Free The Third Fate by Nadja Notariani Page A

frightened.
    “ I canna do that. It’s for the good of ye; else I’d let ye free.”
    His cryptic language terrified her.
    “ Are you a vampire?”
    “ Aye, Paige. And ye are one as well.”
    “ That’s…that’s not true,” she denied, voice quivering in fear. “I’ve never hurt anyone like that before in my life!”
    His deep, rumbling chuckle struck her as highly inappropriate. Not that any of this was appropriate.
    “ Ye didna hurt me, lass; ye gave me pleasure. I came hard inside ye just now, did I not?” The silken chord of his tone tied her in knots. “And when I drank from ye,” he continued with a wicked grin, “ye had yer pleasure with me.”
    She quieted, not sure what was real anymore. With the crazy dreams she’d been having and now this, Paige seriously considered the possibility that she was cracking up.
    “ Am I losing my mind?” she whispered. “Is any of this real?”
    “ Yer not losin’ yer mind. But things are about to get intense, Paige. It will come on ye quick now that ye have the desire to drink. Ye need to come away with me. I can keep ye safe while ye change.”
    “ Awakening? While I change?”
    “ Yer becoming vampire, Paige.”
    Terror like none she’d ever experienced passed through her at his words, and she thought she’d faint or become ill.
    “ Why did you do this to me?” she said, hysteria raising the pitch of her voice.
    “ I didna do this to ye, lass. It is in yer blood.”
    “ What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “ Ye were born half vampire. I only brought yer Awakening on.”
    “ How? Did you bite me before?”
    “ Aye, lass. I did. But there’s more. Yer blood called to me in a unique way, Paige Kinnell.”
    She didn’t fight to get away any longer knowing it pointless, her panic abating. She was alive. She felt like herself – Paige - shy, bookish, boring Paige. Her mind refused to accept what he told her, and she wanted to wake up.
    That’s it! I’m dreaming again!
    The idea that she would awaken in her own bed, alone, that all this would be little more than a bad memory by lunchtime set her at ease. She’d been having absurd dreams for weeks, this just another.
    Lass, this is no dream. I’m here with ye. I’ll be here as long as it takes to convince ye. Ye have bonded to me, and I couldna leave ye. I wouldna leave ye. Ye need me as I need ye.
    The words played over and over in her mind. And the words he’d spoken afterward explaining what was to come, how she’d change, that they belonged to one another – were made for one another. She tossed and turned restlessly, the duality of her thoughts pulling her in opposing directions. She’d never felt the way she did with Cael. It was as if they’d known one another a lifetime, akin to what she’d heard about soul-mates. He was passionate about books and learning and history. He didn’t enjoy going out in crowds, preferring a quiet evening at home. He fit her the way a second half was supposed to.
    He was crazy; he’d bitten her.
    She had bitten him. She wanted to again.
    A scream started, and Paige sat straight up in her bed. Eyes darting around the room, chest heaving, she realized she was alone, Cael’s absence a welcome relief.
    And painful…mourned.
    She wouldn’t think of that now. After what happened, or at least what she thought had happened, Paige could not see Cael again. Something made her too susceptible to his charms, too needy for his touch, too willing. She might not want to be alone, but she wanted to be safe. Cael Maccinnis was anything but safe. The tingling in her neck reminded her just how unsafe he was.
    And how delicious.
    Paige would never allow herself to love deeply enough to be hurt again. She had lost too much. Her parents, then Jake, had been taken from her, and none of it had been in her control. She’d sworn never to give up that kind of control again. Boring, yes. But at least she held the cards. Never again would her world be ripped from her in the blink