Page 3 of This Blood That Binds Us

I couldn’t tell them about the girl. What would they think if I told them I had called 911? Would they be mad? We had to keep a low profile, and that was the exact opposite of a low profile. Soon, rescue crews would scour the grounds—hell, maybe even news crews.

“Can we go?” I blurted. “Please?”

They exchanged another twin telepathy moment, and I sighed.

I turned to Luke, knowing his vote was the only one I needed. “Please. I-I just wanna go home.”

Luke’s eyes bore into mine. “Yeah, all right. Let’s go.”

With one final turn, I gazed through the trees to where the campfire’s flickering light was, praying her light wouldn’t fade.

Everything was toobright. Too cold. Too loud. Nurses’ chattering accompanied the heart monitor’s soft drum. It took me a few minutes to realize it was my heartbeat.

I opened my eyes. A large poster stared at me from across the room. The hospital. My brain started up like a 1990s computer, slowly rebooting. Pain shot through my arms and into my fingertips as I sat up. My fingers lingered on bandages that clung to my sore shoulder.

It all came back. The adrenaline. The black eyes...the fangs. It couldn’t possibly be what I was thinking. There had to be another explanation. My thoughts betrayed my own resolve. What else could a man with fangs mean? Could there be another logical explanation? In a loop, I ran breathlessly through the trees until a man—who didn’t look exactly human—pinned me down. That couldn’t be possible. There was absolutely no way.

The heart monitor’s rapid beating echoed as the nurse walked in. I wiped the sweat from the nape of my neck.

“Hello. It’s nice to see that you’re up. Kimberly Burns?”

She was fluorescent in her pink scrubs, her hair pulled into a clean ponytail, her fingernails well kept.

“Uh, yes.” I pulled my shoulders back, feigning a positive mental state. “I feel...fine.”

“Good, good. I just need to get some good information from you. Your belongings are right in that bag on the table. We don’t have any emergency contacts on file for you in our hospital. Is there anyone you want us to call?”

“Oh, no, actually. I’m okay.”

Her gaze lifted from my chart. “Are you sure, hun? We recommend at least a friend be here for emotional support and to pick you up from the hospital.”

“I don’t have anyone...” I shifted in my gown. The only person I could call lived more than two thousand miles away in New York. That disastrous phone call could wait until I had some idea of what had just happened to me. “Really, it’s fine. Can you just update me on what happened?”

“You don’t remember?” she said, a sharp line denting her forehead.

“I do...I’m just wondering when I’ll get to talk to the police.”

“The police—honey, you were attacked by an animal.”

“No, I wasn’t. Someone bit me. A man chased me through the woods and bit me.”

She averted her eyes, her lips twisting into a grimace. “Let me go talk with your doctor for a moment. Hold on a second.”

Her fluffy pink pen jangled as she left the room, leaving me with the television’s low hum. I peeled the bandage from my shoulder and peeked at the jagged bite mark on my skin, a clear indentation of teeth. Oddly perfect.

Drawing in a quick breath, I closed my eyes. My body rejected the thought of it all. The black eyes, the teeth. The face of a man. The feeling of blood draining from my body. I had been awake for all of it. Up until the point my heartbeat pounded in my ears and everything went black for a while.

“Help is coming, sweetie.”

I remembered the sound of that sweet lady’s voice as she held my hand. She made me feel safe. I was incredibly grateful I had seen her and her husband earlier that day on the trail. She had even offered me some of their packed food. Despite the sickness settling in the pit of my stomach, the kindness of strangers made me feel secure, even while being alone in that hospital bed.

My eyes opened to the empty room, the walls too close. The four white walls felt like a bad omen. There had to be another explanation, but an animal attack wasn’t one of them. I’d just need to tell them. They’d have to believe me.

With the crack of the door, I pulled my blankets to my chest, savoring the little warmth they held. Every soft breeze of the air conditioner only exposed the rigid vulnerability shaking my entire body.

“Kimberly, I’m Dr. Hendrix. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” A large man peeked his head in the door.

His muscles pulled at the edge of his doctor’s coat awkwardly as he swung the door shut with unnecessary force. His dark umber skin complemented his tight, black curls.