Forever (Fallen 3)

“Stop worrying about the baby,” she scolded me.

“No, not that. I mean, I am worried about the baby, but about becoming a vampire. Gabriel told me what it’s like.” Jonathon had never wanted to tell me about the process, but when we were on the run from Selena, Gabriel had told me.

She sighed. “I guess that didn’t help with the whole wanting to stay human thing did it?”

“No, but I’ve made my choice.”

“Don’t worry about the change. It will go flawlessly but I’m not going to lie to you. You’re going to be in extreme pain,” she looked at my sadly.

I closed my eyes. I could still hear Gabriel’s words perfectly. I had them memorized. “Does it hurt?” I had asked. “Becoming a vampire?”

His words echoed like a ghost in my ear. “Yes, you can’t begin to imagine how much. You’re on fire all over but you’re cold too and you shake uncontrollably. Your veins feel like they’re going to burst and your eyes feel like they’re going to explode. Your skull feels like it is splitting open. Your throat burns with thirst. Every bone in your body feels like it’s been broken and knitting back together. You think you must be in hell with all this burning but you can still feel your heart beating because its beating so fast. You think it might beat right out of your chest. You just want it to end. You beg and plead but you can’t tell if you’re speaking or only hearing your own thoughts. Everything hurts. Everything burns. You welcome death. Beg for it even. But it doesn’t come and never will. And then you wake up some indeterminable time later and then you really wish you would have died. You’re so thirsty but not for water. Blood. It calls to you. All the time. The thirst never goes away even after you’ve had a meal. The pain of thirst is sometimes as bad as the process of becoming a vampire.”

Remembering his words sent a shiver down my spine.

“Just don’t think about it,” suggested Diana. “That should make it easier. But there are some other things you should know.”

“Like what?” I asked raising my eyebrows.

She bit her lip. “Remember when Jonathon told you werewolves didn’t exist?”

I tried to remember back that far. “I think so.”

“He lied.”

I clenched my jaw. What else had he lied about? “So, they are real?” I asked.

“Yes,” she frowned, braiding her hair to busy her fingers. “They don’t actually turn into wolves but they grow hair all over their bodies, especially their faces, and their teeth grow long and pointed, the full moon has a strange effect on them. Being near them on a full moon is a bad idea because they lose all sense of their humanity. Not that they have much left anyway. You don’t want to get bit by one either, whether you’re human or vampire. If you’re human you turn into one and if you’re a vampire it acts like a poison to your system. And silver bullets are only a myth by the way.”

“Are there other things I should know about?” I asked.

“There are shifters. Shifters can come any form. Wolf, bird, tiger, you get the idea,” she cupped her chin in her hand. “Shifters aren’t so bad. They still have their humanity unlike werewolves. And there are fairies. They usually stick to themselves though. Enchanters are like sorcerers.”

“Why hasn’t Jonathon told me any of this?”

Diana shook her head. “I have no idea. He’s strange. He thinks he’s protecting you but really he’s only hurting you by keeping you in the dark.”

If Jonathon had kept the existence of werewolves and shifters a secret what else was he hiding?

I knew it was no good to dwell on this kind of stuff. Plus, I wasn’t supposed to get stressed because Dr. Crane thought it would distress the baby.

“Ow!” I cried as the baby kicked me sharply in the stomach.

“Are you okay?” she asked, clearly worried.

“I think so,” I answered. “Ow!” I cried again as another sharp kick stabbed into my side.

Diana jumped up and fluttered around me.

“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear,” she said in a panic-stricken tone.

“Why are you freaking out?” I demanded.

“I think you’re going into labor!” she shrieked.

“Oh, please Diana. I think I know the difference between contractions and the baby kicking me. You’re freaking out over nothing.”

She took a deep breath. “Not labor. Okay. Deep breaths, Diana,” she said to herself. I resisted the urge to laugh at her. Finally she seemed to regain control of herself.