Page 112 of The Vampire's Seduction

Andrea laughed, only for it to turn into coughs.

Marek scowled and said, “What do you need? Will VB help?”

Once the coughing subsided, Andrea said, “No, but someone to help me back to my room is ideal.” Marek summoned Dr. Tavitz and the nurses. As they waited, Andrea said, “Magic is in her blood. This would’ve happened regardless. I’m here to guide and support her, not to restrain her. It’s best you remember that, too.”

Marek’s first instinct was to keep his mate safe. No wonder Felix had locked up Gabby centuries ago in his castle. Perhaps he should purchase a defensible mansion somewhere in the wilderness and stash Olivia there.

And she’d obliterate it to escape.

As much as he wished, Olivia wasn’t some powerless damsel in distress. She descended from an ancient lineage of witches dating back ten thousand years. One day, she’d become a force to be reckoned with.

One day, she wouldn’t need him.

Marek’s arms around her tightened. No matter how powerful she became, they were soulmates. His feelings wouldn’t change even if he died and only his soul remained in the world.

“Olivia asked for your help with the mate bond spell. Do you think it’ll work?”

“Honestly, I have no idea.” A smirk. “Are you scared, vampire?”

“It won’t work.” Marek looked down at Olivia, her features peaceful in sleep. His heart gave a curious wrench as love, that unfamiliar emotion, expanded. “It won’t work,” he repeated.

“I believe you.”

Andrea’s sudden faith left him dumbfounded. Before Marek could ask her to explain, Dr. Tavitz arrived with Kate and another nurse.

“Help me back to my room?” Andrea asked Kate.

“Sure.”

With Kate’s support, Andrea stood up. Before she left, she said, “While you wait for her to wake up, you should translate the life force transfer spell. I bet she’ll want to cast it as soon as possible, and we can prevent this from happening again.”

“I will.”

After Andrea left, Marek waited for Dr. Tavitz to examine Betsy. There was no change from before, as though her heart hadn’t stopped at all. He ordered them to keep watch before carrying Olivia to her room and settling her sleeping form in bed.

Andrea said she didn’t know when Olivia would wake. Marek prayed it would be soon. If Olivia fell into a coma like her sister, Marek would give his centuries-old fortune to whichever witch could cast the life force transfer spell.

Marek gave in to the urge to crawl into bed with Olivia. She burrowed closer to him, the movement sending his heart thumping hard against his ribs. Her lips curved up into a content smile while she slung an arm over his stomach and her legs tangled with his.

Blood rushed out of his head. His fangs dropped. For a split second, all he heard was the sound of her heartbeat, the rushing of her blood in her veins.

Take it. Bind her to us,his vampire shrieked.

She would taste divine. This darkness, this emptiness inside him would finally be fulfilled. She would love him like no other.

No!

Marek leaped out of bed and rushed to the hallway. Not like this. He’d promised her. Promised to wait as long as it took.

He stopped breathing and tuned down his sense of smell and hearing until he wrestled the vampire under control. When the mating urges diminished, when he could think clearly again, Marek stayed away from Olivia’s side. He found the grimoire in the living room and flipped to the bookmarked page.

The title read, “Life transference: a spell to channel one’s life to another.”

On Olivia’s tablet, he found where she’d stopped and continued the translation while keeping tab on Olivia’s vitals. The more he translated, the bigger the knots of dread grew. On the side of the pages were warnings scribbled in various handwritings. It was an extremely dangerous and life-threatening spell. As Marek completed the translation, he decided Olivia couldn’t cast it.

Not as she was. Maybe in the future, once she was as expert a witch as Andrea.

Knowing Olivia, she wouldn’t wish to wait, not with Betsy hanging on to life by a thread. How? How was he going to stop her and protect her from herself?