Claimed by the Wolf Read Online Free PDF Page A

of awareness.
    The choice was taken from her when another dose of something was injected into her veins. Beth didn’t just slip away from the shore—she rocketed out into the black space beyond the sea where the skyline met the horizon.
    Among all the black, a woman rocked gently in time with the waves in a hand-carved chair. Her white hair fell long and silky around her in pools of clouds.
    “Come closer, child.”
    Beth knew she was dreaming, but she couldn’t resist creeping closer to the woman. In her hands, she used strands of her white hair to knit the most ornate webs, like a spider. Rather than being frightened, Beth was intrigued.
    “Closer.” The woman reached out and draped a veil of the webbing over her. “There. As it should be.”
    “Zoranna?”
    “That’s Grandmother to you, little one.” She smiled, the lines of her face changing just like the sand on a beach—ebbing and flowing with the tide.
    After what she’d read about the Gypsies and their powers, she knew this was no dream. It was a visitation. Sorrow, joy, guilt and hope all welled up together in a bittersweet brew.
    “Everything shall be fine, child. You’ll see. Only now you must be strong. Stronger than you’ve ever been before. This is the last of my magic, and Stefan will ascend to my place. He will need you.”
    Zoranna faded, and with her, the dark. Everything grew brighter, louder, until she found herself staring into what seemed like a spotlight, until it, too, faded and was nothing more than a sodium light inside a terrarium.
    The terrarium looked just like the one at Blue Ridge.
    “Where am I?” she mumbled as she attempted to orient herself.
    “Can’t you guess? Another Aeternali research facility,” Stefan supplied.
    “How long was I out?”
    “Two days. They hit you pretty hard with that stuff, but you kept fighting.”
    She struggled to sit up and realized she was wearing only his T-shirt. It comforted her and irritated her at the same time. “They couldn’t be bothered to give me any of my own clothes?”
    “No. Apparently they want to see what it will take for you to mark me. How long you’ll resist and if my blood will neutralize the infection like my sister’s did.”
    Her head felt like someone was using it as a bongo. “What?”
    “I only overheard part of the conversation. Enough to know that Luka Stanislav wiped out the infected in Europe, but that he was infected, too. My sister cured him. They want to know if my blood can cure you,” he spat.
    She wrapped her arms around his neck and settled into his lap, close to his ear so that she could speak without anyone else hearing. Beth kept waiting for him to push her away, but he didn’t. So she whispered, “I don’t know how they’re managing to keep us here or what they’ve done to your magic, but none of that crap works on an Adam, right?”
    His hand slid down to her hip and Stefan pulled her more tightly against him. “It shouldn’t. There is no magic on earth that will hold an Adam, although Luka is an Adam and the virus infected him.” Even as he finished his sentence, she could see awareness dawn on his face as to why she was asking about the powers of an Adam—as he realized his grandmother was gone.
    Her mouth was dry and she couldn’t find any more words to express what he already knew. Their eyes met, and the blossoming sorrow in his spoke volumes.
    “Did she come to you?”
    “I’m sorry, Stefan.”
    The collar around her neck came alive and hit her with fifty thousand volts. Every muscle flexed and strained as the electricity pulsed through her. Her teeth clenched together and her body spasmed.
    “No whispering, you two. Out loud so the whole class can hear.” A voice echoed over an intercom system.
    “I’m going to kill you,” Stefan said conversationally.
    “See that you try, Princeling. Zoranna will have to find you first, and you’ll be long dead by then. That pretty girl you’re holding is going to tear out your