The Frenzy Series (Book 2): Frantic (13 page)

I stood up too fast and clutched my head to ward off the spinning. “This is impossible. I…I can’t even wrap my head around it! We can’t get out. We’ll never get out of this. There’s no cure. There’s no hope!”

Tage stood and reached out to calm me, but I batted his hand away angrily. “Don’t touch me!”

“Porschia, you’re getting upset.”

“No SHIT!”

“Roman!” Tage yelled.

The door flew open and Roman appeared in the doorway wearing only a pair of jeans slung low on his hips. The zipper was undone. Dara appeared a second later, wiping her plump bottom lip. Roman looked murderous. “Sorry to interrupt,” Tage started, “but I need you to calm her down.”

“Calm me down? I will
not
calm down!”

Roman zipped the fly of his jeans and casually strode down the steps, his eyes intent on me. “Don’t touch me,” I warned.

“I won’t if you don’t want me to,” he replied with a smirk.

I ticked my head toward Dara. “You have
her
for that. I’m no one’s plaything.”

Roman growled, the smile slipping from his face. “You’ll be whatever I
want
you to be.”

“I’ll never be yours.”

Tage maneuvered himself between the two of us. “Easy,” he warned, but I wasn’t sure which one of us he was talking to.

“You treat us like property!”

“I’m the leader, Porschia. Deal with that or leave.”

“Who made you leader?”

Roman bared his fangs, and with the back of his hand swatted Tage away. He landed hard on the steps. “
I
did.”

Coming toe-to-toe with me, Roman growled, fisted my hair, and held my neck to the side. He dragged the sharp tips of his fangs down my throat. “Roman?” I whimpered.

“That’s better,” he breathed.

“What are you doing to me?” My knees buckled.

Dara’s voice cut through the fog. “He’s making sure you behave. Now do you see why I’m addicted?”

Because he wants you to be.

Tage recovered enough to pull me away from Roman, and in that moment, I was angry for his intrusion. In the next, I was thankful for it. What was that?

Compulsion.

“We’re going for a walk,” Tage announced. Roman walked back up the steps, the muscles rippling through his perfectly chiseled body. He didn’t reply; he just threw a hand up in dismissal. Dara grinned as he prowled toward her.

The door slammed behind the pair of them and then Dara’s body hit the back side of the wood. Her moans were both deep and theatrically loud. “I’m ready for that walk,” I admitted, staring uncomfortably at the door.

Tage pulled my arm and we walked toward the cemetery. The further I was from Roman, the more my mind cleared. He certainly didn’t touch me like a leader; he touched me like a lover. I shook my head to get rid of the image. Scenes from even before I turned filled my mind – like during the feedings when he would sit behind me on the bench, wrap his arm around my body, and pull me toward him. Was he compelling me even then?

Tage’s demeanor also changed the further we walked away from Roman’s house. He balled his fists and paced back and forth down the rows of graves, each marked with a simple wooden cross at the head. “What’s wrong?”

He huffed and stopped pacing. “Roman’s the problem.”

“Not
your
problem. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to eat you.”

“He doesn’t want to eat you, Porschia. He wants to consume you. And that, back there?” He pointed toward the house. “That was a warning to me, too.”

“How is this about you?”

“You’re mine.”

I shook my head. “I’m Saul’s.”

“Never mind Saul.
I
know you’re Saul’s, but I also know that I claimed you, and what he just did crossed a line that can’t be uncrossed. I want to rip him apart and feed you chunks of him.” Okay, so that was hot, and I was hungry, so just the thought of Tage feeding me hot, warm meat....
mmmmm
.

“Stop it, Porschia,” he warned, his eyes dilating.

“Tage, I know we’re bonded or something, and you probably have to help me anyway, but I really appreciate you helping me,” I said haltingly as I worried the hem of Dara’s shirt.

“Save it. I know how you feel, but I won’t let Roman compel you into bed.”

“I’d never sleep with him!”

“No? Did you see yourself a minute ago? You practically melted into a Porschia puddle with just one whisper from him.” Tage raked his fingers through his hair. “I swear if he touches you, I’ll kill him.”

“What if you can’t kill him?”

“I’ll die trying if he lays one finger on you, Porschia. I swear it.”

Are you kidding me?
I strode over to him and poked my finger in his chest. “Don’t you dare use me as an excuse to make yourself some sort of martyr. If anyone dies here, it’ll be me. Got it?”

“You really want to die?” Tage asked, his voice soft as he tucked my hair behind my ear.

“Most of the time,” I admitted.

His hands found my waist and reeled me in until my body was flush with his. “No, baby. Don’t ever give up.” Warm breath fanned my forehead and weaved through the strands of my hair.

“Are you compelling me right now?” I whispered when his lips ghosted my cheek and grazed my jaw.

“No. Why?”

“What is this, then?”

“You know what it is.” His lips paused over mine, his fingers digging into my skin.

“The bond?” I looked into his clear blue eyes. If ice could burn, his would be an inferno.

He shook his head, the soft, supple skin of his lips brushing across my own. “It’s more, even if you aren’t ready to admit it. You and I could be together. You can’t hurt me, Porschia.”

“I can’t, Tage. It would hurt
me
.” Using everything inside me, I pushed him away, my lips immediately angry and bereft. They wanted to taste him. Traitorous bastards.

Elder Beckett asked everyone for their attention. The building quieted and all eyes were focused on the three men standing at the front of the building on a small raised platform. “Thank you for your contribution to the Colony. This feast is in your honor. Each of you worked tirelessly to grow and harvest from your gardens, and many of you also work in various other capacities. It is this work, this dedication to the greater good, that makes the Colony thrive.”

Elder Beckett, flanked by Elders Yankee and Brown, continued. “A wise person once said that it takes a village to raise a child. Well, I tell you now that it takes a village to survive. And survive we will. It’s come to our attention that the Infected have been drawing closer to our haven. We will not let them in. We will fight as one. The night-walkers and the treaty is still in place. They will help us.” Murmurs rumbled throughout the crowd.

“As one united front, we will keep Blackwater Colony and her citizens safe from this threat.”

Victor Freeman stood up, followed by Tim and Mary Brown. “How can you trust the night-walkers?” Victor defiantly asked the black-robed men.

“They’ve given us no reason not to trust them,” Elder Beckett answered.

“What about the fact that Porschia Grant is now one of them?” Victor questioned.

Elder Beckett, flustered, shook his head and his wobbly jowls flapped back and forth with the motion. “Is this true?” His rheumy eyes searched the room for Porschia’s father, Carson, or Ford for confirmation.

Carson stepped forward with his head down and his fists jammed in his pockets, and Ford pushed through the crowd to stand beside his father. The citizens whispered loudly behind covered hands.

“Porschia was not turned by a night-walker. She was attacked in the forest by an Infected and forced to use her ring as a last resort. She chose to consume the night-walker blood instead of becoming Infected, and I’m proud of her for making that decision.”

Ford nodded his assent. “So am I.”

“Is she in Frenzy?” Elder Beckett asked.

Ford shook his head. “She’s doing great. The transition wasn’t as hard as everyone expected.”

Elder Beckett’s eyes narrowed. “If she just turned, then she is a danger to everyone. Though we don’t fault her choice, we must protect ourselves from it. Porschia needs to be removed from Blackwater.”

“The hell she does!” I shouted, pushing forward. “She hasn’t hurt anyone since turning. Not one person. She isn’t a threat.”

Elder Beckett opened his mouth to argue, but Elder Yankee tugged on his elbow and stepped forward. “We appreciate your concern for the Colony, but until she is out of Frenzy, she is banished. That is final.”

Citizens crammed leftover food into their pockets: crusts, meat, cooked vegetables, and fruit wrapped in small towels. Carson, Ford, and I met outside the hall, beneath the walkway. “We can’t let them banish her,” Ford whispered.

“I agree.”

Carson spoke up. “She’ll have to prove herself. I hope she’s ready.”

I prayed she was too.

Looking at Ford, their father said, “I have to see to your mother. Find Porschia.”

“I will,” he promised.

“
We
will,” I corrected.

Ford rushed down the pathway, nudging people and children out of his way. “Excuse us,” I said, trying to smooth things over. We rushed into the night, the moon cloaked in thin clouds. The warm light that spilled from the Fellowship Hall was blocked by the shadows of too many people.

Ford wheeled around and stuck his finger in my face. “Don’t apologize to them!” he panted. “Don’t ever apologize to those bastards. They’re trying to banish her. She’s fine!”

“I know.”
Mostly
. “Now let’s go find her before they do.”

Ford was so angry that his lips shook. “Damn right.” He took off running and I stayed on his heels. His family could haul ass when they needed to, that was for sure. I thought Porschia was fast, but Ford was ridiculous. He was tall, and his stride was lengthened by determination and fueled by anger.

We crossed yards, streets, and the paved slab of the pavilion, followed by more streets and houses. The night-walker portion of town was dark and creepy as hell. I felt like prey again, similar to what I felt in the woods with the Infected. Now that I knew how dangerous the night-walkers could be, I was terrified. Not that I’d tell Ford that. I ran beside him until we reached Roman’s doorstep.