The Frenzy Series (Book 2): Frantic Read Free Page A

brow, on my chest.
    Tage looked from me to Roman, his brows bowed. “Why would she feel sick? That makes no sense.”
    Roman shook his head and answered, “I’m not sure. We need to get her home.”
    I muttered to myself, “Don’t have a home.”
    Tage pursed his lips and looked back to Roman. “What if someone sees her?”
    “Then we go downstream and cross somewhere else—beyond the cemetery. We can avoid the humans from that side.”
    Tage pushed up to his feet and hooked his arms beneath mine, lifting me. My legs quivered. Roman approached, pushing damp strands of hair from my forehead. “She’s ill.”
    I was about to tell him duh when a wave of nausea crashed over me, pulling me under and refusing to let me up for air. I vomited all over him. The bear’s blood burned a fiery path up my nose and throat, but I couldn’t stop. Waves of crimson spewed from me, over and over, barely letting me catch a breath in between. Tage steadied me while Roman tried to clean himself off. Bastard.
    When the puking stopped, I was weak—too weak to make it out of the forest. “I’ll stay here,” I told them, grabbing onto the rough bark of a pine to steady myself. The dark green that I’d always loved in winter, the only thing strong and stubborn enough to survive the frigid temperatures and heavy snow, loomed above me. My focus drifted in and out until it was more out than in. The canopy blurred.

 
     

     
    Strong arms held me up, bruising my skin, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t talk. My head flopped around as though it was no longer filled with bone. Did Roman kill me? I felt like death. Maybe he did.
    Then, from the buzzing in my ears, voices came through the static.
    “Her fangs are too small for her to feed off of anything but humans and small animals,” said Tage from right above me. I could feel his breath on my face, punctuating his words.
    “That makes no sense,” Roman replied.
    “No shit, Sherlock,” Tage rebutted. Was Roman’s last name Sherlock?
    “There’s the crossing. Do you want me to take her?” Roman asked.
    Tage scoffed. “I can handle it. She weighs nothing.” Mother would disagree. Mother . Mother got me into this mess. My stomach growled, reminding me to try to eat her later. She deserved it. She fed Mercedes, so it was only fair that she feed me too, right?
    The sound of rushing river water swirled around me. Tage’s footsteps became labored, heavy, and he tried to hold me higher on his body. Water soaked into my dress. Cold, frigid water. I began to shiver. “Almost across, Porschia,” Tage whispered, tension lacing his words. “This is the shallowest way through on this side of Blackwater, but it’s not easy to cross. The water’s strong.”
    “Easy,” Roman warned from ahead. I heard the sound of mud sucking on Tage’s boots; of water over rock, wearing it down speck by speck. Of Tage’s rapid heartbeat. Of his panting. Of his muscles straining. I could hear it all, feel it all. Tage was frightened. Tage was worried. Tage .
    I wanted to help, but I couldn’t even open my eyes. Why couldn’t I open them? Why couldn’t I move?
    Then suddenly, Tage repositioned his grip and his steps became lighter and faster. His tension eased. The sound of water wasn’t as close. He began climbing up and then lifted me, where Roman’s long, bony fingers wrapped around me. “I’ve got her.”
    “What did you do to her?” came a low voice of warning. Saul.
    “You’ve got to be kidding me,” muttered Tage. “You’re like a lost dog. Go home, boy!”
    “Is she dead?” Saul asked, undeterred.
    “No, but she just turned. She’s exhausted. It happens during Frenzy. Everything about her will be extreme now, especially her moods. She’ll alternate between having loads of energy and strength and intense exhaustion,” Roman explained. “She’s completely worn out, and we have to get her home and contain her before the Elders find out that she turned.”
    Tage spoke up. “Or