On the Edge of Destiny (Book 3) (A Vampire SEAL Novel) by S.B. Alexander Page B

again.” I slanted my head.
    I’d last seen Sam’s best friend in the medical facility.
    “While you were gone, Ben showed up at the main gate, demanding to see you. Is there something you want to tell me about you and Ben?” Sam leaned forward, elbows on his knees. His tone reminded me of Dad’s when he got all commander on me.
    I shifted my position and crossed my legs underneath me. I’d never told Sam that Ben had asked me to the high school dance or anything else about Ben and me. I had my reasons. Mainly, I didn’t want Sam killing his best friend because I might’ve wanted to be more than friends with Ben. Regardless, once I became a vampire, I realized my bloodlust for Ben outweighed anything else I felt for the human. Not to mention my heart was reserved for someone else.
    “Well? Sis. Tell me,” he demanded.
    For a moment, I considered bolting out of the apartment and running off the base. I had come back to a dad who was cranky and a brother who was treating me as though I were one of his soldiers. But I knew Sam was just protective of me. So I told Sam the story from the beginning. He didn’t say anything until I was done.
    “So you’ve never kissed Ben, led him on or anything?” Sam eyes never wavered from mine.
    “No. I thought I had feelings for him, but I was confused. He’s human, and I’m a vampire. Call it puberty or the change of my body, but all I really wanted to do around Ben was sink my fangs into him. But he’s stubborn, Sam. Even when I was talking to him while he was in the medical facility the other day, he wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
    Sam lowered his shoulders. “I know. Pops told me Ben said he wasn’t giving up on you and him. And I can tell you, Sis, he’s not. He’s certainly not the same person I knew. Or maybe I’ve changed. He’s angry, hostile, and man, he’s strong. Like, really strong.”
    “What do you mean?” I furrowed my brows.
    “When he was here yesterday, we didn’t let him in. Pops had some concerns about Ben being on base, especially after Mr. Jackson came to pick him up the other day. Anyway, I went out to the gate to talk to him. He told me that he’s in love with you. I laughed. I didn’t mean to. I think it was more of a nervous laugh. He threw the first punch. We fought. I was trying to go light on him given my vampire strength. Then out of nowhere, he threw me clear across the freaking road. I mean a vampire-strength throw.”
    I gasped. What the… How could this be?
    “Dr. Vieira said Ben was human…right?” My voice cracked while my blood felt as if it froze.
    The Plutariums had kidnapped Ben and pumped in several vials of a concoction known as the Human Vampire Serum—or, as Edmund dubbed it, HVS-1. The formula had been developed by Dad’s brother, Patrick, a renowned genetic scientist who switched sides a long time ago. Even after several injections, the serum never seemed to work on Ben, although I did see his eyes flash red when we were both stranded in the ocean. Edmund’s eyes had the same color when they shifted.
    “Did you know Ben is in love with you, Sis?”
    “I knew he liked me.” I wasn’t so concerned about Ben’s feelings about me. “I’m worried about the vampire strength you said he seems to have. What if the serum is working on him? What if it just took longer for his system to acclimate to the change? You saw what it did to Blake. He was a monster.”
    I didn’t want to see Ben changed into something that resembled evil with red eyes. We knew little about the effects of the serum on ordinary humans. Dr. Vieira had done the autopsy on Blake and said he was part human. I still wasn’t convinced my powers were what killed him.
    “Well, I can tell you he isn’t a vampire. He doesn’t have fangs or anything,” Sam said.
    “Did his eyes change to red?”
    “I don’t think so. Then again, as soon as he threw me, three sentinels swarmed him. They escorted Ben to his car. I didn’t see him