Taken Over (The Ravening #2)(54)
Author: Erica Stevens

“That’s not possible,” I murmured around his finger. “I don’t hate you now.”

“You don’t know the worst thing I’ve done. There is something else I’ve kept from you.”

I swallowed heavily, fear trickled through me. I was certain that no matter what he said, it couldn’t possibly get any worse than everything that had been revealed tonight. Whatever else he had kept from me, I could take it, and we would be fine. But the fear in his eyes, the beaten look in his gaze caused doubts to filter through me. What could he possibly have done to make him look like a kicked puppy so badly?

“Ok, tell me,” I said softly.

I held my breath, my hands fisted, as I braced myself for whatever it was he was about to say. “No matter what happens, no matter what you decide about me, you cannot allow Bishop to take anymore of your blood.”

My breath exploded out of me, my hands relaxed as my body was rocked with shock. I had not been expecting that, not at all. I had expected that he had lied and there were other women, or even other aliens, or something, anything other than that. “Why not?”

His gaze searched mine; his hands were gentle yet strong against my face. “You are not completely human Bethany, not anymore.”

I had not been expecting that either.

CHAPTER 16

I froze, trapped like a deer in the headlights as I searched his face, looking for some sign he was kidding. Some sign that he was going to yell “Gotcha!” at any moment. Some sign that this was some sick, twisted joke that only an alien, with their quirky sense of humor would understand. Some sign that he was lying to me.

But there was none.

He simply stared at me, his eyes willing me to understand. Willing me to believe what he was saying. I frowned at him, confused, lost, baffled by his words. Then, slowly, a dawning sense of horror began to encase me. All of the changes I had sensed growing within me. The speed, the growing grace as my inherent clumsiness seemed to fade. The cravings. Meat, especially raw meat he had said. A gurgle, half sob and half hysterical laughter, surged up my throat.

It wasn’t what those creatures had done to me I realized. It wasn’t some strange alien germ that had infiltrated my wounds and begun to infect me. Their attacks on me aren’t what had brought forth the strange changes I felt coalescing through my body. It was him. “What did you do to me!?” I demanded.

He remained immobile, his eyes didn’t even flicker. “The ships started leaking gas into the air supply two weeks prior to The Freezing,” he explained instead of telling me what he had done. “The gas was odorless, tasteless, and undetectable to the human race. It’s not something your kind had ever heard of before, and to breathe it caused no ill harm unless it was coupled with a high frequency sound that most people cannot hear. Then it caused the muscles to freeze, the organs to shut down, and the brain to become suspended. It’s something similar to what you would know as cryogenics.”

“But cryogenics doesn’t work,” I mumbled.

“Yet, it doesn’t work yet. And only because humans haven’t mastered it yet.”

I was in a state of shock, I felt as if I were trying to wade through a swamp but becoming constantly mired in place by mud. “Your kind has though.”

“Yes. They also designed it so that it would not affect people with type O blood.”

My eyes snapped back to his, I struggled to shake the strange stupor clinging to me. “Why?” I breathed.

“For the hunt, for the thrill. Humans are the most dangerous game after all. Type O is the most popular blood type, but there wouldn’t be enough left to be a serious threat, or at least that’s what they believe. They’re murderers; they enjoy the fear, the pleasure of hunting and torturing their kill. However, the human population outnumbered theirs. They couldn’t take the risk that your kind could cause severe damage, and massive casualties to them. They wanted the hunt, but they also wanted the assurance that they could win. It was decided to leave that number of the population mobile, while being able to easily capture and use the others for food and pleasure. Not everyone will be killed during the reaping process though.”

“They’ll be left behind for a later time.” I was finding it more and more difficult to breathe. The neck of my shirt suddenly felt too tight as it squeezed my windpipe. I slid my finger into it and tugged anxiously at it. I needed to breathe, I couldn’t breathe. “For breeding,” I choked. “For their children to restock Earth, maybe even my children.” I shuddered, I was going to throw up, no I would not have kids; I would never allow them to go through this misery. Never let them experience this terror, loss, sadness. And I most certainly would not lose them to the monsters hunting us now. “No children.”

His eyes were sad, he leaned closer to me. “Bethany…”

I shook my head, devastated by what he was telling me. I’d never really thought about children before, I’d assumed that one day I’d have them but they were never a real thought or plan in my life. I was stunned by the sense of loss that filled me. “No.”

“You don’t have to give that up Bethany. Your dreams…”

“Are changing every day. I’m not even sure I have them anymore Cade, there’s no guarantee past today. I simply want to enjoy every day that I get from here on out. Besides, could we… um is it even possible?”

Red crept up my cheeks as my hands closed around his. “I don’t know if conception is possible, but sex is.”

My face was on fire as I managed a small nod. “But if it is, our child, what would it be?”

He shook his head. “There’s no way to know Bethany, our breeding period is different than a humans. Our gestation is six months, the labor is not as intense, but our babies are larger. There is no way to know what would happen to you, what it would do to you, and it’s not a chance I am willing to take. Not with you.” He took a deep breath, something dark flickered through his eyes. “It doesn’t have to be me Bethany.”

I was stunned, shocked by his words. “Cade…”

His hands tightened on mine, he leaned closer, his eyes narrowed intently. “It’s not something I want Bethany. The idea of it…” He shuddered; his entire eye became completely black again. “It would shred me, but if you want a child…”

“No!” I cried, aghast at his words. “Cade that’s not what I want. That’s not what I meant.”