Chapter 28
Staring at Ross’s glowing eyes, Catalina froze.
She could only watch as two sharp white canines pushed past his lips, extending almost an inch down from his gums. Her heart stopped for a terrifying second, but before she could do anything, Ross had already grabbed her arm and pulled it toward him with surprising strength for a four-year-old.
He sank his teeth into the fleshy part of her forearm.
Pain charged through her, and a scream dislodged from her throat.
In disbelief, she realized what was happening.
Ross wasn’t biting her like little kids sometimes did.
No, he was drinking her blood! She could feel it as well as see it, because some of it escaped his mouth and ran down his chin, dripping on the floor, while he continued to suck on her as if it was mother’s milk.
In that moment, a memory surfaced. She could see it clearly now, the haze distorting it gone for good.
Whether it had been her own doing suppressing it, she didn’t know.
And it didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was that she was staring the truth in the face. The evidence was all around her.
It was her first night with Benjamin. When he’d made love to her so expertly, she’d felt utter bliss wash over her, making her feel like she was floating on a cloud.
But it had all been a way to distract her from what he was really doing.
Even though she hadn’t felt his pointy teeth pierce her skin at the time, she knew it had happened.
Benjamin had bitten her in the crook of her neck, making it feel like a passionate kiss.
In reality, he’d sunk his fangs into her neck to drink her blood.
She knew what this meant. He was a vampire.
A monster. A creature that shouldn’t even exist. It didn’t matter that she’d seen him outside during daylight—maybe that part of the lore was wrong.
But there were too many signs she had so conveniently ignored because she wanted their relationship to work.
Now she had to face the truth. He and his family and friends, right down to the little boy sucking on her arm, were vampires.
Dangerous, blood-sucking creatures. She had to get away from here, from this house, these people.
Away from this little mini-vampire, who was trying to suck her dry.
Collecting all her strength, she jerked her arm away, and to her surprise, Ross let go of it.
She pushed him against the kitchen island, out of her way, so she could escape.
He instantly began to wail, and instinctively she looked back at him, but he didn’t appear to be injured.
She was the one who was hurt. The wound on her arm was bleeding profusely, and she pressed her hand over it, trying to stem the bleeding, but she couldn’t waste time to bandage it.
Already, she could hear footsteps coming closer, probably alerted by her own scream and Ross’s crying.
Realizing that she would be trapped in the hallway if she used that exit, she hurried toward the arch leading into the dining room.
She pushed a chair out of her way and continued running.
The pocket doors to the formal living room were open, and she continued running toward it.
“Catalina!” It was Benjamin who called out to her.
Despite her better judgment, she looked over her shoulder.
Benjamin had entered the kitchen and lifted the crying boy into his arms. He stared at her, and she saw it: Benjamin’s eyes were red like beacons, and from between his lips sharp fangs protruded.
If she’d ever doubted what had just happened, she had confirmation now.
Benjamin was a vampire. And judging by the bloodthirsty look in his eyes, she had no doubt what he would do if he caught her.
“Catalina! I can explain.”
She shook her head. As she raced into the living room, she stumbled, but caught herself just in time.
The door to the hallway was open, and she charged through it.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Delilah come running from the office.
One of them would catch her, she knew it.
Just as she turned right to the entrance door, she saw Delilah collide with Benjamin, who came racing out of the kitchen into the hallway.
This was her chance. As quickly as she could, she yanked the door open and raced outside.
When she reached the sidewalk, she put every ounce of her energy into running faster.
She had to get away, or Benjamin would catch her.
Then he would drain her of her blood, and she would have no strength left to fight him.
Ross had been strong, and she could only imagine how strong Benjamin was as a fully grown vampire.
She shuddered at the thought that he could kill her with one blow, one strike, or one bite.
As she ran down the dark, nearly deserted street as fast as she could, she felt her face burn and realized that tears were streaming down her cheeks.
She’d lost everything in a matter of minutes: not just a boyfriend who seemed to be so right for her, so good and gentle, so supportive of her need to help her brother, but also her belief that her life would turn out alright in the end.
Where was her sixth sense now? Why hadn’t it warned her?
Or had it? Had it tried to give her signs, and she’d been too stupid to see them?
A sob tore from her throat, and with it came the physical pain.
The wound on her arm was still bleeding, and she knew Benjamin would find her by the smell of the blood.
She had to get somewhere, even he wouldn’t dare go.
But where? Frantically, she looked around herself without losing a step and turned right into the next cross street.
She knew she had to take turns to make it harder for anybody following her to see her from afar.
She was still running downhill, which was her luck, because she felt the blood loss taking its toll now.
She was getting weaker, and with it, her mind was getting foggy.
But her will to survive lent her a kick of adrenaline just when she needed it.
She saw blue lights at the next intersection and ran toward them.
A police car was idling there. It was her only chance.
She knew they wouldn’t believe her, but once they saw her injury and took her to the hospital, they would see for themselves that she’d been bitten by a vampire.
Then they would have to believe her, even though she could barely believe it herself.
Vampires existed? How was this possible?
Was she the only one who’d stumbled over their existence?
Did this mean that they had to kill her so she couldn’t give away their secret?
Did it even matter why they would kill her?
Be it because Benjamin wanted to drink her blood, or his family wanted to keep their secret now that she’d been bitten by one of them.
Another thought pierced her mind: would the bite turn her into a vampire herself? Her heart nearly stopped. Oh God, would she turn into a bloodthirsty monster?
“Stop where you are, Ma’am.”
The order came from a policeman who’d just stepped out of his patrol car. A second one exited the car from the other side.
“You have to help me,” she called out. “I’m injured.”
The police officer nodded. “Alright, calm down. We’ll take you in.”
Relieved, she let out a breath. She would be alright. They would protect her.
Everything suddenly began to blur around her, and she reached out her uninjured arm to find something to grasp, but there was nothing to hold onto. Her knees buckled, and all strength left her. Darkness wrapped around her, and she allowed it to take her.