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The first part of the process was all right because, well, there wasn’t exactly any "turning" going on… but when it finally came time to sink my teeth into his bare neck, I felt like a nervous wreck It was one of the hardest things that I’d ever had to do This was the first time I had ever turned anyone

I crouched over his centimeters away from his warm flesh Derek settled his broad hands firhs, as if to reassure me Ground azing up atout of the whole thing I leaned closer and finally broke his skin Derek’s war ainst hian to releasearound h poison already

I drewhim so in and out of awareness, and all I could do atch as he began to shake and voh I could fetch one of the witches to help if there were probleony any less torturous

I appreciated hi volunteered to do the sa a loved one go through it… it was a different kind of punish the clock His turning was progressing at the usual pace, but it felt like forever When he finally began to show signs of stabilizing, I couldn’t have feltsubsided "You’re doing great, baby," I whispered to hi a kiss over his knuckles His eyelids, which had been tightly shut the entire time, opened slowly I reached out and stroked his forehead "I think you’re done"

He gazed at me, his blue eyes aze sent chills downme of the first tio when he woke from his four-hundred-year sleep

"How are you feeling?" I asked gently, ainst his forehead

He clenched his jaw "I’ve been better," he rasped His throat sounded horribly dry

Crap He needs blood!

I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t thought to remind him before we’d started His request to turn had coreed to it Then he had started seducinghad rolled into another

"Will you be okay waiting here while I go fetch some blood?" I asked He seemed to be of sound hthouse to go ra my son with a painful stab in my chest, I knew one never could be quite sure with a Novak

"No, it’s all right," he e of the bed and reached for his cloak that had been discarded on the floor I frowned as he withdreo sacks of blood froarment’s deep pockets Well, sos and downed the, he wiped his ainst the headboard

He closed his eyes, breathing deeply For the next fewhiain He glanced up at the clock in the corner of the room, and then, to my surprise, he pushed his still shaky

"I need to get dressed," heto pull them on

"Uh, honey, I really don’t think you should be standing up yet You need to rest"

"I need to get ready to leave"

"What?" He’d said he wanted to leave soon after turning, but I’d never dreamed that it would be this soon He’d only just co took a hell of a lot out of one’s body, and after the process, vampires were supposed to rest Besides, he was still covered in blood--blood that had now transferred onto the clean clothes he was pulling on hiht," he said, htly and was forced to hold onto the back of a chair for support "I proup his pants zipper and allowed me time to pull on my own clothes before he opened the door Ibrahilanced at etic look on his face

Derekback to face her "You’re aware that you look like a sweaty, blood-stained, crazy ax murderer"

"All the better," Derek replied, a dark twinkle in his eyes

Jera from the failure of theto The Oasis On arrival, I was forced to turnthat happened there while we’d been gone: the raid by the Drizans along with the seizing of the Nasiris, and even the visit of a group of vampires--headed by Derek and Sofia Novak