Frenzy (The Frenzy Series Book 1) (18 page)

“You didn’t want me to end up like her.”

Ford nodded, stared down at his feet, and shoved his fists into his pockets. “Sorry.”

“I’m the one who’s sorry, but you can never go over there, Ford. Promise me.”

He wouldn’t look me in the eye.

“Ford!”

“I promise, okay?”

“Okay. Now go back inside.” I watched him until he disappeared back into the safety of the house. Dust from above sprinkled my hair and nose. When I looked up, Roman was standing atop the wall, standing over me. “You heard that, huh?”

“I did.”

I shook my head. “He’s going to do something stupid, isn’t he?”

“He almost did tonight.”

For the first time since I left, I wished I were back home. At least that way I could keep a closer eye on him.

“Porschia?”

“Yeah.”

“He wasn’t the only one who did something foolish tonight. Wear your ring tomorrow.”

I swallowed. “I will.”

Roman stayed on the wall as the sky began to lighten. He said he would be at the pavilion before sunrise, so I set out to find Saul. My feet couldn’t carry me fast enough. I walked, then jogged, and then ran to the crossing. No one was there. I waited until it was almost sunrise before running to the pavilion.

Saul and the others were there with the night-walkers. Seeing him, it was like my chest could expand, I could breathe again. Saul was okay. I ran to him and threw my arms around his neck. His strong arms wrapped around me and I held him tightly before kissing his mouth, his cheeks, his jaw. Frantic.

A low growl came from behind us. We parted to find Roman, fists clenching and fangs bared, staring at us. Tage laughed from just behind him and put his hand on Roman’s shoulder. “Easy. Wouldn’t want to break the treaty.”

Tage must have had a death wish. His teasing was too much for Roman in that moment, and I barely saw him move before he was grabbing Tage by the throat and launching him across the square. The ground shook from the impact of his body slamming into the concrete. Saul pulled me behind him and watched Roman stalk toward Tage, who was chuckling as he lay on the ground, staring up at the sky.

“Long time coming,” he teased.

Roman’s eyes darkened and I knew his intent. The other vamps started to line up behind Roman. He was their leader. As awful as Tage was, there was still something he was hiding. I didn’t want to see him torn apart. There had already been too much death, too much loss lately. “Roman!” My voice was shrill.

“Roman, it’s almost sunrise. If you don’t feed now while it’s still dark, the colonists will see you. It will scare them,” I pleaded. “If they’re frightened, the treaty won’t matter. There will be no volunteers for the rotation, and you can’t feed on us indefinitely.”

He stopped stalking toward Tage and spun around, walking intently to me instead.
I did
this
, I reminded myself, wringing my hands. Saul moved to stand in front of me, but Dara pulled him away. He struggled, but she whispered something to him that calmed him down somewhat. I could still see his jaw ticking, the dangerous look in his eyes and how he aimed it at Roman.

Roman quickly licked my neck and sank in, pulling me tightly against him, and I had to hold onto his biceps to steady myself. He was taking much more than was necessary. He was teaching me a lesson. I could feel my body weakening. “Roman, stop,” I whispered.

He didn’t stop.

Tage must have gotten loose. His growl, just a foot away, was what made Roman stop gulping from me. He didn’t seal the wound. It stung. I winced, holding my hand over the dripping wound.

“You were draining her,” Tage said with a shrug as Roman shouldered by him, walking toward the houses across the square.

Was he going to leave me like this?

“I’ll help you,” Tage offered.

“You just want a taste, you freak!”

He laughed. “Guilty, but you need me to seal those.”

Warm blood oozed down my chest. “Fine.”

Saul was beside me, warning Tage to seal it and get the hell away from me. I felt the earth spin. “Uh-oh!” Tage said, catching me as I fell. “He took more than I thought. Lucky bastard.”

I felt his warm tongue on my neck and the world went dark.

When I came to, I was in bed at my room in Mrs. Dillinger’s house. “Hey,” Saul said quietly, perking up. He’d been sleeping in the chair beside me.

“What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

My mouth was like cotton, but I seemed to be all right. “I’m fine. Thank you for helping me.”

“Dara explained a few things to me last night. I want to talk to you, but we both need some rest.”

“How did the hunt go?”

Saul smiled. “Amazing. We don’t have to go out any more this rotation.”

“Seriously?” I sat up, smiling.

“Seriously. The vamps were...it was insane. They’re so fast and fierce. They took down seven deer including a twenty-point buck, a large black bear and a boar, and the Freemans’ snares caught two hares and a squirrel.”

“That’s...wow.”

“Yeah.” He smiled. “If you’re okay, do you care if I get some rest?”

“Absolutely. Your mom is probably expecting you home.”

He shook his head. “Ford stopped by to see you. He said he’d come again later, but he was going to stop by my house and tell them I was with you.” He looked down at me, a guarded but hopeful expression lifting his brows. “Can I lay with you? Just lay and sleep?”

My heart leaped. “Yeah. Of course.”

I scooted to the edge of the bed. He toed his boots off and sank into the mattress beside me, letting out a deep sigh. “Long night.”

“Yeah.”

“How was the city?”

“It was weird. I’ll tell you about it when we wake up.”

“The Elders have called a town meeting at five o’clock, but Mrs. Dillinger promised to wake us in time. I can go get you something to eat if you want. You’re probably starving.”

I wasn’t. I was tired to the marrow. “I just want to sleep. We’ll eat when we wake up.”

He stroked my cheek. “Goodnight, Porschia.”

“Night, Saul.”

When Saul stretched beside me, I realized I was using his chest as a pillow. Quickly checking for drool, I was glad to find his shirt still dry. That would have been embarrassing. Saul grinned, his hair flattened on the right side of his head. He was cute when he was sleepy.

“Mrs. Dillinger just knocked.”

“I hope she was okay with you staying. I should’ve asked.”

“She knew we were sleeping.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

“Your snoring could wake the dead,” he said with a wink.

I slapped him and sat up, stretching my back. My neck still stung. Roman numbed me to begin with, so I didn’t know why it still hurt so badly and why it didn’t heal with sleep. Gently touching my skin, I felt two large scabs on my neck.
Ouch.
“Why haven’t I healed?”

“It’s the venom in their fangs. There’s enough of it in their saliva to numb human skin, but the fangs have more. When they just take enough, the wound heals. But Dara said that if a vampire drinks for long enough, if they don’t drain the person, the wound won’t heal for days. Him drinking from you wasn’t about hunger or thirst. He was marking you for everyone to see.”

“That’s disgusting.” I stood up and noticed the blood that had oozed down my chest was dry, forming a hard, brownish-red crust on my shirt. “Gross! I’m changing.”

Saul’s eyes lit up.

“Not in front of you. Can you give me a few minutes?”

He laughed and stood up, grabbing his boots. “Can’t blame a guy for trying. I’ll see what that delicious smell is.”

“Do men always follow their noses?”

“The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

My duffle was in the corner. I hoped Saul didn’t peek inside, or else he would have found scraps of delicate fabric in every color imaginable. I wished I had time to look in the woman’s closet. I pulled one of Mercedes’ dresses from the chest of drawers and laid it on the bed. A small basin of water sat on a tiny wooden table in the corner. I needed to get the blood off of me.

Freshly dressed and feeling somewhat cleaner, I made my way downstairs. The smell of chicken hit my nose and my mouth began to water. Saul was talking with Mrs. Dillinger. “I think it’s wonderful that your parents want to meet her,” she said. I stopped and listened.

“They’re excited.”

“Are you nervous?” she asked.

“Not at all,” he answered confidently. “She’s what I want. I just hope she knows it.”

“I think she’s beginning to, but you haven’t known her well for long. Are things going too quickly?”

Saul chuckled. “No, and life’s too short to waste time. If you find something like what we have, you take it.”

Mrs. Dillinger’s hearty laugh filled the kitchen. “I couldn’t agree more. I didn’t even meet my husband until the day we were married. Things were different back then, though.”

“How long has the Colony been here?” I asked, stepping into the conversation and the room.

Both heads turned toward me. Mrs. Dillinger was turning chicken in the pan. “My mother was one of the first settlers.”