Dead Awakenings by Rebekah R. Ganiere Page A

stop.”
    “Well, that’s how it is.”
    “Every time?”
    “Every time. And you run the risk of letting the euphoria of it overtake you. There are others of our kind who are addicted to it, who feed almost constantly. They’re called Feeders.”
    “It’s like a drug.”
    “Yes, it can be very much like a drug.”
    “There are recovered Feeders here. But they have been detoxified and have been on diet ever since they arrived. You cannot be a Feeder and live here.”
    There was a shuffling sound behind Evaine, and she looked over her shoulder to see a thin, tall brunette with glasses and a few freckles splashed across her nose staring at her. For a moment the woman stood silently, then her gaze shifted to Luca and she broke into a large smile that made her brown eyes sparkle.
    “Hiya.” She walked into the kitchen.
    “Uh…hi,” Evaine managed to stammer.
    “Hey, Abbey, let me help you with those.” Luca took two large bags from her and set them on the counter.
    “I didn’t realize anyone was in the kitchen this early or I wouldn’t have brought these down here. But we couldn’t find the keys to the shed so we decided to store them here until we could locate them.” She walked slowly over to Evaine. “We haven’t met yet. I’m Abbey, Nate’s wife.”
    “Nate’s wife,” Evaine said absently. “You mean Nate-Nate?”
    “Yup, he’s the lucky man.” She laughed. “My Deader half.”
    “But you’re, you’re—”
    “Not undead?” She laughed again.
    “Well, yeah,” Evaine managed.
    “Luckily for me, he overlooks that little defect.”
    “I don’t understand.” Evaine knitted her brows and looked back to Luca.
    “Nate and Abbey were together before his rebirth.”
    Abbey gave a broad smile. “I know I’m a bit much, but I promise you will eventually get used to me. Well at least everyone else has.”
    Nate walked in. “Hon, I found the keys. They were in your—” He froze when he saw Evaine and Luca. He looked from Abbey to Luca and then to Evaine and then back again to Abbey, quickly gaining an air of panic.
    “Morning,” Luca finally said. “Evaine woke up. She was feeling a bit dried out so we came to get her a drink.”
    “We didn’t think anyone would be up yet.” Nate still stared at Evaine.
    Evaine began yet again to pick at the invisible label on her bottle. And while she was at it she decided to use her tongue inspect the inside of her lip so see how it was healing.
    “She’s not on our schedule yet. She’s still on human time.” Luca’s tone was defensive.
    “What time is it anyway? There’s no clock in my room.”
    “It’s about eleven in the morning. No one usually gets up until about two thirty or three in the afternoon.”
    Nate crossed and picked up the bags that Luca had set on the counter. “Let me get these put away and answer a couple of e-mails. Then we can meet in the Aron’s office to discuss our lifestyle with you, Evaine. In the meantime Luca can show you the rest of the dorm.”
    Abbey smiled at Evaine. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ll come see you soon so we can figure out a new wardrobe for you. I’m sure looking like a member of the SWAT team isn’t your usual style.” Nate wrapped his arm around Abbey’s waist to lead her out of the room. But Abbey turned to Evaine again. “And don’t worry about Mr. Big-bad here, he’s all bark and no bite. And trust me, I know.” Luca let out a laugh. Nate huffed. The two left, snuggled in each other’s embrace.
    Evaine stared at Luca; neither of them said anything for a minute. Finally he spoke. “Finish your drink and I’ll show you around.” She downed her drink in one gulp and threw the bottle into the sink.
     

Chapter Nine
     
    “This is the dorm wing.” Luca nodded. “It’s where the bedrooms and common rooms are.”
    There was an exercise room with about every piece of equipment she could possibly imagine and a computer room with three computers, a couple of laptops, a printer,