Quinn's Undying Rose (Scanguards Vampires #6) by Tina Folsom Read Free Book Online

throat was a helpless gurgle.
    “Don’t talk. Just listen to me. I can save your life. But it will be different. You will only walk in the shadows, and the thirst for blood will be unbearable at first. But you’ll be alive, strong, almost invincible. And immortal.”
    The words were outrageous, unbelievable. But Wallace looked serious.
    “And if I say yes . . . if I agree, what do you want for this life?”
    Nothing was free. He’d learned that long ago.
    “A place to call home.”
    “I have a small estate  . . .  ”
    Wallace nodded his head. “That will do for now.” He crouched down. “When your heartbeat becomes so faint that it is barely there, I will feed you my blood.”
    It was all Quinn remembered until he came to the next night. There was no pain, only the thirst for blood. The battlefield provided all the nourishment he needed.
    He was different now, human no longer. But one thing that hadn’t changed was his love for Rose. With Wallace’s skill of mind control, a skill Quinn himself had yet to master, he secured an honorable discharge, which allowed him to return to England. Their travels were fraught with difficulties, since they could only travel at night and had to hide during the day. However, the need to see Rose, made everything bearable.
    But Rose . . . she hadn’t loved him enough to see past what he was, what he had become to survive. He’d done it all so he could come back to her. And it was all for naught. Had he known, he would have chosen death instead.
    Quinn hugged Oliver tighter, pumped his fist harder to make the blood spurt from his open wrist with more pressure. A moment later, Oliver stopped swallowing, his head rolling to the side.
    Quinn’s heart stopped. Had Oliver had enough blood? Should he force him to take more?
    He licked his own wrist to allow his saliva to close the puncture wounds then reached for the cell phone in his pocket. He speed dialed.
    “Hey, can’t get enough of us, can you?” came Zane’s voice from the other end of the line.
    “I need you now. I—”
    “Whoa! I’m not sure Portia will like that kind of—”
    “We had an accident,” Quinn interrupted, breathing hard. “Oliver’s dying. I’m turning him. I need help.”
    Instantly, Zane’s voice was all business. “Where are you?”
    “On Highway 1, about five minutes south of you. Use the GPS tracker.”
    “On my way.”
    The line went dead, and Quinn tossed the phone to the ground. The next few minutes felt like hours. Hours in which his entire life seemed to replay before his eyes. Was this what he wanted for Oliver? The same debauched life he’d led, all because the woman he’d loved with all his heart hadn’t loved him back? What was in store for Oliver? Would he be rejected too?
    Oliver was still in his arms. He neither stirred nor moaned. Quinn put his fingers to his neck. No pulse. It could mean one of two things: the turning had started, or he was already dead. There was no way of telling.
    With his thumb, he pried an eyelid away from his eye to look at the boy’s iris. It was still the way a human’s eye looked. During the turning, it would turn entirely black, leaving not a single spec of white until the process was finished. But so far, the tell-tale black color was nowhere to be seen.
    Quinn felt his hand shake. What if it didn’t work? Or was it not meant to? What if Oliver wasn’t meant to survive? Maybe it was better this way, better that he wouldn’t be subjected to a life in the darkness. But who was he to judge? He wished he knew what Oliver wanted. But he’d never made the effort to really get to know him. After all, he’d only met him on a few occasions, and during most of those, Oliver had stuck to Samson and Zane, who he seemed to idolize.
    Screeching tires and the beam of headlights alerted him that he wasn’t alone anymore. Quinn turned his head and saw Zane’s Hummer arrive behind the crashed SUV. From it jumped two people: Zane and Amaury.
    Quinn