A Shade of Doubt (A Shade of Vampire #12)(25)

I exchanged a few more words with Mona before we parted ways. I needed to return to our penthouse to check on Ben.

As I neared our treehouse, I heard arguing booming down from the trees above. It was coming from Ashley and Landis’ penthouse.

Not wanting to eavesdrop, I placed my hands over my ears and hurried away, but the tone of their voices shook me. I’d never heard them shout like that at each other.

Everyone is just feeling this stress. Just as Eli had snapped so easily with my father at a simple misunderstanding. It was a surprise to all of us that Adelle would be cheating with another man, but I knew that man wouldn’t be my father. I fully believed my father when he said he would never do something like that.

I hurried up to our penthouse and pushed open the door. It was so hard leaving Ben at home while Derek and I attended to the affairs of the island. My stomach was in knots because, even after all this time since his turning, Ben still hadn’t come to. Jason and Ariana had recovered much faster.

I went straight to Ben’s bedroom and, unlocking the door, peered inside.

I gasped to see my son sitting bolt upright in the gloom. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, his eyes fixed on the mirror. He didn’t even register my entrance. When I recovered from the shock, relief rushed through me. He had finally come to.

“Ben,” I said, hurrying over to him.

His eyes remained fixed on the mirror. It was the first time I’d seen them open fully. My breath hitched. Now, as a vampire, Ben looked so much like Derek it was uncanny. His green eyes were just as intense as Derek’s blue ones.

I touched his arm and shook him a little. “Ben?” Still he ignored me. “Ben, are you okay?”

He seemed to be in a daze, and yet his eyes were not glassy. They were quite focused, staring at his reflection in the mirror.

I stood in front of the mirror, blocking his view of it, and forced his head to face me.

“How are you feeling?”

He raised his eyes to me slowly, his jaw tensing. When he spoke finally, it was through harsh, uneven breathing. “I… need… blood.”

I caught his hand and pulled him up out of his bedroom, leading him to the kitchen. The coldness of his hand sent guilt running through me. I could only imagine the guilt Derek would feel on seeing him finally, recovered and fully transformed.

I pulled out a jug of blood from the fridge and poured him a glass. He stared at it on the table. He raised the glass and took a sip, then dropped it, doubling over and coughing. It was disgusting, and it would be torture for Ben having to drink this when all he craved was fresh, hot human blood. But he had to get used to it.

“I can’t drink this,” he gasped.

He staggered back, away from the kitchen, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. Then he moved toward the front door. My heartbeat quickening, I rushed toward him. But it was too late. In barely the blink of an eye, he’d ripped open the door and leapt off the veranda.

Chapter 16: Ben

I landed in a tree opposite our own and leapt from branch to branch until I’d made it back down to the ground.

My brain was in a fog. I didn’t know what I was doing or why I was doing it. All I knew was that I needed to get away from the stench of the blood my mother had just passed to me. It made my stomach turn. I heard my mother’s shouts, and the sound of her running after me, but I ran forward with speed I’d thought impossible even for a vampire.

I caught the scent of hot blood in the air, coming from the Vale, and my stomach clenched. Although every fiber of my being was aching to run in that direction, I couldn’t allow myself to—at least I had that much presence of mind.

I kept running until I reached the ocean. And I didn’t stop. I dove in, burying my head beneath the waves as if the cool waters would help to extinguish the furnace in my stomach.

“Ben!” A female called my name as I ducked once again beneath the waves. It wasn’t my mother this time. I looked up to see Abby. She was already wading through the waters toward me. I kicked back and swam away from her.

She was in no danger from me, but somehow I didn’t want anyone approaching me for miles. I just wanted complete space. Everything about The Shade suddenly seemed closed, claustrophobic.

I swam further and further down the beach until Abby gave up on following me. Even though she was a vampire herself, her speed was no match for mine. I looked back to see her silhouette bobbing in the water in the distance.

Every part of me felt on fire. I didn’t even know who I was any more. The bloodlust was consuming all rational thought. One vision replayed over and over in my mind—ripping open a human’s throat and drinking until they had no breath left to spend. Until their fragile bodies collapsed in my arms. I could barely even concentrate on my surroundings, I was so consumed with the vision.

I was afraid that the first time I laid eyes on a human, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from ripping their throat out. It was horrifying to realize that the vision both disgusted and delighted me.

I continued swimming, for how long, I wasn’t sure. I noticed my mother following me along the beach, keeping watch on me. I was glad that she didn’t follow me in. That she gave me this space.

Although I felt close to passing out from hunger, I forced myself to remain in the water. I was afraid of what might happen if I allowed myself back on land.

“Ben!” This time it was the baritone voice of my father.