Cold washed through her body. Fear pulsed deep inside.
She maintained her calm. She was trained for this. Ready.
“He said it was unicorn blood,” she said.
The guy sneered. “I didn’t know vampires told jokes.”
“Dude, you need to lay off the drugs. They are having a bad effect on you.”
Three yards away and the guy stopped, facing her. The lights from the front porch gleamed in his manic eyes. He leaned forward, all eager anticipation.
“Not me. You.” His muscles coiled and he sprang, his hands out and reaching for her throat.
She swung her hand up as she turned, pushing his reaching hands to the side, fast-stepped to him, as much as she could manage in the shoes, and punched him in the middle, hard and fast. The breath gushed out of his mouth. She turned, wobbling, and sharp pain cut through her heel. She ignored it and slammed her other fist into the side of the guy’s neck, losing some force because of her unsure footing.
“What the hell—” The guy’s body shivered. A strange green mist drifted around him.
“Stop!”
The voice rang out, deep and full of command she couldn’t help but heed. The guy in front of her froze just as she did, the manic light in his eyes drying up and alertness taking over.
Devon strode up the driveway, his face hard, an air of command pumping out of every pore in his body. Now was the time to run. To yell for help. But all she could do was stand and stare, caught in his influence.
“What’s going on here?” he asked, barking each word.
A new fear trembled through Charity, one she didn’t understand. Something within her didn’t want to disappoint him. Didn’t want him to be angry with her.
She took a step back, remembering the fog of lust from the unbelievably attractive man in the house. This was similar, but not sexual. This was like seeing her battle commander stalk up and feeling the need to fall in line.
“What is happening to me tonight?” she asked in a daze.
“You drank an elixir that will change you,” Devon said, stepping between her and the other guy. “Did you take blood?”
“I…” His strong presence felt like a blow to her middle. “I didn’t drink— The punch, you mean? I didn’t drink any. I don’t drink.” She shook within the power of his proximity.
“She’s lying,” the maniac guy said, his eyes narrowing at her. “She hasn’t changed, but she is on the way. You can smell it.”
Devon bristled and half turned. He didn’t need to say a word. The other guy visibly backed down, his back bowing and his eyes drifting toward the ground. It was clear who held social status here. Good news for her.
Devon turned back toward her. His commanding presence locked her up again, keeping her feet solidly planted on the ground. She had no idea how. It was starting to rankle.
“You didn’t drink the elixir?” he demanded.
“Why do you keep calling it an elixir? Seriously, it was just punch.” She stared up into his classically handsome face. Not perfect, like the beauty of the guy inside, but with a rugged flair she much preferred. “What do you mean, change me? What the hell is going on here?”
He leaned forward a bit, transferring his weight to the balls of his feet. A fighter’s move.
A flare of fire tickled her middle.
I will rock your world, mama’s boy. And throw your shoes on the nearest telephone wire.
And she definitely could’ve…in her runners.
Damn you, Sam, and your stupid fashion.
“It was not just punch. It was a special elixir to prepare your body for the transformation into a vampire. Taking a vampire’s blood will complete the change. If you do not take blood, you won’t be transformed, but you’ll be vulnerable to them for the rest of your life. So this is very important, did you drink that…punch?”
The crazy words were delivered in such an earnest tone that she almost believed him.
She huffed out a laugh and edged backward.
“Did you drink some of the punch?” he demanded, moving into her personal space. His size dominated her. Body bristling, muscles tense, he waited for something. It almost seemed like he was daring her to defy his unspoken command to stay put.
Like a breeze gently worrying a single leaf on the autumn ground, something tickled the roots of her being. An ember flared to life deep within her chest, kick-starting a trickle of pure adrenaline, like a natural spring. Electricity poured into her arms and legs as she sucked in a sweet shock of cool air.
Her chin lifted of its own accord; she was defiant within his hard stare. Yet strangely excited to meet it. She couldn’t help the start of a smile. Like when she was sparring with her old martial arts instructor, she felt gloriously alive.