Shattered (the Spellbound Series Book 2) by Rene Lanausse Read Free Book Online

washed. This is my favorite place to be when I wake up, with my favorite person in the world. So why am I feeling so hollow?
                  Then my eyes fall upon my bandaged hand, and I remember. Nick decided to wait until last night to tell me he might have accidentally turned me into a vampire. Until I started showing signs.
                  I wriggle out of Nick’s grasp, and tiptoe into the bathroom down the hall to get a look at myself. Other than my curls looking a lot wilder than usual, there’s nothing different about my reflection. I don’t even have protruding fangs anymore, which is a relief; for some reason, they wouldn’t recede to their normal size last night. Maybe last night didn’t happen at all. Maybe it was just a dream.
                  Nick is still asleep when I return to his room, snoring softly. I’m still getting used to him doing normal things like snoring and breathing. His personality may not have changed, but he seems different. Younger, somehow. More alive, which I guess is technically true. But from what I can tell, he’s still my Nick. And hopefully, regardless of how badly he screwed me over, he always will be.
                  Part of me wants to get back in bed and pretend that everything is alright, while the rest of me wants to scream, run, punch something. Anything to distract myself from what’s going on. While I’m standing in the middle of Nick’s room conflicted, my eyes fall upon a folded scrap of paper on his bedside table that wasn’t there the night before. Normally I’d ignore it, but upon closer inspection, I notice it’s addressed to me. I pick it up, and quietly unfold it, my eyes scanning the note quickly in the early morning sunlight:
    Heather,
    I know what you are, and what you’re going through. It’s not what you think. I can explain, but for security reasons, I can’t call or visit you personally, so you’ll have to come to me. Meet me at the address below anytime before 11 a.m., and we’ll talk.
    Sen. G. Navarro
    P.S. Bring Nick if you can, I’d like to see what he’s become for myself.
                  I frown at the note in my hands. I’ve never heard of a Senator Navarro, and I’m pretty sure that there’s nothing he can tell me that I don’t already know. But all the same, I’m curious enough to consider hearing what he has to say.
                  A smart person would ignore a mysterious summons from a stranger.
                  A smart person would crumple the note and throw it away.
                  A smart person would get back in bed.
                  What I do instead is shake Nick’s shoulder roughly, and whisper, “Feel like going on a field trip?”
    ***
                  It takes a little coaxing to get Nick out of bed, but after a cup of coffee, he’s more than happy to come along for the visit to meet Navarro. We hop on the subway, and ride it downtown towards the address Navarro left us, somewhere in Gramercy. Once we’re above ground again, away from people who could hear us, Nick explains exactly who it is we’re going to visit. Apparently, Navarro is New York’s representative in the Vampire Senate of America. They come together to vote on important matters like blood distribution, how and when to enforce their own set of laws, and the proper way to deal with vampire organizations in other countries, to name a few.
                  “Why do vampires even need a senate?,” I ask.
                  Nick shrugs. “It’s just nice to be organized. Spellcasters have clans, werewolves have packs, and vampires have a senate.”
                  “Right, but the other groups don’t have a single force governing the little people. What sets vampires apart?”
                  “I don’t know. They’re practically immortal, so I guess they’ve had more time to figure