With a choked sob, Zeke crossed the final steps that took him to the warlock’s side. Dropping to his knees, he reached out with a trembling hand to touch Ethan’s shoulder. Fuck! He was so cold. When Zeke strained his vampire ears, he detected a heartbeat coming from the man. It was weak and slow, but it was still there.
“Ethan.” Zeke wasn’t surprised to hear how rough his voice was. He gently rolled the warlock over and let out a moan. The once soft, caring face was now a mess. Zeke caressed Ethan’s swollen jaw as he fought back tears. A pair of thick handcuffs were around the warlock’s wrists, the skin around the steel bands raw and bleeding. Zeke lamented that he didn’t have a key to take them off so he could at least give Ethan that comfort. He gazed down at him and begged, “Please, wake up.”
Ethan responded, his eyelids fluttering open to reveal his green eyes.
Zeke sucked in a breath when he saw how haunted the man’s gaze was—how devoid of hope.
“Zeke?” Ethan whispered, sounding perplexed. “Am I dreaming again?”
“No.” Zeke shook his head as he continued to caress the man’s face. “I’m really here.”
“Why?” Ethan sounded so bewildered that someone would actually come for him.
Zeke wanted to cry and then kick someone’s ass. “You didn’t think we would leave you here, did you?” He cradled Ethan in his arms, being careful not to jostle him too much.
“Yeah, I did.”
His answer was so simply there was no doubt that he had. The warlock took in a rattling breath, the sound making a surge of panic rise in Zeke. No, he can’t die now. Not when we found him and this is all behind him. “Of course we came for you.” Zeke held him closer, blood getting all over his clothes and body armor. “I will always come when you’re in trouble.”
“Oh my Goddess,” Morgan cried from the door. She was pale with shock, her eyes bright with tears and rage as she looked at her childhood friend. She came over and knelt on the other side of the warlock, her hand coming out to tenderly touch the various wounds.
“Shouldn’t have come,” Ethan rasped, his breathing getting even harsher.
“Why would you say that? We love you,” she cried, tears falling down her cheeks.
“It’s a waste. I’m already dead.”
He said something else so low that Zeke couldn’t hear.
Morgan leaned down, her ear nearly to the warlock’s moving lips.
“What did he say?” Zeke asked, his throat thick with emotion.
“That it’s okay we came because at least now, he doesn’t have to die alone,” she sobbed.
“He doesn’t have to die at all,” Zeke snarled as he clutched Ethan tight to his chest. “You’re a witch, use magic to make him better.”
“I can’t,” Morgan’s voice cracked with helplessness. “They didn’t just take his blood, but something ripped his magic from him. There’s not enough left of him to save.”
“Ethan told me about that once.” Zeke swallowed hard. “He said it hurts bad to have that happen.”
“It was Davis, my old master when I lived at the Nine,” Ethan gasped out. The Nine were the most vile and evil dark wizard coven and that had been where Olivia had sent Ethan as a child for training.
“Where is he now?” Zeke demanded, a killing fury going through him. He didn’t care how powerful this dick was, when he found him, that wretched warlock was going to die in the most painful way possible.
“He left after he was done with me. Once he had my magic, I was no further use to him so he gave me to the vampires for blood,” Ethan’s eyes rolled briefly into the back of his head before he focused again. “Don’t worry though. I didn’t tell him where the sunlight grenades were. I would never give you guys up.”
“I know you didn’t.”
“No, I mean it,” Ethan continued, his face earnest and desperate. “I would never betray the clan. Please, tell me you believe that.”
“I believe it with all my heart.”
“Did Misty make it back okay?” Ethan’s voice was starting to get weak again.
Zeke could hear the warlock’s heart faltering. “Yes, she’s safe.”
“Then…it….was…all….worth…it,” Ethan labored between breaths. His eyes fluttered back and this time, they didn’t go back into focus again. Zeke put his hand on his chest, felt the warlock’s heart beat one, twice and then no more.
“No, don’t do this to me,” Zeke pleaded as he gently shook Ethan. The warlock’s head lolled to the side and his eyes glazed over, the life in them forever gone. He still shook the male again, this time harder. “Don’t die on me, damn it.”
“Zeke, stop,” Morgan cut in. “He’s gone, there’s nothing we can do.”
At that moment, Zeke realized there was something he could do. Running the edge of his tongue along one of his fangs, he mentally kicked himself for not thinking of it sooner. Sure, it was going to get him into some trouble, but he would do anything to save Ethan—even turn him into something he’d learned to hate—a vampire.
“You can’t be serious?” Morgan stammered, somehow catching on to what he was planning.
“If anyone deserves a second chance, it’s him,” Zeke argued, his fangs growing larger in preparation.
“We don’t even know if he’ll survive the transformation.” Her eyes were so large with fright it might have been comical in a different situation.
“No, we don’t know, but I’m not going to let that stop me from trying.”
“Do it,” a voice croaked from the door.
Zeke turned and saw it was Kavan. He’d pulled his warlock hood down, his face twisted with grief. They locked gazes.
The male mouthed, please.
Zeke nodded before he turned his attention back to Ethan. Baring his fangs with a hiss, he lowered his head and slowly sank them into the warlock’s flesh.
Chapter Three
The last time Zeke had drank for Ethan, the warlock’s blood was rich and full of magical energy. Now it was thin and bitter tasting, since the life and magic were gone. He swallowed just enough to make a blood exchange before he pulled back and took a dagger from his pocket. Making a deep gash along his own wrist, Zeke pressed the bleeding wound to Ethan’s slack lips. “Please, babe” he urged. “Drink. Take it all if you have to, just come back.” Despite his pleas, Ethan remained still, his eyes fixed and dilated, his heart silent. The sound of pounding footsteps made Zeke jerk up his head. Rafe came running in, Dante and Kane at his heels. The vampire skidded to a stop, letting out a cry of grief. “We didn’t make it in time.”
“Damn it!” Zeke snapped. “I’m not giving up on him and you better not either. Now get your ass over here and help me bring him back.”
“Holy fuck!” Dante breathed. “Are you doing what I think?”
“Yes, and if you have a problem with it, then get the hell out. If not, then come help.”
Dante nodded before he grabbed Rafe and urged him over to Ethan.
“Talk to him,” Zeke ordered. “You’re his brother and he may respond to that.”
“There’s a good chance he won’t respond because he doesn’t want to come back this way,” Rafe said bleakly as he dropped to his knees. “Even though she’s agreed to work with the Drones, Olivia hates all vampires and sees us as half-human. The stigma may be too much for him to live with.”
“Try anyhow.” Zeke squeezed his wound, forcing more blood down Ethan’s slack throat. Most of it ended up trickling out of the side of the warlock’s mouth and mixing with the stains already on the floor.
Rafe and Morgan started murmuring encouraging words to Ethan, pleading with him. Zeke could smell and hear the flames coming closer and knew they were running out of time. With each passing second, the despair in his heart grew. The weight of guilt grew heavy as he remembered how he’d left things between him and Ethan. The hurt on the warlock’s face when Zeke had pushed him away. He would have given anything to take it all back.
Quick like a gunshot, Et
han’s hands shot up and grabbed Zeke’s wrist. The handcuffs on the male’s arms rattling as he fought to get closer to the cut.
Zeke almost shouted in relief when he felt Ethan’s mouth sucking, taking in deep draws of blood. “That’s it,” Zeke urged with a laugh of pure joy. “Take all you need.”
Ethan opened his eyes, shifted his now sharp gaze over to Zeke, a question clearly there.
“I had no choice,” Zeke replied. “You would be dead if I hadn’t.”
“Ethan, it’s going to be okay,” Rafe soothed. “Now that I’ve got you back, I’m never going to let you get hurt again.”
Ethan pulled his lips away, his teeth coated with blood as he turned to look at Rafe. “I didn’t think you would come for me.”
“Why?” Rafe’s voice broke.
“Because Mom wouldn’t have. You don’t risk many to save just one.”
“You do if you love them,” Rafe said, his eyes growing moist with unshed tears. “The day I found out you were my brother was the last day you walked alone.”
Ethan opened his mouth to reply, but let out a loud scream of pain instead. “Oh fuck, that hurts!” he yelled.
“It’s the transformation,” Dante informed, his eyes grim. “We need to evacuate you now and get you back to the infirmary. Doc will have some drugs to help you through the worst of the pain.”
A big fat lie. No matter how many drugs they pumped into him, the change was going to hurt like a son of a bitch.
Morgan leaned forward to touch the handcuffs. “Let me take these off him first, I can use my magic to open the locks.”
“Don’t,” Dante ordered sharply. “I’ve never seen a warlock go through a transformation and we have no idea how violent he’ll get. It’s safer for all of us to keep him contained as much as possible.”
Even though the protective side of Zeke wanted to argue that one, he nodded his consent. Deep down, he knew Dante had a very valid point. He stood up so he could help lift Ethan and a wave of dizziness hit him so hard, he would have fallen if Kavan hadn’t reached out to steady him.
“How much blood did you give him?” Rafe asked.
“Like I said, as much as he wanted,” Zeke replied, his voice sounding funny, even to his own ears. The room tilted and spun, right before another spell of vertigo slammed into him. This time a blanket of darkness followed it.
Dimly he heard Kavan let out a curse, Ethan’s screams of pain and then the loud thud as he passed out.
* * * *
Pain sliced through Ethan’s body. It was relentless, never ending and worse than anything he’d ever felt—even when they’d been torturing him. He let out a scream that sounded animalistic, feral and so inhuman it scared him.
What in the fuck is going on? The last thing he clearly remembered was Zeke holding him. Then a sense of peace had enveloped him as he faded. Now he was awake and in agony. He felt his body jostled around so he forced his eyes open to see why. He was on a stretcher of sorts and familiar faces hovered over him—Rafe, Dominic, Morgan and Ethan’s friends from his coven.
“Rafe?” Ethan rasped, hoping the way he said the name would let his brother know all the questions he wanted to ask, but couldn’t due to twisting pain his gut.
“It’s going to be okay,” Rafe assured in a panicked voice that did nothing to sooth Ethan. “You’re going to get through this. I’ll help you every step of the way.”
Get through what? Then Ethan noticed, with horrifying clarity, the metallic, yet sweet taste of blood still lingering in his mouth. In a flash, he recalled grabbing onto Zeke’s arm and drinking deeply. How good it had tasted even though it should have revolted him.
Zeke had saved him, but in order to do so, he’d turned him into a vampire. Ethan let out another yell, this one partly from pain and partly from fear. They were walking out of the house, bright orange flames surrounding them and the fire echoed the emotions surging inside him. Did he really want this? It may have been better for everyone had Zeke just left him dead.
“Zeke!” he wailed, more in need than anger. He had some desperate need to see the vampire, to hold him and to…oh Goddess…to feed from him again. What kind of monster was he turning into?
Luckily, he didn’t have to voice that need since Rafe knew what he needed. Never breaking stride, the vampire bit his own wrist and pressed it to Ethan’s mouth. His blood tasted different then Zeke’s. Where Zeke had tasted sweet and dark, Rafe’s blood had a wild zing that must come from his mixed magical heritage. Ethan decided he liked the taste of Zeke better.
That still didn’t stop him from latching on and drinking hard. He even let out a savage snarl and sank his new fangs into Rafe, wanting the blood to flow stronger. Rafe grunted in pain, but didn’t object.
The blood helped ease the pain in his body, but as soon as Rafe pulled away so they could load Ethan into the back of an ambulance, it came back in full force. He reached out blindly for a replacement and grabbed the first warm body he found. It was Dante, who must have jumped inside to help. He didn’t fight Ethan’s hold.
“Easy there, big guy,” the vampire rolled up his sleeve. “We’ve got you.”
Ethan bared his fangs with a hiss and bit Dante’s wrist.
“Fuck!” Dante grimaced. “Vicious little thing, aren’t you?”
Since his mouth was busy, Ethan tired to set up a mental link with the vampire so he could ask where Zeke was. As one of the few warlocks who had telepathic abilities, he should have been able to connect easy. All he found was a blank space, as if the skill he’d had since a kid eluded him.
Oh yeah, he couldn’t do that anymore because the Nine had sucked his magic out of him. How could he have forgotten that? Just thinking about his lost magic, made a hollow ache develop in his chest. He had lost everything he’d ever known and held dear about himself and now he was being reborn into something new and terrifying. Closing his eyes against the despair, he withdrew into unconsciousness.
* * * *
Zeke woke up feeling like he was suffering from the hangover of his life, which said a lot since when he’d been a human, he’d had some wild nights. Sitting up, he moaned and held his head in his hands when his brain screamed at the sudden movement.
Blinking against the harsh light, he realized he was in the clan infirmary. It was busy so nobody paid any attention to him as the staff rushed around. Most of the activity seemed focused on one corner of the room and he was ready to mark it as none of his business until he heard someone yelling. Although the words were garbled and not understandable, he would recognize the voice anywhere.
Ethan!
A surge of fierce protectiveness went through Zeke and he got to his feet, despite the pounding in his head. Shouldering his way through the crowd, he rushed toward the screams. An IV pole came flying his way, making him pause long enough to duck so he didn’t take a hit to his skull.
Ethan was in the center of a group of vampires and it was clear he was out of his mind, yelling in some language Zeke didn’t understand. A string of words would burst from his lips before he would grab his head in his hands and let out loud screams. He repeated the wrenching cycle until Zeke couldn’t take it anymore and pushed closer.
Dante stepped in and placed a hand on Zeke’s chest, stopping him. “I don’t think you going to him is a good idea right now. He’s already out of control. If he sees you, it might get even worse since a fledgling’s reaction to their sire is always strong.”
“Why is he still suffering so much?” Zeke asked.
Ethan let out another primitive screech as he threw a heart monitor. The handcuffs were still on his wrists, but the heavy chain that had been connecting them were broke.
Shit, had he snapped the chain in half?
“Doc says it’s because it’s not natural to turn a warlock like you did.” Dante winced when Ethan turned and punched a hole in the thick wall. “Ouch, he’s going to feel that in the morning.”
“But Rafe is mixed and he’s okay.”
&n
bsp; “First off, it’s a big question mark on the whole Rafe-is-okay thing,” Dante drawled sarcastically. “I mean if you spent more than ten minutes with him you’ll agree with me on that. Second, Rafe was born that way, where as you turned an adult warlock. It’s never been successfully done before.”
“Why not? What happened to them?” Zeke let out a ragged sigh as he watched Rafe and Dominic try to get close enough to take Ethan down.
Ethan roared in anger as he threw more medical equipment at them.
“The magic in their body doesn’t take kindly to our DNA invading it and it turns on itself, making the warlock go mad and then they die.” Dante stared over at the chaos. The usual cocky look on his face was gone, replaced by a bleak mask.
“But I thought Morgan said they drained all his magic from him.” Zeke allowed himself to feel a bit of hope that maybe this could all work out after all.
“True, but that still doesn’t make him human and no matter what, there will always be some magic in him. Even if it’s just a tiny spark that he can’t tap into.”
Ethan started screaming in that strange language again. Whatever he was saying was so pitiful and forlorn sounding that Zeke’s heart shattered. He let out a growl as he struggled to get past Dante. “Let me go to him.”
“You can’t. For all we know he may want to rip your throat apart for what you did. You need to get out of here and go back to bed,” Dante ordered as he grabbed Zeke by the arm and held tight.
“I’m not going anywhere. He’s mine!” Zeke roared.
The entire room grew quiet at his outburst. Even Ethan grew silent. The warlock whipped his head to the side and sniffed the air, like he’d picked up an interesting scent. A slow, wicked smile spread out over his face, making him look feral and seductive at the same time.
Saved by Love's Blood Page 3
