Flutter by Amanda Hocking Page B

Ezra, clinging onto me, and
pressed his lips into a thin line.

“I can’t eat. Not right now.” Ezra grimaced, as if he
was in too much pain to even think of eating.
    I brushed his hair from his forehead, his skin
feeling clammy. After blood loss, I’d think eating would be the
only thing that would make him feel better. Then it dawned on me
what was going on.
    The lycan had fed on him. That was something vampires
never let other vampires do, unless they were lovers. There was
something sexual about the exchanging of blood, but it was more
than that.
    When Jack bit me, I felt him flow through me, and his
love and kindness consumed me. Ezra had been bitten by a pack of
rabid monsters. All their pain and rage burned through him now.
Physically and emotionally, they drained him.
    Ezra made a pained sound but fought to suppress it.
He gripped me so tightly, that had I been human, he would’ve broken
bones and ruptured organs. Despite his weakness, his muscles felt
like concrete underneath my hands. He tensed so tightly, his body
was completely rigid, and his legs curled up a bit, closer to
me.
    “My blood…” Ezra forced a few words, but he barely
managed that.
    “Just rest. We don’t need to talk.” I tried to
reassure him, running my fingers through his blond hair.
    “No,” Ezra said, his voice tight and weak. “My blood
for your blood. It’s over. We need to get out of here. Peter, can
you…”
    “I’ll make all the arrangements,” Peter said when
Ezra trailed off. He tried to keep his composure as much as
possible, but his eyes burned. It killed him knowing Ezra had
exchanged his own blood for Peter’s life.
    After a moment of staring remorsefully at him, Peter
went into action. He got his cell phone and started making calls,
most of which I couldn’t understand because they were in
Finnish.
    “I shouldn’t be burdening you with this,” Ezra said
and tried moving away from me.
    “No, you’re okay,” I insisted. “Don’t worry.”
    “No. I …” Ezra trailed off again, and a spasm went
over his body. He gripped even tighter and I could barely breathe.
It passed, and he relaxed, as much as he could. “I’m sorry.”
    “Ezra. It’s okay.”
    When Peter got off the phone, he watched Ezra for a
moment as he struggled to keep his breaths even. I could feel Ezra
biting back screams, and I looked to Peter for help, but he
wouldn’t meet my eyes.
    “The best thing for him to do is rest,” Peter said.
“The feelings will fade, with time. Our flight leaves in seven
hours. He can get some rest and eat, and then he ought to feel good
enough to at least make it home.”
    Peter packed our things and got us ready to go. I
felt like I should help him, but I didn’t want to leave Ezra alone.
Eventually, Peter suggested we get some sleep. Ezra went in and out
of consciousness. I managed to doze off a little bit, but Ezra woke
me frequently with moaning or writhing.
    When Peter woke me in the evening, Ezra was still
tangled up with me, but the fierceness in his grip had disappeared.
Peter helped him to the bathroom to eat and get cleaned up, and I
got up to stretch. My whole body ached terribly from the way he had
held me.
    Just comforting Ezra had been exhausting, and I
couldn’t fathom what he was going through. I stood next to the bed,
feeling more emotionally drained, and Peter came out of the
bathroom to give Ezra privacy. He looked at me with concern, but I
didn’t deserve any, so I busied myself with straightening up the
room.
    “Alice.” Peter placed his hand on my arm, stopping
me. “How are you holding up?”
    “Better than Ezra,” I gave a hollow laugh.
    I looked up at him, and I couldn’t hold it in
anymore. Unwanted tears streamed down my cheeks, and roughly, he
pulled me into his arms. Burying my face in his shirt, I sobbed
hard.
    “Thanks. And sorry,” I mumbled when I got myself
under control and pull away from him. He kept his hand on my arm,
as if severing contact would reduce