Twice Bitten (New Moon Series Book 1)

by Belle Harper

  “Ranger?” Maybe this was why he was gone for so long. He moved forward toward me, then did a little playful jump. I laughed. “Oh, man. Ranger. I didn’t expect to see you like this.” I reached out my hand and he bumped his head against me. I pet him and stroked his ears. He was so fluffy. I hadn’t seen the guys turn into wolves since that morning—they weren’t allowed to shift in the house. But out here. Man… I was missing out. I would have to make them shift everyday so I could lay down outside and snuggle with wolves.

  “Hey,” I said as he moved around me so fast, I almost fell, “slow down. I’m not like you.” I guess he didn’t realize how big and strong he was in this form—actually, he was both big and strong in both forms. But when he did it again, I fell on my ass and pain shot up from my leg. I let out a scream as I look down, he had my thigh in his mouth. He was biting me. I tried to shove him away, but he wouldn’t let go. I started to panic when I felt an intense burning. What was he doing to me?

  “Ranger, stop,” I called out. I heard a snap and loud thump as he let go of my leg and let out a yelp. I reached down to stop the pain, but the burn traveled higher, my chest felt heavy and it was hard to breathe.

  “Lexi, oh my God. I will get you help.” I was scooped up into some arms. I felt the air pass me by at a high speed. Galen. I felt safe, I would be okay. He was here, but when I gasped, trying to catch my breath, I realized I was in trouble as the pain flooded my body. My stomach heaved.

  “Fuck, what happened?” I heard Ranger now.

  “Why would you bite me?” I ground out, gritting my teeth to stop the pain coursing through my body.

  “I didn’t do this, Lex. I… fuck. It was Callum. I can smell him on her. Shit, he gave her his venom. She is gonna change. No. Fuck no.”

  I heard voices all around me, but my ears were ringing and I felt like I was drowning. My leg hurt so bad, and I didn’t know if this was what was supposed to happen when they gave you venom to change or if I was dying. It felt more like dying. My heart was slowing down. I couldn’t think straight.

  I gasped again for air that I couldn’t take in.

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Maverick

  My stomach was in knots. It was if all my nightmares had come true all at once. I didn’t want this for Lexi. I didn’t want her to go through this. I could smell her body, the pain and fear that leaked from her was one of the reasons I never wanted this.

  She was in so much pain and everyone just stood around, yelling and cursing. Not knowing what to do, this wasn’t good. Her heart rate was slowing. We were in the living room. My father had drawn the curtains to stop others from seeing in, watching this happen to her. To my strong Lexi. Come on, fight this.

  “Fuck, what do we do? This isn’t right,” Raff called out, holding her hand and trying to offer her soothing words. Her eyes had rolled into the back of her head. There was a gasp from beside me.

  “Lexi, oh my God. What is wrong with her.” It was her friend Ada; she must have snuck in here when Father wasn’t watching. Shit, I didn’t have the heart to turn her away. I was paralysed to move from where I was standing. Watching. It almost felt like an out-of-body experience.

  “Is she dying?” I managed to ask. Her heart was getting slower by the minute; I could hear it, everyone could. I didn’t know what to do, no one did.

  Jett rushed into the room and my eyes met his. They were wild and panicked.

  “I’m going to kill him,” he growled low, his hand clenched into fists and I could see his eyes flash—he was going to shift. I had never seen him lose it so fast.

  “No, we deal with this now. This is not the way it was to go; she is not responding in the usual way. Galen, do you think you could give her some of your blood?” I watched as Galen, who was looking unlike his usual kept-self, dragged his hands through his hair, pacing, touching her, then pacing again. His dark eyes flashed up to my father.

  “Yes.” He pulled his sleeve up and I could see scars on his arm. I didn’t think much more on it as his fangs descended and he bit open his wrist. I had never seen him like this—he never showed his vampire side around anyone. He looked dangerous and hot as sin. Ada gasped from beside me. I watched her as she took it all in.

  She turned to me and said, “I knew he was too good-looking to be human.” I shook my head, stunned at her words. But I think she was like Ranger, like Jett in the way they mask their pain with witty humor. We both turned to watch as Galen fed Lexi his blood. Her body stop spasming, but her heartbeat was getting so low, I could barely hear it.

  “I don’t know what else to do. I…” Galen looked around the room. When his eyes found mine, I felt my heart skip a beat before his face fell. I looked down to Lexi, who was so still, so lifeless. I fell to the floor beside my brother and shook her leg.

  “Wake up, don’t leave me. You can’t—” Tears started to roll down my face. I could see them on my brother. Raff was shaking so hard, I grabbed his shoulder to stop him from shifting. He was losing control of his wolf and Lexi needed us here. I needed him here.

  “This was not meant to happen… I don’t know how to help her. How do we stop this?” Raff called out.

  Her breathing was so shallow. I reached over and placed my hand on her chest to feel for it. “God, Lexi, breathe babe.” Just survive this. I can’t live without you.

  “I… I think I can save her,” Galen spoke up.

  My father’s voice bounced around the walls in an echo as he screamed for Galen to do it. Galen’s eyes met mine, and for a split-second, I felt like he was saying goodbye. But before I could say anything, he brushed her hair from her throat, and he bit her. The room watched in fear as Galen drank from her, but not in a way that it was shocking to see. We knew he was sucking the venom from her—the very stuff shifter used on vampires to kill them.

  He pulled back and swayed lightly as he watched her chest. She was breathing steadier, her heartrate increasing.

  “Lexi?” Ranger asked. She didn’t move, but she wasn’t dying anymore. Galen stood and then stumbled. Ada screamed out his name as he crashed to the floor.

  I jumped up and ran over to him and tried to get him to sit up. No, this wasn’t happening, he wasn’t dying.

  “No, this isn’t fair. Vomit, get it out,” I begged him. His mouth was coated in her blood, but he still smiled up at me. I brushed his curls back as I watched his face turn paler, he was still so beautiful.

  “It was worth it… for Lexi.” He coughed up some blood and it coated the white rug.

  “Let it out, get it all out, Galen,” my father yelled. I tried to push him onto his side, but he wouldn’t have it.

  He reached out to my face and stroked it so gently. I started crying harder as I clutched him tightly to my chest. I couldn’t lose him, too; I need them both. I had to have them both. This wasn’t fair. Hadn’t I had enough loss and heartache in my life?

  “Lexi? Lexi?” I heard Raff call out beside me. Galen’s body spasmed a few times, and everyone watched on in horror. Galen knew this would happen. He knew taking the venom from her blood would kill him, and I didn’t get a chance to tell him how I felt about him.

  I stroked his hair from his clammy forehead and moved him closer to be next to Lexi because I knew he was in love with her. He would do this for her, exchange his life for hers because he loved her so deeply. Ranger’s eyes went to Galen then to me, his mouth opened slightly before he gave me a sad smile. And that was when I realized that Ranger had put two and two together.

  “Galen,” I whispered into his ear. He started to move more. How long did venom take to kill a vampire? I had never seen this before. Galen was the second vampire I had ever known.

  “Galen, how do you feel?” Jett asked as he came over and wiped his mouth with a cloth and tried to make him look more like the Galen we all knew. If he was going to die, he would die in my arms beside Lexi, looking like the Galen I fell in love with years ago. Not wanting to know how he got those scars, I pulled his sleeve down over his
wrist. It wasn’t like I would be able to ask him about it anyway.

  Lexi started to stir. She groaned and grabbed her leg where she had been bitten, then reached up to her neck.

  “Shh, shh… Don’t strain yourself, you are here with us. You are going to be fine,” Ranger whispered gently. Her eyes fluttered open and blinked a few times, trying to focus.

  “Lexi?” Galen croaked out. She slowly turned her head toward him and her nose crinkled up.

  “Galen,” her voice was dry and rough, “what… Ouch!” Her hand flew to her neck. “You bit me.” No one said anything as she turned to Ranger. “You bit me?”

  He shook his head. I could see he was still holding back his anger from his packmate. I know why Callum did this; I heard Ranger tell him that they wouldn’t be packmates anymore and he was angry at Ranger. But this was going too far. Lexi did nothing to deserve this.

  “It wasn’t me, Lex, it was Callum,” he explained. Galen reached over to her and placed his hand on her neck. He seemed to be a little stronger as he pulled himself up to go to her.

  “Callum bit you, he tried to turn you. I had to bite you to save you.”

  I could see the words roll over in her head. She tried to sit up, but the boys wouldn’t let her. Eventually, Father told them to help her. They sat her up; she was a little dizzy but once she settled, she smiled softly.

  “I got bitten twice… You drank my blood? And now you’re being all cozy, lovey with my Maverick?” I could hear the teasing in her voice and some chuckles from Jett and Ranger. I had a feeling Lexi didn’t know what he meant by that, drinking her venom filled blood.

  “Do you remember the venom thing, Lex? Vampires die if bitten by a shifter… or if they ingest it. He just sucked the venom out of your body.” When Ranger finished, she started to sob. Her hands reached out to touch Galen, to stroke his face, his curls.

  “Is that true?” Everyone nodded. “But why? When you knew it would kill you?”

  We all knew why, anyone of us would do the same.

  “Because I wanted to eat my piece of cake, too.” He chuckled at her, smiled, then made a pained groan. We all froze. Lexi moved in, Ranger and Raff holding her, and she swept back the curls on Galen’s face and pressed her lips softly to his.

  “I love you, Galen,” she whispered. “How did I taste?”

  Galen chuckled and took her hand in his. “Lexi, you tasted just like… heaven.”

  The end

  . . . of book one

  Also by Belle Harper

  PRE ORDER BLOOD MOON NOW

  Galen is dying, there is war brewing and Lexi is caught right in the middle.

  Can she save the packs, and the people she has come to call family and friends.

  Is she the cure they have all been looking for or the destruction that will end them.

  ** Pre order Date is set at 30th July, This is not the intended release date and is only there as a buffer during the current world crisis. (I can move pre orders to release early but not push them back if needed.)

  Mid June 2020 is the intended release date.**

  Buy it Here

  My name is Luna.

  I applied to a job ad that sounded too good to be true.

  It was!

  I'm being sent to an Alien Planet to marry an Alien guy with four-arms.

  But now I'm here, I just found out I'm getting FIVE Alien husbands not one.

  This was not what I applied for.

  But one of the Alien guys broke my Translator and things are about to get messy.

  Luna Touched is the first in a series of standalone books. This book is Reverse Harem. Sexy Aliens with four-arms and tails... what more could you want?

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you Readers for taking a chance on Twice Bitten.

  It truely means so much to me.

  If you have a chance, would you please consider leaving a review? All reviews, good and bad help other readers find their next book. And I am very grateful to all the reviews I have received.

  I want to thank my amazing PA Andi Jeffree, you keep me on track and help me from going doing the social media worm holes that are puppy videos. Thank you for all that you do.

  I want to thank Patricia At, who was a great help with climate in Washington state, high school themes and every other silly question I asked you, you were so happy to answer and I thank you for that.

  I also want to thank the amazing and talented Author Sam Hall for her sanity saving messages, and the friendship. You are the best, and everyone should read your books!!!

  About the Author

  Belle is an Artist, Author, Wife and Mother.

  She has an addiction to reading, notebooks, coloured pens and mint chocolate. She lives in the beautiful Australian bush, surrounded by wildlife and the smell of eucalyptus trees.

  She also has a strong love for all 60’s music, believes she was born in the wrong era and should have been at Woodstock.

  If you would like to find out more about Belle, please come like and follow her:

  Click Here to Like Belle’s Facebook Page

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  www.authorbelleharper.com