Phoenix Rising (Book 5 The Kindred Series) Read Free

realize Devon had given her so much blood," Annabelle murmured. Julian met her troubled gaze. "He has to know that she's still alive, right?"
    Is she? Julian wondered though he managed to keep the words to himself. This was a bad enough mess without adding his doubts to it. Cassie screamed again and kicked her legs with enough force to knock Annabelle's grip free from one. Annabelle winced and shook her hand before she seized hold of Cassie's leg again.
    "He has to, right!?" Annabelle demanded.
    Julian adjusted Cassie and kept her pinned down as he bit into his wrist again. Fresh blood spurted into his mouth. Before she could attempt another scream he shoved his wrist into her mouth. "Julian!" Annabelle hissed disapprovingly.
    "We have to make sure it's enough," he reminded her.
    He knew Devon would be infuriated that he was sharing his blood with Cassie, but they had to make sure that she got through this transition, that she wasn't trapped in between. For a second there was no reaction from Cassie, and then she grabbed hold of his arm and bit down.
    Julian started in surprise as fangs she'd never had before sank into his wrist. Fangs that never should have been present this early in the transition, but were. Just what would she become?
    Matthew's vision of her had revealed a monster, a creature surrounded by blood and reveling in the destruction that she rained down upon them, a creature that Cassie would never want to become.
    He almost pulled his arm away from her, almost took the flow of life from her lips, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He was terrified of Matthew's vision but he was even more terrified of losing her. It was probably one of the most selfish things he'd ever done, but nothing was going to stop him. He had just found her, he'd just realized that there was some humanity left in him and that he could truly love someone else; he couldn't lose it all now. He just couldn't.
    They would deal with the consequences of his actions later, no matter what those consequences might be. He just hoped that he wasn't helping to create a monster that couldn't be destroyed. But if he didn't do this it was likely that Devon would destroy them all anyway, or that she would get caught in between and really become a monster.
    Julian shoved that thought away. Visions had been proven wrong over and over again. They were only a glimpse of the future, not a guarantee, and he was determined that Matthew's vision wouldn't come true. All that mattered right now was that she survived the transition.
    She drank with hungry, pulling gulps that left him shaken and lost. He struggled against the waves of pleasure that surged up and tried to bury him beneath the endless joy that filled him. He could sense her anguish and thirst, but even more than that he could sense the endless joy she took in consuming his blood, in having it fill and sate her.
    Unable to stop it, a small moan of delight escaped him. It was the first time he had allowed his mind to open to another vampire during the blood exchange process. He was unable to let go of her, unable to break the precious connection between them, even if she'd already taken enough blood to ensure her safety through the transformation. An intense sense of possession began to build inside of him. Though she didn't belong to him there would always be a connection between them and in those few seconds he chose to pretend that he could keep her.
    He would always love her and it killed him that she would never be with him, never be his. His fingers curled into her silken hair as he drifted into the ecstasy she emitted, and the love that she had for him. Even if it wasn't the same as the love she had for Devon. He allowed himself to be lost to the woman that had claimed his heart.
    He could keep her. His hands tightened in her hair, he closed his eyes as the thought flitted across his mind. Human's were vulnerable during the transition, he could seize hold of her mind and make her think that