by Sarah Makela
“Why should we trust you?” I hissed.
A loud bang echoed in the alleyway, and I jerked to the side as a bullet narrowly missed us. “Fine, but don’t give me a reason to tear your heads from your shoulders.”
“This is a waste of time,” the second vampire said. He ran off, his steps swift and light as he headed south, to the area of town where werewolves frequently resided.
“We’ll follow you,” I said, looking down at Carmela. A shard of glass stuck out from her foot, and she bit her lower lip to keep from making any more sounds.
I easily kept pace with the two vampires as we nearly flew through the night, much faster than what the Cazador could manage. Filthy humans. They hadn’t been able to assault us; we’d been lucky this time.
The loud bang of gunfire startled me. Carmela looked over my shoulder with wide eyes. The bullet whipped through the air, and I yelled as my knees gave way and Carmela spilled from my arms. I reached for her, desperate to keep her safe.
The vampire from earlier grabbed Carmela, while the other one pulled me into his arms and kept moving. My hackles rose at being touched by him, but there was nothing I could do. For some reason they’d decided to help us.
“Lycanthropes. You’re just not as quick as we are,” the vamp carrying me said.
CHAPTER FIVE
Derek
Pain tightened Carmela’s face. Something about her made me want to cradle her close and not let go. What was I doing? I’d gotten Elliot involved in all of this, and he was a senior High Council member now.
I could detach from my feelings and tell myself that advising Lord Prescott and the High Council about uniting the nocturnal community was a matter of politics and smart thinking. But holding Carmela close and breathing in her scent, I knew this was more personal than I’d convinced myself.
Perhaps Elliot was right. Was I doing this for a chance at being with Carmela? I didn’t know.
Elliot stood beside me with the werewolf flung over his shoulder. He held the male like a sack of potatoes rather than a vicious beast in human form. Then again, there wasn’t any difference between the person Elliot carried and the one I held. After all, if I fought for equality among the races, and for the community to come together, how could I act untoward to her future mate?
I saw how close they were earlier, how he’d positioned his hand on Carmela’s shoulder possessively. But I didn’t have any right to think I could stake a claim. Our people would kill us if we were found out. Besides, she seemed pretty content with him.
My heart didn’t feel the same way, however. For the first time in a long time, I wanted to do something utterly senseless.
We lost the Cazador as Elliot and I ran at our true speeds. The hunters probably weren’t used to dealing with vampires as old as we were. Humans didn’t have the ability to detect the dark blur of shadow that vampires encased ourselves in. Precision shooting wasn’t their strong point, either. The young vamp had ended up dead only due to his own stupidity and apparent desire to show off.
Prescott wouldn’t like that news, especially after his speech tonight. Poor Elliot. He’d have to report what he’d seen.
I hated the idiocy our younger kin showed when they fooled around with the Cazador. What the vampire had done during that chase decreased our population at a time when we needed our numbers.
We slowed down when we were far enough away. An older warehouse loomed above us, looking like a good place to rest. The building probably hadn’t seen use in several years. Elliot and I laid our werewolves on the concrete floor.
I knelt beside Carmela, staring at the blood as it dripped from her foot. I lifted her ankle slightly, noting the way her dress shifted. Her white, lacy panties caught my eye, and lust warmed my veins, sending blood to my groin. Clearing my throat, I refocused my gaze on the glass embedded in her foot.
“What are you doing, vampire?” the male werewolf spoke up. His gaze locked on mine without fear, even though I had more power here.
“I have medical expertise. I used to be a doctor as a human. I can help her, and you, if you’ll let me.” My voice was low and calm. The last thing I needed was to pick a fight with an injured werewolf. That would not only cause him more anger and stress, but he might feel obligated to protect his soon-to-be mate and push his body beyond the restraints of pain. That would do neither of us any good.
“Just chill out, please. Brendan, they probably wouldn’t have saved us from the hunters to make us into a snack,” Carmela kept her gaze on me before shifting it to her foot.
Grinning, Elliot circled us, keeping just out of Brendan’s reach. “A snack... Now that’s a tempting offer. Sadly, I’ve already eaten for the night. Maybe we’ll have to reschedule for some other time.” For someone who didn’t favor the nocturnal community coming together, Elliot certainly seemed to be taking this situation in stride.
Brendan watched Elliot, a feral snarl rumbling in his chest. “Don’t even think about it, vampire.” At least it took his attention off Carmela and me for a moment.
“I need something to stem the blood flow after I pull the shard of glass from your foot.” I looked around the room, unsurprisingly not finding a first aid kit, or even anything clean. I stood, ready to rip off a section of my shirt.
Carmela opened her mouth to respond, but Brendan answered first. “Here. Use this.” He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. It was stark white, soft, and made from fine linen. It had a golden B.K. embroidered on it. It was obviously expensive, and yet he was so eager to give it up for her.
“Thank you.” I accepted the handkerchief and tucked it in my pocket to keep it from touching the dirty floor. My fingertips brushed the edges of the glass, and Carmela pulled her foot away from me. “Stop moving around, C...” I cursed myself. If I used her name, I’d strike up suspicion with her mate and Elliot. “Keep still. If I don’t get this glass out, you won’t heal properly.”
“It hurts,” she said. Apparently, no one had caught my near-slip. Carmela closed her eyes and bit her lip, holding in the pain.
Elliot knelt beside me and grabbed her shin, holding her leg firmly.
Her eyes snapped open. She flailed her arm, and this made me happy I’d ended up binding the other one to her torso so well. Her panic spread through room, and Brendan growled, crawling closer to her. He caught her free arm, entwining his fingers with hers. The intimate act spurred jealousy in me; it took all I had not to pry their hands apart. “Just relax and let them take out the glass.” Brendan slid his other hand through her caramel-colored hair. “Everything’s going to be fine. I’m here.”
I tugged the glass free—maybe a little harder than I needed to—and placed it in my back pocket. She yelped, and the wolf grunted, presumably from her white-knuckled grip on his hand. I barely restrained my smile. With the shard out, I tied the handkerchief around her foot to help stanch the bleeding. It wouldn’t do much, but it’d be enough to help her get home and seen by a doctor. I moved away from her, uncomfortable with the way she held Brendan’s hand but kept her gaze on me. “There, you should be fine soon.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” Brendan sat up a little more, clenching his teeth against the agony of his wounds. “She was shot the other day, I presume with silver. That might explain why her skin didn’t heal around the glass. Her body may be too overloaded to heal with ease.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he jammed a fist against his forehead.
Carmela raised her eyebrows at Brendan but stroked his arm, trying to soothe him. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. I shouldn’t have given that information to them. They’re our enemy.”
She jerked away from him. “Enemy? They just helped us.”
I glanced over at Elliot, who was perched on an old crate. “Fun evening, huh?” He shrugged his shoulders, looking amused by the bickering wolves.
Pushing aside their arguing, I studied Carmela’s body. I’d removed the bullet from her shoulder a few days ago, and while she’d b
een shot with silver, I did find it odd that she still wore the brace. Hadn’t she shifted yet? What was her doctor thinking, allowing her to stay in human form instead of forcing her to shift?
But what did I know? Her doctor had studied their physiology and healing rates, unlike me, who only knew about them from books and gossip.
After waiting for a few moments, I cleared my throat. “If you two would stop for a moment,” I said, ready for the night to be over. Trying to pretend like I didn’t know her and being with her almost-mate set me on edge. “I’m sure she’ll heal when she shifts.”
I glanced between the two wolves. Since I’d helped Carmela, I needed to offer the same courtesy to Brendan. “Would you like me to check your wounds?” The pool of blood around him grew, and I hated to think about him getting delayed treatment. “I don’t have my tools with me, but I might be able to stem the bleeding and see what they shot you with.”
CHAPTER SIX
Brendan
I stared up at the vamp doctor, not excited about having him near me, especially while I was vulnerable. However, I felt my strength ebbing, and if I didn’t have his help then I would grow weaker, until I wasn’t able to protect Carmela at all.
I finally nodded and rolled to my stomach, giving him access to the wound on my leg. This evening was already tense from the Cazador attack, and now I was dealing with vampires. Huffing, I rested my chin on my palms and stared at the far wall, but I kept my ears alert to any whisper of movement. If I needed to defend us, I would, injuries be damned.
“Calm down,” Carmela said, placing her hand on my shoulder. As soon as she did, the bulk of the tension drained from my body, and I let out a deep breath. I couldn’t believe the impact she had on me already. This relationship was so much more than I’d anticipated one could be between mates.
The vampire doctor knelt near my leg, and I glanced over my shoulder. He frowned, a spark of concern lighting his eyes. I followed his gaze to the bloody mess covering the back of my pant leg. I placed my hand over Carmela’s and focused on breathing. “I’ll need to rip your pants at least to the knee for a better look.”
Stay calm. If you shift now, you’ll do more harm than good. If I accidentally hurt Carmela or even killed the vampires who’d helped us, I’d regret it. Something about those two was different from what I’d heard about the majority of their people.
“That’s fine,” I said, surprised at how calm I sounded.
The other vampire began pacing back and forth near the door as if afraid Carmela and I would bounce up and run away. Not likely.
From what I could see in the dim light, the vampire’s black eyes burned with hunger. He paused as he looked at me, then continued pacing.
“Don’t worry about Elliot. The blood is calling to him. He’ll be fine.” The vamp doctor still looked composed, but his movements were jerkier than they’d been with Carmela, as if he had to restrain himself more now.
“Fine. Just do what you have to do.” I only hoped I didn’t regret saying that. “It hurts like hell.” I ground my teeth, feeling my body tense up again as he placed his hands on the bloody fabric. He shredded the pant leg all the way up to my thigh with one yank. I jerked, ready to fly at him and attack. A growl bubbled up from my throat, but Carmela kept her hand firmly on my shoulder. The only way I could get up was by brushing her aside and potentially hurting her, and I refused to do that. Instead, I continued growling.
“The bullet struck and tore through the muscles. Hmm... I’m not sure what they shot you with. I can’t tell without the proper equipment. However, the wound is filled with a mixture of silver and something else.” He tore the shredded pant leg off as if to make them into fancy cutoffs, then tied it around the gunshot wound. “I’m sorry I can’t be of more help. You’ll need to see someone with the proper tools, and quickly, especially with the severity of your wound.”
Elliot stopped pacing and stared between the doctor, Carmela, and me. With the wound bound, he appeared more like the vampire who’d helped me than one who wanted to feast on my blood. Good to know he hadn’t changed his mind about making us into snacks.
“Where’s your home? Your doctor needs to treat this immediately. This is like nothing I’ve ever seen.” He hesitantly wiped his bloody hands on his black jeans, and I wondered for a moment if he’d wanted to lick them clean.
That thought set me on edge, so I pushed it away.
“Why should I tell you where I live?” I rolled—albeit a little awkwardly—onto my back. Intense pain from my leg left me staring up at the ceiling. Breathe in, breathe out. “How do I know you won’t attack me or send your people after my family?” If he did, I knew where he lived, so I could easily retaliate. But if he was right, and I suspected he was, then I needed to trust them.
“For the same reason you won’t attack me after having discovered where I reside.” He narrowed his eyes at me, but his attention wandered for the briefest of moments to Carmela before looking back at me.
The need to protect her rose in my chest, but I couldn’t help wondering if there was something here that I didn’t know about. Why else would he have helped us so selflessly? “Fine. I’ll keep quiet.”
He nodded to Carmela. “What about her? She’ll need treatment too.”
I forced myself into a sitting position, regardless of the pain. “She’ll go with me.” Wrapping my arm around Carmela’s waist, I pulled her closer. Maybe I was being territorial or whatever, but she was promised to me. Mine. I told them where to take us.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Carmela
Brendan’s hand on my waist both soothed and unnerved me. Maybe he’d caught the way Derek looked at me, or perhaps it was just his way of being a macho male werewolf. I didn’t know.
Elliot walked a few feet closer to us. “We don’t have much time. Let’s get them home.”
Frowning, I looked between the two vampires. What did he mean about not having much time? The realization struck me like a hammer to the chest. The sun. An overwhelming dread squeezed my throat until breathing became a struggle.
Father was probably furious with me. Fear and nausea roiled my stomach. Don’t give in. Keep calm. I needed to focus on my breathing with Brendan and Derek so near. When Derek touched my foot, I’d felt something beyond the pain, something that made me wonder if my feelings for him weren’t just wistful dreams after all. And his curious gaze...would it have been so bad to stay with him instead of running home?
I shoved the thought away.
Derek watched me as if he could see inside my head, but I knew that wasn’t the case. I never would’ve escaped in the first place if that were true. Oddly enough, I wasn’t scared of him. He’d had plenty of chances to use his power on me, to take my mind or drink my life’s blood. But he hadn’t.
I trusted him.
Brendan’s grip fell away, and Derek lifted me into his arms as if I weighed nothing. The vampire stole my breath, and I averted my gaze, trying to keep some semblance of distance. What I felt for Brendan was real; he was kind and caring. If he truly was the man he portrayed himself to be, then he’d be the mate I’d hoped existed. However, what I felt for him was different from what Derek stirred inside me. Brendan watched me from the floor with concern, and I couldn’t help but feel conflicted.
Glancing up at Derek, I wondered what the future I desired with him could hold. Most likely death, pain, and suffering. Neither werewolves nor vampires would ever allow us to be together. However, the relationship I’d soon be in with Brendan was arranged, and I refused to have my life dictated to me. It wasn’t rebellion, just my objection to not being given the chance to fall head over heels for someone.
Elliot hefted Brendan over his shoulder again. This time he appeared a little more careful, but Brendan went with it, even if I could hear soft growling coming from him. Elliot zipped to the door in a blur, and Derek followed. Dizziness overwhelmed my senses as wind blew my hair into my face. I could barely make out the alleyway we darted through.
Squeezing my eyes closed, I focused my thoughts on the play I’d seen with Brendan. They’d performed Romeo and Juliet. It had been breathtakingly beautiful, though entirely tragic. Taking a few breathes, I felt the nausea at the feeling of flying through the air slowly dissipate. While my kind was strong, I wasn’t used to this excessive speed, and the idea of puking on Derek was embarrassing.
Without much thought, I wrapped my arms around Derek’s neck, burying my face in his chest. He stiffened at my touch before relaxing into it. Maybe my feelings weren’t one-sided. He and Elliot had helped us with the Cazador, after all.
After a few moments, Derek slowed before coming to a stop. I withdrew my face from his chest and stared at the palatial house we’d arrived at, much larger than the one my parents owned. It also wasn’t a row house but a standalone.
Surprise widened my eyes, and I glanced at Brendan in amazement. No wonder he’d been able to take me out as he had to such a fancy restaurant and the play. His family was apparently very wealthy.
With that kind of money, one wouldn’t have to worry about purchasing simple things like a new pair of shoes or good food for the table. My father was stingy; although he always used the word ‘frugal,’ I saw through his act. I knew the difference between what he said and what was true.
Elliot walked up the stairs and knocked on the door. Derek followed, closing the distance between me and Brendan. I remembered too late about my arms circling Derek’s neck.
Brendan lifted his gaze to me. The muscles in his jaw tightened as he ground his teeth, but he didn’t say a word. That startled me more than him snarling or showing his anger.
I pulled away from Derek and averted my gaze from the men. Instead, I stared straight at the lit upper window of the house.
Noises sounded inside the house, and Derek gently lowered me to the ground. Brendan didn’t get the same treatment; he grunted as his ass smacked the concrete porch. He narrowed his gaze at Elliot and snarled.
