Shattered (Book 2)

Chapter 1

Ivy

Pain. That's all I felt riding home in the front seat of Jackson's truck. My vision was blurred and sweat-soaked every inch of my body. The transformation had been worse than the first time around when I changed into a dhampir, or from what I could remember. The last moments of awareness faded after the beautiful, curly-haired boy looked at me. Yet, I was caught between familiarity and confusion when I thought of him. Now, my body felt numb and lost at the same time. Every part of me felt frozen in time as if someone was placing ice packs in every curve of my body. Lost because I had no idea if I was still in Jackson's truck or not. One minute I could hear him begging for me to hold on, the next a soft hum echoed through my eardrums. The vibration of the truck faded in and out as I got lost in the flames that were ignited inside me. My entire nervous system was shot, and my heart began to pick up speed as the sweat continued to drip down my forehead. Time became nonexistent, and with each second that passed, I started to feel parts of me slip under.

"Ivy! We're home!"

Home. What a funny word.

"Oh, Ivy, my sweet baby. I've missed you so much," an unfamiliar voice said. Strange. Since when did Jackson sound like a chick? Did I pass out in Jackson's truck? Am I dreaming? Someone touched my skin, and I screamed in pure agony.

A soft hand muffled my screams. "Ivy, I'm so sorry." Was that Jackson? The voices surrounding me began to blur together as the hellfire raged on.

"Get her inside, quick!" a female voice shouted. I couldn't keep track of who.

"Ivy, I'm going to lift you. It's going to hurt for just a second."

What was going to hurt?

Just then, my body was lifted in the air with delicate hands, hands that had a tight hold around me, which caused the pain to explode. I tried to thrash against whoever picked me up, but their grip on me tightened with each attempt from me trying to escape.

"No! Please!" Between the pain and being pinned to the person carrying me, I couldn't take it anymore. Agony welcomed me with open arms, as I began to embrace the feeling of darkness.

* * *

Ivy

I was free-falling, slowly, small stars glistened in front of my face. Did I end up in space? Strange, how peaceful falling was. Everything I felt prior was gone. The pain, sweats, the heat, all of it—gone. My mind seemed clear and at ease, which scared me. I fell for what seemed like hours, hours of not knowing if days, months, or years passed. Did I die? I thought. Deja vu crept in like a shiver from a cold winter's night when suddenly the stars around me dimmed and the air began to escape my lungs.

* * *

Jackson

I killed her, I thought. Those were the exact thoughts that seeped into my already fucked up head when Ivy collapsed after draining that stupid girl Hazel. Why did it have to be her? Not Ivy. Ivy would survive, barely, but she would. But Hazel. I thought I was doing a good job keeping them off Ivy's tail, but she'd kept printing flyers, and no matter how many times I ripped, burned, or stashed them, she would come back with more the next day. Now she's dead, and I have to explain to the Imperium Council of my mistake and somehow slip in Ivy is a full-fledged vampire.

I sat at the edge of the bed Noella placed Ivy on and watched her sweat through every piece of clothing that clung to her fragile body, blood from Hazel still smeared all over the front of her sweatshirt. I respected her too much to remove her clothes to change into new ones.