The Love Bite [boyxboy]

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven (Alexander)

My heart was pounding violently in my chest, making it ache as I sat on the bed by Mark as he slept, his lips parted as he wheezed and coughed every so often, spatters of blood flying up and onto his cheeks. Storm, who sat on a chair beside the bed, reached out with a Kleenex, wiping it away.

Amber came back with four mugs of warm chamomile tea mixed with honey. She handed us each a mug, then left one on the tray on the nightstand in case Mark woke up. She sat beside me on the bed as we watched Mark sleep, slowly dying as his lungs contracted tightly in pain, then expanded in agony.

"We can't just sit here and do nothing." I managed at last, looking at Amber and Storm, who didn't look at me. Amber just stared into her tea intently. I frowned, then looked at Storm, who just set his mug aside to take Mark's hand in his. He ran his thumb over Mark's knuckles, his eyes staring at the human intensely.

"We need to turn him." I said at last. Amber dropped her tea, yelping as the hot water splashed up her ankles and onto the floor. Storm snapped his head, glaring at me.

"As much as I approve of the idea, we can't. He'll die as soon as I drain him of even a little bit of his blood. He needs more time to recuperate--"

"We don't have any time," I snapped angrily, rising to my feet and handing Amber my tea as she scowled, watching me past her blonde bangs, "Mark is dying! People are out to kill him and we don't know why! The only person who could know is Mark! We need to buy ourselves more time. We need to turn Mark. He should be well enough by tomorrow afternoon and will be able to remember and tell us everything. Our abilities give us heightened senses, which includes our memory banks. Mark will remember who attacked him and he might have slight knowledge of why."

"But the transformation from human to a halfblood is painful and difficult," Storm warned, rising to his feet now too, "I told you before. I would've turned him, but you interrupted. I said I needed another month before I could try again. What makes you think a week is just fine? He needs another three to four weeks to recover from the loss blood. Mark's experienced enough stress now. Too much stress can cause him to go into cardiac arrest. As if breathing wasn't enough of a strain on him, now you're suggesting we give him a heart attack?"

"I never said that," I protested angrily, mildly surprised by Storm's sudden rush of anger, "If you move fast enough, you can make it! Just barely, but it'll be enough--"

"Not enough!" Storm cut me off sharply. I started to yell back at him, but Mark coughed, making us look down at him. Amber whirled around, setting the tea down to lean on the bed as Mark grimaced, his eyes slowly fluttering open before he twitched, glaring at us.

"I don't like waking up to a bunch of vampires." He grumbled, pausing to suck in a deep, shaky breath before coughing. Storm sighed in relief, leaning by the bed with the napkin to wipe any blood spatters off.

"Wha happened?" Mark murmured tiredly, his eyes drifting to look at me. I bit my lower lip, debating what to say before I went with the truth. I told Mark about the drugs, our visit, Kelsey, and the hints she'd given us. Mark's eyes flickered and widened.

"Her boots. She was the one who attacked me." He managed, trying to sit up, but he fell back with a loud choking cough. Storm grimaced and put an arm under Mark's back, helping him sit up and lean forward against his knees. Mark panted for breath, choking in pain.

"It hurts." He managed, grasping at his chest and cringing. I glared at Storm, who grimaced and looked away as he rubbed Mark's back gently.

"Mark, we want to turn you." I blurted at last. Mark choked again, this time, not from his illness. He jerked his head up, breathing hard as he stared at me past his hair.