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  “I told you I’m done talking. Go back to your dinner.”

  “She’s not my dinner. I didn’t even bite her.”

  “I said don’t care.”

  I hurried around her, so I could see her face. “Will you just let me talk to you for a second?”

  Her quick steps ground to a halt, and I almost tripped over my own feet in my haste to stop. Her hands were so tightly fisted her knuckles had gone white, and her eyes were glazed over with a fire I’d never seen from her before.

  “You wanna talk, Alexander? Fine. Let’s talk. Where should we start?”

  She cocked her head to the side as my stomach fell deep within me.

  “Should we talk about the bitch you were about to bite in your room? Or the fact that you told me you had to leave me here all night to work, and then you showed up drunk?” She took a menacing step forward. “Maybe we can go even deeper. Even further back. We can talk about the fact that you’re so fucking afraid of commitment that you’d rather watch me get attacked over and over again instead of just changing me!”

  Irritation zipped through my veins as I remembered what I’d witnessed just a couple hours ago. “Why do you even need me to be a vampire, Charlotte? Seems like you’d be happy being changed by anyone.”

  Her jaw was clenched so hard I could barely understand her next words. “Why the fuck would I fight you so hard to make me a vampire if I didn’t want you to be my maker?”

  “Why the fuck would you accept an offer to be changed by a vampire you don’t even fucking know?” I yelled.

  Hey eyes flashed dangerously. “Were you fucking spying on me again?”

  “No. I went looking for you and that’s what I found. The woman who’s supposed to be with me, telling some other son of a bitch she’ll keep him in mind. If it means that little to you, then go ahead. Have him make you a vampire.”

  “What the hell else was I supposed to say?” she exploded. “He’s a vampire, Alexander, and I already have a history of ending up in the hospital because of your kind! You think it would have been a smart idea for me to tell that vile asshole to go fuck himself? While we’re all alone and there’s no one there to stop him from snapping my neck?” she screamed.

  “That’s not what it looked like to me,” I mumbled, some of the fire in my veins slowly dying.

  “And if I’m supposed to be with you, then why the hell would you bring another woman into your room? Why the hell would you even entertain the idea of biting her when you know damn well what that would do to me?” She paused a moment, her breaths ragged as she stared me down. “And why the hell would you only tell me you loved me when I was fucked up in the hospital? Is it just because you felt sorry for me? I don’t need your fucking pity and I don’t need this bullshit in my life.”

  She turned to walk away from me again, but I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. “You think I would just tell you I loved you because you were hurt?”

  She stared up at me, her chin notched defiantly. “Why the fuck else would you just say it once and then turn around and do all this?”

  I pulled her closer as my heart thundered in my chest, so loud I could barely hear myself speak. The fear and uncertainty almost froze me in place, but the sorrow in her eyes made me brave. I could do this for her.

  “Charlotte, never in five hundred and seventy-three years, have I ever told someone I loved them. Not once,” I whispered, scared to speak these words too loud. “The night I said that to you, I meant every fucking word.”

  Her eyes were wide, and her body trembled slightly in my hold. “Then why…” she trailed off, her voice breaking at the end. She pushed herself out of my arms and took a step back. “Why did you only say it that once? It was like you regretted it.”

  I shook my head and stepped into her space again. “Never. How could I regret telling you that when I’m so deeply in love with you?”

  I’m not even sure she noticed the tears trickling down her face, but every single one was like a razorblade across my heart. She closed her eyes, and they fell faster. “What are we doing, Alexander?” She looked at me and the sadness in her sky-blue eyes almost wrecked me. “I just want to know where I stand with you. I just want something to make sense again.”

  I blew out a deep breath and pulled her close. She was stiff for a moment before she relaxed in my hold and I pressed my forehead against hers.

  “I’ve never done this before, Charlotte. I’ve never felt so out of control of everything in my world.” I closed my eyes and breathed her in, letting her scent calm my nerves like it always did. “It’s fucking terrifying loving someone so much. Knowing you wouldn’t be able to live without them if something happened.”

  She looked up at me, her eyes wide and imploring. “Then change me.”

  I sighed and let my head fall forward. “I’m so fucking terrified to do that.” I looked up and let her see the fear that had to be filling my eyes. “I can’t make you a vampire and have you hate me for it in a few years. I wouldn’t be able to survive you changing your mind and walking away from me because I’m the one who did that to you.”

  She cupped my face, and I nuzzled her palm. “Why do you think it would be so easy for me to walk away from you? Can’t you see that you’ve become the center of my universe? That nothing makes sense in my life without you? That I love you too much to ever hate you no matter what you did?”

  I lifted my head slowly as my eyes widened in shock. “You love me too?”

  She was still crying, her eyes so blue as she stared up at me. “Of course I love you.”

  I did my best to wipe the tears from her face, but I couldn’t keep up with their steady flow. I pulled her against my chest and kissed the top of her head. “You have no idea what it does to me to hear you say that,” I breathed into her soft curls.

  She sniffled. “I should have said it a long time ago, but I was scared you hadn’t meant it the first time.”

  I shook my head and kissed her again. “Fuck, Charlotte, how could I not fall hopelessly in love with you?” I muttered against her head.

  We stood like that for an immeasurable amount of time. Our hearts pumped in sync with each other as her confession soothed all the raw places inside me. She healed me like nothing else could. Made me stronger. Better.

  She gave me so much, and she’d really only ever asked for one thing.

  I pulled her back and looked into her eyes again. “After everything you’ve learned here, you still want to be a vampire?”

  She nodded without hesitation. “Yes.”

  I breathed deeply, hoping to calm the frayed nerves that snapped and cracked like a live wire in my gut. I’d never been so excited and terrified in my entire life.

  There was a chance that I would get to keep Charlotte forever now. There was no way I was going to fuck this up.

  “Okay. Let’s do it.”

  Her eyes lit up. “Seriously?”

  “Yeah. Seriously. If you’re ready, I’m ready.”

  The smile that spread across her face was so fucking beautiful I almost had to look away. “Okay. I’m ready.”

  My hands clenched on her hips as I asked one more question. “You’re sure? You’re not scared?”

  She shrugged. “Becoming a vampire might be scary, but doing it with you makes it better. Easier. I know everything will be all right as long as I’m with you.”

  I pulled her to me, fitting her back into the spot between my arms where she’d always been meant to be. “I promised I’d never leave your side again, and I meant it.” I dug my fingers into her curls and pulled her tighter against me. “I love you and nothing could take me away from you.”

  She squeezed my waist. “I love you too.”

  I closed my eyes and let those words work their way through me. I’d honestly thought I’d never hear them from her. My reality had officially become better than my wildest dreams.

  I pushed her back again and grabbed her hand. “Let’s go do it now. They have rooms here where yo
u can safely stay while you go through the change.”

  She bit her lip and averted her gaze as my stomach fell to the soles of my shoes.

  Was she changing her mind already?

  Was she regretting her decision?

  Was she not really ready?

  “I don’t want to do it here,” she finally said before meeting my eyes again. “Can we go home and do it?”

  “To the apartment I rented you?” I asked, confused.

  “No. To your penthouse.” She shrugged. “It’s the only place that’s felt like home in a long time.”

  My heart felt so full I thought it would burst.

  My place felt like home to her.

  Little did she know, the only thing that felt like home to me was her.

  “Okay. Let’s go home. We’ll change you tonight.”

  Want more from the Changed universe?

  Read on for the first chapter of the next book in the series, Blood Lust!

  Blood Lust

  Chapter 1

  Charlotte

  “So, I guess you won’t be feeding from me anymore.”

  I’d meant the words to sound nonchalant, but there was no doubt Alexander could hear the sadness in them. He squeezed my hand that he hadn’t let go of since we started driving back to Manhattan.

  “You can’t tell me you’ll miss being an entrée.”

  I narrowed my eyes at the side of his face. “Actually, I will.”

  He glanced at me quickly before returning his gaze to the road. “You’re serious?”

  I shrugged and looked away. “Yeah, kinda.” I was quiet for a minute as I tried to sum up how I was feeling. “I guess I liked providing for you. I liked that connection between us. Don’t get me wrong, I still want to be a vampire, I just feel like that will be something I miss when it’s over.”

  That time, I knew there was no denying the melancholy in my voice. But it soon dissipated as anger flooded my system. “Just know, you’ll only be drinking from men from now on. If I find you with another woman like I did earlier, I swear there will be hell to pay that you won’t be able to afford.”

  I’d thought I was passed what happened back in his room at the orientation facility, but there was just no getting those images out of my head. Even now, I could perfectly recall the exact shade of her brown hair. How his pale hands looked wrapped around her shoulders.

  I realized I was squeezing his fingers and relaxed my grip as much as I could.

  “I didn’t bite her,” he said, his voice soft and sincere. “Jasper sent her to my room, and I was just about to kick her out when you walked in.”

  “Didn’t look like that to me,” I said as I turned to stare out the window again.

  He used our joined hands to nudge my chin in his direction. “I thought about it,” he admitted. “I thought if I could just drink from someone else, I could forget you for a minute. I could forget how badly I was hurting and how fucked up our situation was.”

  He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly through his nose. “But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t stand the thought of drinking from someone else but you. I couldn’t hurt you like that.”

  I worked to calm the anger frothing in my system as I reminded myself nothing happened. “So, what do we do now?”

  He glanced at me again. “Some vampire mates only feed from each other.” He said the words almost like he was hesitant to admit them or maybe scared of my reaction.

  But all I felt was excitement and hope. “Does that work? I mean, like, is it enough?”

  He shrugged. “I’ve never done it. Only heard about it. But, yeah, I guess it works for them.”

  “Can we do that?”

  He looked at me again, this time for longer. “That’s what you really want?”

  And just like the last time he’d asked me that question, I answered without hesitation. “Yes.”

  His face broke into the most beautiful smile, and my heart pounded in return. “Okay. We can try that then.”

  I pulled our hands to my lips and kissed his. “Okay. I feel better now.”

  I wished I’d had a camera in that moment to capture the look on his face. It was softer than I’d ever seen it. And as he reached up to stroke my face with a single finger, I knew I’d never seen so much devotion in one person’s eyes before. “As long as you’re happy,” he said quietly.

  I just shrugged. “You make me happy.”

  He shook his head and looked out the window again as he raced us back to the city. We fell quiet then. I wasn’t sure what was going through his head, but mine was strangely calm.

  As I sat there thinking about the night ahead of me, I realized I’d wanted to be a vampire since as long as I could remember. The first time I’d had a teacher ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer had been “bigger and stronger”.

  Even back then, my greatest wish was to not be at anyone’s mercy ever again. Even at the age of five, I was sick of being at the bottom of the food chain. I’d dealt with enough in my short life to know how important it was to feel safe. And I hadn’t in far too long.

  But despite how sure I was of my decision, I still had questions.

  “You said once that it’s not painless. What does that mean?”

  Alexander’s hand froze around mine before he answered. “You know I’ve never done this before, so I don’t know firsthand.”

  “Yeah, but you were changed once. I’m sure you remember something.”

  He nodded slowly. “It’s… an uncomfortable experience.”

  It was then I realized something. “I don’t even know how you change a human into a vampire.”

  “It’s a lot like claiming, only it takes things a step further. Instead of me just drinking some of your blood, I need to almost completely drain you.” His voice wavered at the end, and I turned to look at him.

  Alexander’s eyes were staring straight ahead, but even from where I sat, I could see the haunted look in them.

  “That must be the painful part,” I said softly.

  He nodded. “You’ll basically be dying.” His words were strained, jaw clenched like he could keep them from spilling out if he tried hard enough. “And then I give you my blood and it’s supposed to revive you.”

  “Supposed to?” I squeaked.

  Alexander shrugged. “Sometimes it doesn’t work.”

  My heart beat harder at that news. I guess I’d never stopped to wonder what would happen if the change wasn’t successful. I’d never known it was even a possibility.

  I swallowed past the dry lump in my throat. “Does that happen a lot?”

  He shook his head, his lips pressed together hard.

  “Then we should be fine,” I said, more to reassure myself than him.

  All he did was nod, and I had a feeling I wouldn’t get much else from him. I let him stew while my mind wandered, and the miles flew beneath the tires.

  I must have fallen asleep, because when he squeezed my fingers next, I blinked, and the sky was suddenly bright.

  Much brighter than it should have been.

  I turned to see Alexander white-knuckling the steering wheel. “I’m not sure we’re gonna make it.”

  I sat up straight in my seat, willing the sleepy cobwebs from my brain. “What do you mean?”

  He nodded toward the horizon, and I swear, it was like I could see the sky lightening shade by shade as I looked. I turned back to Alexander, the gravity of the situation finally setting in.

  “What are we going to do? We have to stop somewhere.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know of anywhere close enough. I’m just going to have to hope we get there in time.”

  I twisted in my seat, the hysteria rising. “Or what?”

  His jaw twitched with how hard he was clenching his teeth, but he didn’t answer.

  I turned to watch the sky brightening again, dread filling my chest until I could barely breathe past it. “What if we get a hotel room somewhere nearby? You can sleep in the ba
throom for the day.”

  He shook his head again. “I don’t have to time to do all that. We’ve got less than five minutes ‘til dawn.”

  My eyes widened as I looked around for a landmark. When I found one, my stomach fell even further. “We’re at least ten minutes from your penthouse.”

  “I know.”

  I turned horrified eyes back to the lightening sky as Alexander raced through the city streets. Thankfully, they were more empty than usual due to the early hour, but this was Manhattan. There was always someone on the road.

  Alexander leaned on his horn, the sound blaring in the quiet confines of the SUV. He swerved around the slow-moving Honda in front of us, barely missing a telephone pole.

  I didn’t want to watch, but I couldn’t look away as he weaved in and out of traffic, sometimes even driving up on the curb. My hands were aching with how hard I was holding onto the door, but I didn’t dare complain.

  It wasn’t until I smelled the smoke that I knew something was wrong.

  I turned to look at Alexander, horror flooding my system as I watched the smoke rise from his exposed hands.

  “Alexander,” I breathed.

  The engine roared louder as he raced faster down the street. “I know.”

  I looked back out the window at the offending sun, wishing there as something I could do. Some way to shield him from its harmful rays.

  Alexander let out a grunt of pain and I turned to him again.

  The sight almost stopped my heart.

  His once-pale hands were now covered in angry red blisters as even more smoke rose from his skin. Even as I watched, his flesh continued to burn until it was almost unrecognizable.

  “Alexander, we have to get into the shade somewhere. You’re fucking burning!”

  “I know!” he yelled between clenched teeth. “We’re almost there.”

  I split my time between watching the road and watching him burn. Now his face and neck were an angry red, and I knew it wouldn’t be long until they looked like his hands did.

  “How much further?” I asked, panic making my voice squeak.