I carefully studied Kyle as he lifted Ashley up into a sitting position. Every move he made was gentle and was meant to keep the young beauty at ease. I could almost see the horrifying memories of the day he was turned flash behind his eyes.
“I can’t believe she’s really doing this…” Sofia muttered in a low voice that wasn’t meant to be heard, but she was close enough for my sensitive ears to hear.
I caught a glimpse of how tightly Ashley was holding onto Kyle’s arms, her knuckles turning white as she did. Sam stood in the background, nervously shuffling on his feet, obviously uncomfortable with the situation. We all cared deeply for Ashley. To see her go through what we went through seemed a cruel thing to do—even if it was she who made the choice for herself.
Why am I even allowing this?
“Wait.” I stepped forward just before Kyle was about to position himself to bite her.
I heard a sigh of relief escape Sofia’s lips and my heart broke along with it. Still, I had to stop myself from being so selfish. It dawned on me at that moment that the only reason I was allowing Ashley to go through with this was because I was hoping Sofia would see for herself that being a vampire wasn’t all that bad. After all, if Ashley could do it, why couldn’t she?
You’re the most selfish man in the planet, Novak.
“I want to have a private word with Ashley.”
“Derek, I’ve told you hundreds of times…I want this.”
“I still own you, Ashley. Kyle doesn’t get to turn you until I say so. Come with me.”
A tense silence followed as Kyle helped Ashley off the slab and she gingerly made her way toward me—not bothering to hide her annoyance. I grabbed Ashley by the elbow and dragged her out of the hall. Sofia motioned to follow.
“Stay there, Sofia.”
Ashley was fighting against my grasp. “You don’t own me, Derek. This is my choice. You can’t keep me from doing this. You gave us this choice and I’ve already made my decision.”
“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, Ashley. No idea,” I emphasized, unable to hide my exasperation that we had to have this conversation while the others were still around.
“I don’t care. I want this.”
Stubborn teenager… “No,” I said through gritted teeth. “I don’t think you do.”
“Maybe you should listen to him, Ash…” Sam offered hesitantly.
I fought the urge to sigh with relief that someone else had seconded me.
“You all do this now?” Ashley frowned, unable to hide her irritation. “You guys had all of the past few days to dissuade me from this…”
“Think about what you’re about to do, Ashley…” I made a step toward her, towering over her, once again feeling my thirst for her blood after weeks of being able to keep it at bay. “Once you turn, your first instinct will be to kill. Do you really want to live craving every human you come across? Can you really deal with wanting to suck the blood right out of Paige and Rosa?” My gut clenched at the mention of the next name. “Can you bear the burden of wanting to kill Sofia?”
I could hear Sofia’s soft gasp as she realized what I was asking Ashley. Does Ashley really want to turn into a murderer by nature? I couldn’t bear to look at Sofia. I knew then that should Ashley ever try to harm Sofia, I wouldn’t hesitate to end Ashley’s life.
Based on her silence, I actually thought that I was getting through to Ashley, so I was surprised when she stepped away from me, head bowed and lips pursed.
She nodded her head slowly. “I know what I’m getting myself into.”
She then turned her back to me and walked right back to the stone slab. She motioned for Kyle to help her get back on it. Kyle swallowed hard before looking my way to check if I agreed with what he was about to do.
Despite every internal alarm inside me screaming against what was about to happen, I nodded. Ashley was right. I didn’t own her. This was her choice.
“Let’s do this.” Ashley nodded resolutely, coaxing Kyle to do what had to be done.
Kyle stepped forward and placed his hands gently over her waist. I finally forced myself to shift my gaze toward Sofia and found myself wishing that I hadn’t.
Her lips were quivering and her eyes were moist with tears. As she stared at Ashley, it was as if she was lost in a daze, her long fingers clenching into firm fists. I wondered then what was going through her mind, because from the look on her face, it almost seemed like she knew exactly what Ashley was about to go through.
CHAPTER 16: LUCAS
When the gorgeous Italian vampire walked into my chambers, I wanted to jump up and hug her, but this was Natalie Borgia. She was a rogue vampire perfectly capable of ripping my heart out should she decide to. I wasn’t about to take my chances, but it was too hard to fight the urge to flirt with her.