Vowed (The Vampire Journals, #7) - Morgan Rice Page 0,62

and this time, Sam jumped on its back, reached down, and prepared to snap its neck.

But it did something which caught him by surprise: the animal managed to spin its head around, and to gorge Sam with its tusk, slicing his arm. Sam, shocked, cried out in pain. He was stunned.

Ever since he had become a vampire, no animal had ever managed to put the slightest scratch on him. Nothing could ever come close to matching his speed or strength. Sam, furious, quickly snapped its neck, and the two of them went tumbling to the ground, the boar dead.

But Sam was shaken. He didn’t understand what had just happened, how it was possible. How could he be even the slightest bit vulnerable?

Thinking it over, he realized that what had just happened was impossible. It must have been a supernatural occurrence. It was the universe, sending him a sign. An omen. But of what?

Sam didn’t like it. It gave him an ominous feeling, a sense of foreboding. He felt as if the universe were hinting that something terrible was happening somewhere. Sam stared at the huge animal, lying there on its side in the grass, dead, and he no longer wanted to bring it back. It felt to him like a reminder of a bad omen.

Sam left it where it was. He slowly backed away from it, wondering.

The sky suddenly darkened, thick clouds gathering on the horizon, and Sam felt a cold breeze brush his face. He turned and headed back down the path, feeling it was time to return.

The more Sam walked, the more he felt it: something was wrong. Worse, he began to feel that something was wrong with Polly. Danger.

Sam broke into at a sprint, then leapt into the air, flying for all he was worth. He broke out of the woods and into open sky, and the more he flew, the more his senses screamed to him that something was very, very wrong. It was like a beacon, calling to him. It practically screamed at him to hurry to the lake.

Sam flew even faster, faster than he even knew was possible, tucking his wings in, diving through the air, until moments later, he was circling over the lake. The lake was still, and as Sam circled it, at first he saw nothing wrong.

But then, as he circled again, he saw a lone figure, lying on a desolate strip of sand. Sam dove down towards it, wondering who it could be.

Sam landed on the sand, several feet from the body, and approached it slowly, his heart pounding. As he reached it, he knelt down.

Hand shaking, he reached out to turn it over. A part of him was in denial, shutting it out—but another part of him, deep down, knew who it was. He sensed her vibration even from here. But he didn’t allow himself to believe it could be true.

He turned her over, and everything good that was left within him died.

It was the woman he loved most in the world.

Polly.

Sam grabbed her and pulled her up, holding her, feeling her limp body in his arms. He shook her, trying to revive her. He looked down and saw she had been stabbed in the heart, and that nearly all of her life’s force had left her. He felt hot tears pouring down his cheek, as he realized that nothing could possibly save her. There was the slightest flutter in one of her eyes, and he could see that she was still clinging to life.

He hugged her tight, crying over her shoulder, hoping, willing her to come back. Sam couldn’t understand how the thing you loved most in the world, at the moment you loved it most, could so suddenly be taken away.

“Sam,” he heard her whisper in his ear.

He pulled back and looked at her; it had been so faint, he wondered if she had even spoke.

He put his ear to her mouth.

“I need to tell you something,” she whispered again.

Sam felt his heart pounding with remorse, grief, regret. Why hadn’t he gotten here sooner? Who could have possibly done this?

But for now, all he wanted was for her to live again. The sight of her like this pained him more than anything he’d ever encountered in his life. He willed for her to come back to him.

“I’m pregnant,” Polly whispered into his ear.

Sam’s eyes opened wide in shock, as he pulled back and looked at her, wondering if it was true.

For the slightest second, a smile crossed