Redemption (Waking Up Dead) by April Margeson Read Free Book Online Page B

4
    My father stood up and came over to me.  The way that he was acting gave me a sense of hope that this was all over and I was going to be fine from here on out.  I was right.
    “How do you feel?” he asked.  My answer was not as prompt as he must have wanted because he dropped to the floor in front of me and put his hands on both of my cheeks.  He seemed to be looking me over to see if something was wrong, maybe I had an injury that I had not noticed yet, but I don’t feel anything.
    These new feelings that I was having about him were confusing to me.  I had a father once and he was a good man.  He loved me with all of his heart.  I had never questioned that and still nothing could make me change my mind about him. 
    I hated the fact that he was gone and I still miss him as bad as I did in the beginning.  The pain that losing him caused is something that I will never heal from.  It will always be with me as long as I lived.
    But, now, I’m here with my real father, the man that had loved me once, but had to let me go.  And from what I had seen in the time that I have spent with him, he still loves me now. 
    The question of why he had been away from my mother and I burned at my mind.
    When my mother loves someone, she loves them with everything that she has.  She is the type of person that would jump in front of a bus to save a stranger from being run over.
    There’s just so much more to this than I know and all the unanswered questions leave me searching for my true self-worth.
    “Are you okay?” he asked with worry stinging his words.
    “Yeah, I’m fine.  I think.”
    I didn’t want to let him know how much all of this was bothering me.  Any unnecessary stress that could be avoided was fine by me.
    Max let out a sigh and grabbed me.  Turning me to face him, he kissed me.  I was taken aback by his action, but I kissed him back.  This time I didn’t hold anything back. 
    It wasn’t until I heard my father clear his throat that I realized that he was still in the room with us.  When I pulled away from Max, I expected to be embarrassed by him seeing the kiss, but I wasn’t.  I felt proud and relieved that he had been able to see that I return Max’s love.
    The feeling that I had when we kissed were so much different than before.  It was stronger and passionate.  I was no longer afraid or cautious about being with him.  I no longer worried about hurting him, but his blood still screamed at me, tempting me to drink from him.
    The arranged marriage didn’t seem like it was going to be such a big thing.  I actually think that I was welcoming it now.  I want to be with him in that way.  The power of our bond was unreal.  It caused feelings inside me that I had never known before.  It was like someone had started a fire in my heart.
    “Now that all that is out of the way, would you like to know what just happened to you?” my father asked me.
    “Yes.”
    Max repositioned himself to a more appropriate distance as he shot my father an apologetic glance.  Leave it to him to be the one that was sorry for that.
    My father explained that what I was feeling had been a combination of my powers and the bond, between Max and me completing the transition.  If it had not happened all at once, it would not have been as painful as what I experienced.
    As he talked, I noticed that every thought that Max was having entered my mind as if he was speaking to me directly.  Before, I had to really concentrate on him to hear them, but now it had become as easy as breathing.  His words followed into my mind without hesitation and the sweet sound of his thoughts soothed my tension.
    He was thinking about how much he loves me and I could no longer question what I was hearing.  Every thought, every emotion was real and utterly undeniable.
    I had not noticed that Alzar had stopped talking until he called my name.  I knew that what he was trying to explain to me was extremely important, but there was just