chest leisurely, a
point of emphasis that he would not be intimidated. “When Dirk...
hurt her
...he
caused several internal injuries that I didn’t catch in my exam. She was
bleeding internally the entire day.”

Marquis stepped back. “Good gods. And I converted
her in that state?” He glanced at the bed, feeling deep regret for the first
time over how he had turned her.

Kagen’s eyes grew serious. “You saved her life,
actually.” He stared at his brother, refusing to blink. “Marquis, if you had
waited to convert her, she would’ve died from her internal injuries, perhaps the
same night.”

A deep, feral growl escaped Marquis’s throat. If he
could raise the dead he would bring Dirk back just to kill him again.

“Your venom has been sustaining her,” Kagen
continued, “and she did convert successfully, but she needs to feed right away.
At least a couple of pints.”

Wonderful,
Marquis thought.
She’s going
to love that.

Marquis nodded and visually assessed the tiny,
suffering female in the too-large bed. “Leave now, Kagen.”

Kagen smirked. “You’re welcome, brother.” He ambled
over to the bed, retrieved his bag, and headed toward the door. “Marquis,” he
whispered on his way out, “all pettiness aside, do not forget your life is tied
to hers.” He smoothed his hair away from his eyes. “Please, don’t wait.”

Marquis nodded. While his own life didn’t seem all
that important right now, there was absolutely no way he was going to let this
female—
his female
—die as a result of being claimed by him. “Do I have
time to take her home?”

“Honestly?” Kagen stared at Kristina for an
intense moment and then turned back to Marquis. “No.”

He turned and left the room.

Marquis approached the bed slowly, understanding just how much the sickly woman
hated and feared him. “How are you feeling, Kristina?” His voice was deliberately
matter-of-fact.

 “I think I’m dying,” she muttered. Her deep blue
eyes fluttered upward, and she shivered. “Good thing for you, huh?”

Marquis frowned. “Kristina, this is no time to amuse
yourself. Did Kagen explain to you what was wrong?”

Kristina doubled over in pain and grimaced. “Sort
of. He said I need to feed, but I can’t eat anything. I swear; I’d just throw
up if I tried.”

Marquis placed his hand on her shoulder and gently
rubbed the back of her neck. “You are no longer human, Kristina. While you can
eat food if you wish, your body does not require it anymore. You do not need to
eat
. You need to
feed
.”

“
Feed?
What the heck does that mean?” Her
voice held a hint of fear in it.

“It means—”

“You mean blood?
Drink blood?
Oh, hell no,
Marquis. No! I can’t.”

“You can,” Marquis argued, “and you must.”

Kristina sat up; her body rocked with spasms at
the sudden movement. She clenched her stomach as she shook her head adamantly. “Are
you crazy? What am I supposed to do? Go
hunt
like some little vampire
warrior or something? Have you seen me, Marquis? I’m not big enough to kill
anything. And I couldn’t even if I was.” She ducked her head under the pillow.
“No!”
The sound was muffled.

Marquis almost smiled.
Almost
. “Kristina, you
are
a vampire now, but our females do not hunt. And you’re right, you
couldn’t kill a fly… Unless—”

He stopped himself.

“Unless what?” she demanded, lifting the pillow.

He offered a lopsided smile. “Unless you did it
with your mouth.”

Kristina glared at him. “To hell with you, vampire!
I bet I could bite you if you made me mad enough, you jackass.”

Marquis smiled broadly then. “Now that’s the
Kristina Riley I know. And that is precisely what I am going to let you do.”

Kristina positively recoiled, jerking away so
violently she slammed her head into the headboard. “Ouch!” She sneered at him. “Are
you insane?”

Marquis took a slow, deep breath. “Kristina, this
is no joking matter.”

“Do I sound like I’m joking?”

“
You’re dying
.”

Now that got her attention.

“I’m dying? Just because I’m not out murdering
humans and sucking their blood?”

Marquis frowned. “I repeat, our females do not
hunt, nor do we expect them to
murder humans
. You are dying because Dirk
hurt you far worse than we realized, and for that, I apologize. We should have
caught your injuries sooner.”

Kristina’s eyes flashed with anger. “Kind of hard
to do with those saber-tooth fangs lodged in my throat, huh?”

Marquis didn’t blink. “I am not proud of my
behavior, Kristina, although it did ultimately save your life. But think of it
this way: This is your chance for revenge.” He knew he would have sounded more
convincing if he could have smiled—or even put an air of teasing into his voice—but
Marquis Silivasi just didn’t do lighthearted. And he was hardly going to pick
up the nuances of humor now.

The two of them sat in utter silence for an
interminable amount of time before Kristina finally looked up at him beneath
slightly hooded—and extremely frightened—eyes. “Marquis,” she whispered in a
tone that sounded far too much like defeat, “I can’t. I mean...I really
can’t
.”

Marquis took her hand in his and forced himself to
hold on solidly. “Kristina, you must. You know I will not allow you to die.”

Kristina shook her head and rolled her eyes. “No,
I mean,
I can’t
. Let’s say, even if I wanted to drink someone’s blood, which
I don’t, then no offense, but it probably wouldn’t be yours. And even if there
was someone else more
my type—
like really young and sexy—like maybe
Nachari or something…I still wouldn’t know how.
I can’t
.”

Marquis blinked several times, trying to process
that his
destiny
had just referred to his little brother as
young and
sexy.
And preferable to him. Despite his utter lack of affection for the
female, his haunches stood up, and a deep, territorial growl rumbled in his
throat. “Be careful,
floricica mea
. I will not have you speak that way
of other males, especially not my own brother.”

Kristina rolled her eyes again. “Oh yeah, ’cause
that would be like...rude or something...as opposed to pawning your mate off on
your brother, the doctor, in order to run off and save the woman you
really
love? And then not even coming to check on her when you get back. Yeah, Marquis,
I’ll have to keep that in mind. Whatever!”

Marquis blanched.

Kristina held his gaze. “I might not be all
educated or anything, but I’m not stupid either,
boss
.”

Marquis frowned then. “I never said you were. Then
again, I’m not the one who just referred to a five-hundred-year-old male as
young.”

“And sexy,” Kristina added, sneering.

Marquis’s lips twitched, but he held back his
fangs.

Kristina crossed her arms over her laboring chest.
“That really does irritate you, doesn’t it?” She laughed between coughs. “I
will have to keep that in mind.” And then, once again, she doubled over in
pain.

Marquis scowled. “Kristina, look at you. You need
to feed.” He reached out and stroked her arm. “As in
right now
.”

She shook her head again, all at once becoming frightened.
“I can’t! Besides, I don’t even know how.”

Marquis leaned forward and caught her face in his hands.
“You do know how.”

She glared at him then, her blue eyes boring an
are-you-really-that-stupid
look into his, and then she turned away. “
As if
.”

Marquis cleared his throat. “When you were born—as
a human—you went from an environment where you did not breathe oxygen to one
that immediately required it, yet no one taught you how to breathe. You simply
opened your mouth and began to take in air. So it is with your rebirth as a
vampire. Feeding is essential to life. You need not be taught. Trust me, Kristina,
the moment you smell my blood, you will know how to feed.”

Kristina winced. “That is
so
gross, Marquis.
You have no idea how gross that is.” She started to make a face but was racked
by a series of painful cramps.

“Enough!” Marquis took her by the hand. He brushed
his hair to the side and pulled her forward. “Come to me, Kristina. Take what
you need.”

Weighing less than one-hundred ten pounds,
Kristina flew effortlessly into Marquis’s arms. Her head fell into the hollow
between his shoulder and neck, and she began to cry. “I can’t.” She pushed at
his chest like a distressed child, desperate to be free of his restraining arms.

Marquis exhaled. “
Kristina
...”

She shook her head and wiped her nose on the
sleeve of his shirt. “Wait! Don’t force me!” She struggled to catch her breath.
“If you’re going to make me do this, then at least let me...do your wrist. Your
neck is way too...
eww
. No offense.”

Marquis shut his eyes and cursed beneath his
breath. “None taken, but Kristina, my wrist won’t be enough for you. Your need
is too great.”

It was then that she truly started to panic.

She swung at him wildly, breaking his grasp in
surprise, and then she jumped from the bed in a desperate attempt to flee from
the room.

Marquis rose fluidly, heading her off before she
could reach the door. He lifted her like a sack of weightless potatoes and
carried her back to the bed. She punched and kicked the entire way.

 “Stop, Kristina.
Stop
!”
He
restrained her arms to keep her from hurting herself.

“No!” she cried, hysterical.

“Kristina!”

“I won’t eat your neck,” she squealed, continuing
to struggle.