Page 17 of How to Stake a Vampire (Diary of a Reluctant Werewolf #2)

TEETHING PROBLEMS

We decided to take Ellie to the Hawthorne estate. According to Samuel, it was the safest place in Amberford right now. Even Barney agreed that the chances Ludvik would enter werewolf territory just to attack a vampire were low.

Didi and Gavin went home from Bean Me Up while Detective Johnson returned to the precinct to write up a report about today’s incidents.

My shoulders unknotted when Samuel parked the Bentley outside the mansion. I hadn’t realized being in our territory could bring such relief.

The pain hit Ellie when we walked through the front door.

She doubled over with a gasp. “Oh God!” She closed her eyes tightly and moaned. “It feels like my insides are on fire!”

Victoria came forward. “I have a room ready.” Her voice was steady despite the unease darkening her eyes.

Pearl squinted at us as she padded next to the Hawthorne matriarch. Hugh and Bernard hovered anxiously behind them.

Samuel had called ahead to let his family know what had happened.

A car screeched to a stop outside. Caroline and Kent stormed inside the foyer seconds later.

“We came as quickly as we could,” Caroline said breathlessly.

Having the Hawthorne pack enforcers around dispelled some of my fears about our security.

A guttural sound left Ellie. Her nails sank into my skin as she tried to catch her breath against the agony storming her body, her face pale and sweat beading her forehead.

The lights in the foyer flickered.

I realized my power was responding to Ellie’s distress, my wolf feeding off my fury at what had been done to my best friend.

Bo whined and backed away a couple of steps.

“Abby,” Samuel warned softly.

Caroline and Kent’s eyes shifted to amber, their expressions growing hyperalert as they stared at me unblinkingly, their wolves just under their skins.

“Bloody hell,” Hugh muttered hoarsely.

I didn’t have to look in the mirror in the hallway to know my hair and face had changed again.

Victoria’s mouth tightened. “Is this what you meant?” she asked Samuel.

“Yes,” my alpha said tiredly.

“Abby,” Ellie whispered shakily.

I scowled at her, pain and rage warring inside me.

“It’s okay.” She straightened with a wince and grasped my hand with trembling fingers. “I’ll be okay, so calm down.”

I closed my eyes and tried to rein in the white wolf, but my anger was too strong. I ground my teeth.

Someone had hurt my best friend. They had stolen her humanity and left her to suffer through a transformation she never asked for. And I was going to make sure they paid a hefty price for their crime.

“Calm yourself, wolf.”

My eyes snapped open.

Pearl was sitting in front of me, her sapphire eyes glowing with the same pale light they’d radiated at the Holts’ ball.

Samuel made a worried noise and moved toward me. Victoria stopped him.

The fire in my blood slowly abated in the face of the power Pearl wielded. I could feel my wolf’s hackles settling. I released a shaky breath when I finally regained control of my emotions.

Caroline and Kent relaxed a fraction.

Pearl’s eyes returned to their normal color. She blinked and slowly swished her tail. “We’re going to have to do something about your wolf’s temper.”

“How did you do that, Fur Ball?” Bo asked, wide-eyed.

“It’s in the blood, Mutt,” Pearl muttered.

Lines furrowed Victoria’s brow as she studied me. I could tell she wanted to talk about what had just happened. She turned and led the way upstairs instead.

Virgil and I helped Ellie to the second floor.

“I have to say, this will be a first for the Hawthornes,” Pearl remarked steadily as she trailed in our steps. “We’ve never hosted a vampire transformation before.” She eyed Barney as he ascended beside her. “It’s been a while since you paid us a visit, Barnabas.”

“I would have preferred if it were longer,” the vampire grunted.

By the time we got Ellie into bed, her skin was clammy and she was as pale as a ghost. The hairs rose on my nape when a scream left her.

She arched her back, fingers clawing desperately at the sheets.

I bit the inside of my cheek hard and shut down my wolf as best as I could.

Virgil scowled. He sat on the edge of the mattress, bit his wrist without a second’s hesitation, and placed his bleeding flesh in front of Ellie’s mouth.

“Drink,” he ordered curtly.

The scent of the vampire’s blood made my wolf grow still and had amber flaring in the depths of Samuel and Kent’s pupils. Even Hugh looked alert.

Ellie blinked sweat out of her eyes. She looked at the blood pooling on Virgil’s skin and shook her head in panic.

To my shock, Virgil took a mouthful of his own blood, curled a hand around the back of Ellie’s head, and kissed her.

Hugh sucked in air. Victoria arched an eyebrow.

My best friend stiffened, blue eyes rounding.

“Well, that’s a novel way to do things,” Barney said with a frown. “Novel and stupid.”

Pearl sniffed. “Ah, young love.”

My pulse raced as I finally understood what had driven Virgil to defend my best friend at the risk of his own life and offer her his blood.

Ellie finally unfroze. Her hands found Virgil’s shirt. She clung to him, welcoming his kiss. A shudder shook her as she finally swallowed his blood.

She wrenched her mouth free, grabbed Virgil’s wrist, and started drinking with a newfound desperation.

Virgil’s eyes bloomed crimson.

“We should leave,” Victoria advised tactfully.

“I’m not leaving Ellie,” I said mutinously.

“You will if you want to help her!” Samuel snapped. “She’s about to go through a hell of a lot of pain and your power will only make this situation worse. She needs calm, Abby, not a supernatural hurricane!”

I flinched at his words. Samuel cursed and came over to hug me.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured in my hair, our bond thrumming with his pain and regret. “I’m trying to help both of you.”

He was right, as much as I hated to admit it.

I swallowed and looked over at Ellie.

“I’ll be right outside, okay? Virgil and Barney are going to take care of you.”

Ellie paused mid-suck, the action seeming to cause her pain. She looked at me from under her lashes and nodded slightly.

The last I saw of my best friend before Barney closed the door on us was the hungry look in her eyes as she feasted on Virgil’s blood.

Samuel forced me to go downstairs to the sitting room.

Bernard kept a steady supply of snacks and drinks going as we spent the night waiting out Ellie’s transformation. Victoria and Hugh occasionally spoke in hushed voices with Caroline and Kent while Samuel and Bo never left my side.

Pearl watched the proceedings with an almost bored expression, though even I could tell she tensed a little whenever Ellie’s stifled cries of pain reached us.

It was dawn when the sounds stopped. A door opened on the second floor sometime later. Soft footsteps came from the stairs.

Barney entered the sitting room, faint circles under his eyes.

“It’s over.”

I rose stiffly where I’d been sitting with Samuel and Bo.

“Is—” I stopped and clenched my fists. “Is Ellie okay?”

Barney gave me a bewildered look. “She’s more than okay.”