Reclamation (The Ravening #3)(23)
Author: Erica Stevens

I didn’t argue with him, there was no point and if he was right than maybe there was something that could still be done to help the others. I was relieved to see the subtle rise and fall of Cade’s chest and the color returning to his pale face when Bishop gently pulled Jenna away from him. I took a step toward him; I was desperate to touch him, to brush the hair back from his face.

Aiden shook his head at me. "No."

Frustration tore through me; I had to fight the childish urge to kick him. "He killed some of those things, on his own?" Bret inquired.

"He killed most of them on his own," Aiden answered. "There were more than just the two you saw within the tunnel."

"Shit," Bret snorted as his gaze turned back toward Cade. "What could he do to us?"

"He’d never hurt you!" Anger rapidly swelled through me as my hands fisted.

Bret didn’t tear his eyes off of Cade. "If you say so but those things were fast as lightning, and it took at least five bullets to kill them. The fact that he did it on his own…" Bret shook his head as he broke off.

"Glad he’s on our side," Jenna muttered. "But if the others are like him…"

"We’re fighting a losing battle," Aiden said.

"We just have to stay ahead of them, and maybe we’ll find a way to beat them or maybe they’ll just move on after they’ve taken all that they came here for, but we have to stay alive if we’re going to see either of those things happen," I told them.

"We can do that," Bishop said as he rose to his feet. "Now that I know about his blood in you I can tell you that your blood wasn’t contaminated. His blood changed you on a cellular level."

"That explains some things," Aiden muttered.

"What do you mean?" I managed to squeak out, troubled that he suspected the secrets I harbored.

"You were never exactly a graceful or coordinated person Bethy, until these past couple of months. Six months ago you would have shot yourself multiple times in the foot by now, and probably someone else, instead you’re a better shot than almost everyone else." I scowled at his assessment but I had to admit that it was probably true. "I’d assumed it was because you were finally growing into yourself but it was more than that."

Bret nodded his agreement as his eyes raked me from head to toe. "What is going to happen to you?" Jenna asked.

My gaze fell back on Cade. "I don’t know," I answered honestly. "Cade said there were others that had survived the initial blood intake but that the aliens killed them soon after."

"From what I saw of your blood samples there were multiple changes taking place. His cells are invading your DNA and changing it. That’s probably the reason why most people don’t survive the initial intake of blood; it’s too much of a shock to their system, and to their molecular structure. I would have to study samples of his blood, and yours, in order to know exactly what is going on, but unfortunately I don’t have the equipment for that." Bishop’s hand dropped from his forehead as he focused upon me. "Is there anything else?"

My throat was suddenly as dry as the Sahara. "Like what?"

"He drinks blood Bethany, but is there anything else he feeds on?"

I shifted uncomfortably. I didn’t want to reveal all of Cade’s secrets, but I had promised them no more lies and after everything that they were doing here, after the way that they were handling this, I couldn’t lie to them. "He also feeds on souls."

The sharp inhalations of their breaths were loud in the tunnel as they exchanged nervous looks. "He won’t hurt you," I gushed out. "He doesn’t hurt any humans when he does it."

I thought of Cade within me, brushing against my soul and touching the deepest depths of it as he took a piece from me. I had needed him to do it. Even now, just thinking about it, caused something to stir and awaken within me. Although something inside of me craved it, I hadn’t taken anything from him, he would have noticed if I had. Wouldn’t he?

"Bethany?" I was pulled from my thoughts as I forced myself to focus on Bishop. "I’ve noticed changes in you too."

I nodded. "I can see better at night and hear better, but that could also be because of the situation we’ve been thrust into now. We have to hear and see better if we’re going to survive."

"I suppose we’ve all noticed a change with certain senses, and our bodies," Bishop muttered. "It could be entirely possible that what you are experiencing is only because of our current environmental conditions, and not his blood."

That could be, but I knew that it wasn’t. My vision was too good, my hearing far more acute, and my yearning for things that were far from human, was too intense.

"Does he have to have human blood to survive?" Bret asked.

I buried my strange new hunger in order to answer him. "Not regularly. He said he can get it from meat or animals too. He needs it now though, when he’s so badly wounded."

"He’ll be ok Bethany," Aiden said as he squeezed my arm.

My gaze fell back to Cade as his fingers twitched on the ground. His eyes began to move behind his lids. I hoped they were at least peaceful dreams as I prayed for him to awaken soon.

Chapter 11

Cade,

Dust, kicked up from the hard ground, drifted up to clog my nose. The thousands of feet stomping across here had ruined all of the grass and turned the one time lawn into a field of dirt. Normally such things wouldn’t bother me but after the events of this day it irritated me. Just when I was finally able to have my chance to be with Bethany, when I was finally able to touch and feel her like I had yearned to do for years, they had taken me off of that beach and deposited me in this hellhole.

I wound my way through the crowd of people huddled together in search of comfort and security. They wouldn’t find either of those things here. Turning sideways I was able to mostly avoid having to touch them but my flesh brushed against theirs more times than I would have liked it to. It wasn’t right, it definitely wasn’t something Bethany would have approved of, but I felt the thirst stirring within my belly as the scent of their blood and fright drifted over me.

I could almost taste their warm blood in my mouth; almost feel the pleasure of their souls feeding mine. It was all so close and I could take it from them here without any worry of being caught, or of any other consequences. I wouldn’t though, this was not my thing. I understood the cruelty that ran through us all, I lived with it every day, but this was far too easy and disgusting for my tastes.

A woman’s hand fell to my forearm, halting me in my tracks. Her pretty features were obscured by the grime that streaked them as she pulled herself closer to me. "Do you know what they are going to do to us?" she asked in a tremulous voice.