responsibility for your well-being. I did as much as I could for you without forcing you to remain by my side. This is not what I would have chosen for your future.”
If not for the sincerity with which he said it, I might have taken offense at his assumptions that he had any right to plot some fate for me. Knowing Royce, it was a bit hard to be angry at him for saying he was sorry he hadn’t turned me into a vampire instead. He hadn’t made it a secret that’s what he wanted from me, after all.
“It’s too late to be sorry. It wasn’t something I wanted, but there’s nothing to be done about it now. All I’m asking is that you stay quiet about this. I may have more questions later. I suppose it depends on how things turn out.”
“That may be so, but it might not be too late to do something to change your future. If you are willing to take the risk, I could make you a vampire instead.”
Chapter 27
“What?” Master of the witty comeback, that’s me.
“It’s possible the infection hasn’t spread enough to prevent the change into a vampire instead. It would be risky, but you could become one of us if you wish. You’ll need to make the choice quickly, though, for I can’t guarantee it would work. The longer you wait, the less likely the change would take hold.”
I rubbed my forehead with the heel of my hand, scrunching my eyes closed as a stress headache bloomed. “Run that by me again.”
His voice seemed to reach me from a distance, echoing through a wall of shock that had settled comfortably between me and reality. “It may not be too late for you to make a choice. You would be far better off if you were one of us. Immortality alone would be an immense benefit over the reduced lifespan of a Were. Think about it, at the very least.”
“… Reduced lifespan?” For whatever reason, that cut through my haze and brought with it a fresh rush of terror. “Please tell me you are saying that in comparison to the life of a vampire.”
“I’m afraid not. Their increased metabolism helps them heal faster, yes, but it also means their bodies age far more quickly. Though this is certainly not true in every case, and I’m sure there have been no hard scientific studies on the matter, in my experience they do not last much beyond forty, perhaps forty-five years of age.”
More surprises Chaz had never shared with me.
“This is too much. I’m sorry, Royce, it’s—this is just too much. I need to go.”
“I understand. Think about my offer. I’ll check back tonight.”
I hung up without saying good-bye. My mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and my eyes positively burned with strain, aching in waves that pulsed in time with my now pounding headache. My hands shook, and I struggled to keep from giving in to the looming panic attack.
The choices laid out before me were terrifying. No matter which way I looked at it, there seemed no right answer.
Sit back and do nothing? I might or might not be infected. There was a possibility nothing would happen to me. Arnold might even be able to do something about it; he’d promised to check to see if The Circle had any spells that would cure lycanthropy.
Then again, if I was infected and there was no cure, I could look forward to life as an outcast from Were society, disowned by my family and crucified by the media. Oh, and shaving who knew how many years off my expected lifespan.
If I took Royce’s offer, I’d have an eternity to look forward to of drinking blood, never seeing sunlight, and watching my friends and family gradually die off, one by one. I’d be no more than a monster preying upon people to survive, hiding behind a human mask.
I’d never been particularly religious, despite my mother’s efforts. Popular opinion was that vampires and werewolves had no immortal souls; if they ever had, the soul fled the body once they turned. Either way, in Mom’s eyes, I’d be treading the path of the damned.
Sick did not begin to cover how I felt.
I stayed that way on the bed, empty, drained of life and unable to do so much as shed a tear, for quite a long time. It wasn’t until nearly noon that I realized how late it had gotten and that Sara had neither