Two Minutes (Seven Series Book 6) Read Online Free Page A

need to fix that,” Lexi murmured. She closed the door behind her and sat next to me on the edge of the bed. “Are you feeling okay?”
    “Jet lag.”
    She nodded. “Sleep all day if you want. Not to pressure you or anything, but dinner is in two hours, and we’d love for you to join us. But if you’re too tired to socialize, we’ll understand. I’ll bring you up a tray.”
    “I’ll come down.”
    “Feel free to get your bunny-slipper fix on; you know how we embrace casual wear.” Lexi patted my hip and then stared at the table beside my bed. She lifted a small toy and turned it between her fingers. “I don’t remember seeing this in here before. Is this yours?”
    I glanced at the tiny princess. “I thought I’d lost it a long time ago.”
    She set it back on the table in a pool of warm tangerine sunlight that was filtering through the window. “Are you here to stay, or are you just passing through? I know you must have a lot of friends up north from high school.”
    “I haven’t decided yet,” I said quietly. “My life is a little up in the air at the moment. I just wanted to come home and…”
    “And what?”
    “See if I still belonged, I guess.”
    Lexi brushed my hair away from my shoulder. “You’ll always belong with family. Have you thought about what we discussed on my last trip? I mean… have you given it any thought?”
    During Lexi’s visit last summer, she’d taken me out for a sisters’ day. We had lunch at a trendy café, strolled through a park, and then she sat me down to reveal a secret that shook me to my core.
    Lexi revealed that the birthmark on my shoulder blade wasn’t just a random mark; Austin had seen one exactly like it before. The pattern was the unique shape of a spade, like on a playing card. Austin told Lexi he’d met a woman with the same exact mark who’d once been a human and then became a Chitah.
    By choice.
    Chitahs were born into their Breed, couldn’t have children with humans, and certainly couldn’t turn a human into one of them. Her story seemed impossible to believe until he saw the same identical mark on me. According to the old woman, I was a Potential. Born human and would die human, but something in my genetic makeup could alter my DNA if I had sex with someone who was Breed. Supposedly I’d absorb whatever magic it was that made them a Vampire, Mage, or what have you, and I’d become that. Forever. No takebacks. Very few Breeds could turn a human into one of them, but most could not. Somehow this little spade was a trump card and would allow me to play genetic roulette.
    Lexi wanted to tell me sooner—afraid I’d accidentally sleep with someone who was Breed—but Austin had assured her he’d scouted the area and discovered I wasn’t living anywhere near Breed and that it wouldn’t pose a threat. He’d gone out of his way to locate the Breed district, and that made Lexi realize she couldn’t put off telling me any longer.
    I wasn’t sure if she wanted me to become Breed or not, but I could see she was uncertain. Even now as she looked at me, her eyes were filled with caution. The family didn’t know, and Austin said he’d never heard of a Potential before meeting the old woman.
    “Well?” she asked, nudging my hip.
    “What do you want me to say?”
    She groaned a little. “I don’t know, dammit. Something . You didn’t say anything about it when I told you, so I gave you time to think about it. You know I’d never lie to you, Maze. Not something like this. You had the right to know why we made you hide that mark all your life. I just didn’t think you were ready to handle that kind of news when you were a teenager—especially when we weren’t around. I was afraid you’d make an impulsive choice without thinking it through. But you still need to keep it hidden. You’re older, and it’s too risky to have someone recognize it. It’s a dark world we live in, and I worry about my little sis. I haven’t decided how I feel