by Anya Breton
He wasn't dead. He was damn near it. But he wasn't dead. I knew I didn't have enough juice in me to Heal something this bad and get us both out of there before the reinforcements arrived.
I needed help.
I sent enough Healing energy in him to stabilize him. In a rare bit of luck my phone had apparently fallen out of my coat onto the floor before the fireball hit, and it still worked.
I noted the missed call icon but didn't have time to check on it. My fingers scrambled to find the phone number Aiden Bruce had used to call me. He answered on the second ring, surprise coloring his velvet voice. I gave him the address and told him to get here as fast as he could. When he didn't argue or ask why, I knew I'd made the right choice.
My phone rang again while I was gnawing on my fingernail. I answered it without checking, assuming it would be Aiden.
"You will tell me what is going on, Lore." Morrígan's contralto voice was sharp over the phone. "You've drained a startling amount of energy from me. You were hurt. Tell me where you are."
My mouth formed a perfect O. How could I have forgotten about the Brand? Of course! That was why the fireballs had done nothing to me. If Morrígan were protecting me against Fire attacks then could she really be the mastermind behind all that was going wrong? I knew it was still possible but I was thinking it improbable.
I went ahead and told her, "Another of your witches was in league with whoever is doing this. A blonde. Any missing from your court?"
"Gina," she replied with a sigh. And then she returned to the third-degree. "You will tell me if you're hurt."
"I'm fine." It was the truth. The burn on my hand from holding the gun was already fading.
That reminded me to find the gun and see if it were destroyed. Before I could locate it I found something far more interesting: the cell phone the wench had been using was on the ground a few feet from her body. It would have the phone number she'd called in memory! I might be able to get some information for a change.
"She is..." Morrígan didn't finish the faux-question.
My eyes swept over the steadily disappearing body. "She's dead, priestess."
Morrígan let out a loud breath. "You are still angry with me."
My teeth set. "Now is not the time."
"Now is the perfect time," she argued. "My Brand saved you."
"That's debatable."
"From the energy you've leeched tonight I would wager you'd have been incinerated twice over, dearest. My Brand did save you and we both know it. I expect proper gratitude."
"You can take your expectation and shove it because I have more important things to do right now, like saving the life of an Alpha werewolf and tracking down who is stealing your witches out from under your nose." I angrily mashed the button to disconnect the call. That woman's priorities were seriously skewed.
I scoured the nearby room for something to wear and ended up with a cast off rain coat. Then I paced the corridor listening for any noises while trying to ignore that Morrígan's Brand had in fact saved my ass twice over. I didn't want to feel like I was in her debt. She already had too much leverage as it was.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
While I impatiently waited for my help to arrive I managed to raid the pockets of the only attacker that had any clothing left. It had been a disgusting deed considering his front was charred to a crisp. But when I lifted out a wallet from his back pocket I decided the effort was worth it.
Aiden appeared noiselessly beside me minutes later. I gasped because I'd been so deeply in my own thoughts that I hadn't so much as heard his car arrive.
"I can't lift him," I gestured toward the charred body of the Alpha. "I need to get him out of here before someone comes."
He glanced over at the pair of bodies without flinching at the state they were in. "Which one?"
I knew it was bad if Aiden couldn't scent the werewolf. "The one on the right. Can you get him to my car?"
His answer was a light, "Of course."
He lifted the Alpha up as if he weighed no more than a bag of potatoes and then darted out of the building by the back door. I followed after only to have him return for me before I'd reached the outdoors.
"Someone is pulling into the parking lot," he told me in a rapid voice. "May I?"
I didn't understand what he was asking. He didn't wait for an answer, probably because a car's headlights had nearly passed over me while I stood dumbly staring at him. To keep us both out of sight, he'd scooped me up and rushed us at an insane speed around the building, across the street and ultimately to my Mini.
I grabbed onto the car's hood with a gasp as soon as he'd set me down on my own two feet. My stomach revolted from the inhuman action it had experienced in his arms. I had no way to know how fast we'd traveled but I knew I'd never gotten that ill on a motorcycle doing eighty down the freeway.
"We need to leave in case they think to look around," Aiden told me on his way to the driver's side of the Audi he'd parked beside my car. "I will meet you at my house."
He dropped down into his car and closed the door before I could argue. It was then that I noted the Alpha limp in the passenger seat of his sports car. He wasn't going to give me any choice but to follow him. I gestured at him rudely, saying a few choice words about his parentage on my way to hop in my own car.
The vampire waited long enough for me to get into my vehicle before pulling toward the parking lot's exit. He knew this part of the city far better than I did so I followed behind as best I could while he blew through stop signs and nearly red lights. Ten minutes later I drove my Mini into the garage behind his mansion. He'd insisted I take the spot inside it with an impatient gesture beside his passenger door. I suspected it was to keep whoever wanted me dead from easily spotting my scratched up Mini Cooper behind his house. It was a smart idea, really.
I followed Aiden as he carried the Alpha into the garage and through the man door on the garage's right side. The younger vampire butler awaited us in the laundry room we'd entered. He did not appear surprised to see me or a blackened man hanging from his master's arms.
"What will you need?" He thought to ask me.
I merely glanced at him to make sure he was talking to me then replied, "Someone to take me back to the hotel after I pass out."
"Lord Bruce has already made arrangements," the man told me.
No one spoke while we took the two flights of stairs up to the second floor (which was actually the third floor). Aiden walked into a room with high ceilings that featured a prominent massive bed and a single lit table lamp. I was too distracted to notice anything else but was aware of other things. Gently he settled the Alpha down atop freshly laid towels.
"Should his clothing be removed?" The younger vampire asked.
My head shook quickly. "No."
"You can Heal this?"
It was the younger man that asked me. Aiden had said nothing since we'd gotten in the cars. I stared at the charred figure wondering that myself.
"Eventually," I admitted.
I knew I could heal burns because I'd been doing it on Jim for months. But I'd never tried to fix someone this scorched before. Without a doubt this was going to test the limits of my abilities.
My attention switched to Aiden. I pulled the second cell phone and the wallet from my pocket and handed it to him. "This is the phone the Fire witch used to call for reinforcements. She was also talking to someone about the people who tried to kill me yesterday just before that. Can you get anything from it?"
"I can," he replied.
I bit my lip lightly between my teeth, worried that I wasn't going to be able to pull this off. After pressing my eyelids shut and drawing in a long breath, I made myself hold Aiden's eyes and speak in a steady voice. "If something happens...here's what I've got so far. Whoever is pulling the strings to this little marionette show is headquartered in the Dungeon, as you know. It's not Morrígan. She's trying too hard to protect me to order my murder. I also don't think Talise, the Water priestess, is
behind this. That leaves the four or so others or someone not in the Covens at all." I couldn't remember if we had six or seven covens in the area but I wasn't sure it mattered in the end. Forging onward I added, "Everyone I've caught thus far declares they're working for the greater good, for a world where the factions will work together. Talise was insistent the Water witch that attacked me would never have betrayed her. If she was telling the truth, then we're dealing with someone who can manipulate people, someone...like you," I gave him a meaningful look with a long pause.
His face was a blank mask of lovely features that told me nothing. I didn't know if he was surprised to learn that a vampire was involved or if he'd known all along. I wanted to find out but there were more immediate things to worry about.
"I'm going to be out of commission for at least a day." My sigh of frustration was heavy as I returned my focus to Dominick. "This is the worst time for this. Damn it. Why did you have to insist on tagging along, you asshole?"
"Don't do this," Aiden said suddenly.
"What?" I asked with a confused glance cast back at him.
His face was drawn in obvious concern. "You said 'if something happens'. What will happen? Can you die from Healing someone?"
"I haven't yet," I said flippantly.
"Don't do this." Aiden took a half step forward but seemed to think better of actually closing the distance to me.
Though it was nice that he was worried about my safety, something I'd already figured out from the two and a half times he'd saved my ass, I couldn't agree with him. "He is going to die if I don't do something. I can't let that happen."
"He's the werewolf Alpha," Aiden argued. "He will heal the damage, eventually."
My eyes narrowed on him. "You know that for a fact? You know that a werewolf Alpha burnt to a crisp will eventually heal rather than die from this much damage? You've seen it?"
Aiden stared me straight in the eye and said, "Yes."
Somehow I didn't believe him. "Well, then I'll just help him along a little. It shouldn't take too much of my energy." I was lying through my teeth but hoped he didn't catch on.
The vampire pushed an angry breath out but refrained from arguing.
I walked around to the other side of the bed where there was more room. There I climbed up to settle down beside the burnt Alpha. A single hand to his arm told me he was still alive, barely. With a deep breath I began sending Healing energy into his body through the conduit of my hand.
My glowing palm appeared to be doing little on the surface though the reports in my head said muscle tissue was being repaired within first. It wasn't fast enough for me. I knew the nerve damage he'd sustained would Heal before the rest of him did and that the pain would be excruciating until I could get more energy into him. At the rate I was sending it, it would be hours before he'd be better and he'd be screaming the entire time without some serious drugs. I had to do more.
I set my other hand on his leg. With two conduits the power began flowing a little faster, but still not fast enough. I knew what I had to do even though it was going to be very uncomfortable for all involved.
"Can you get me a blanket?" I asked no one in particular while tugging on the rain coat's belt.
The younger vampire arrived with a blanket seconds later. I murmured thanks, pulled it around me, turned away and began disrobing. "There's going to be nothing for you two to do for a few hours. You should go find out what's on that phone," I said aloud to distract myself from the fact that I was getting naked, in Aiden's house, in bed with Dominick the Alpha werewolf.
There was movement behind me. I hoped it was the vampires' departure but wasn't holding my breath. With the blanket pulled around me I crawled back up on the bed and noted the room to be empty. That was a load of my mind. I didn't like the idea of them watching me do what I was about to do.
I set my knee beside Dominick's leg, threw my other thigh over his opposite side, opened the blanket and then carefully began settling my body against his bubbled skin in an identical pose. The final thing I laid down was my cheek against his crisp face. Tears began to fall onto him when I realized the person beneath me truly was the werewolf Alpha and not just a faceless person.
As I closed my eyes I willed my Healing energy to transfer into him through any contact I had with him. The golden glow behind my eyelids was amazing. I imagined at this exact moment if anyone had seen me without the blanket on, I might have been a rival for the beauty of Apollo in the flesh. Warmth wrapped around us as the power flowed. The reports telling me this muscle was complete or that nerve reattached came too quickly for my brain to process.
Dominick began to whimper beneath me. I knew the pain he was feeling was incredible. "Shh," I said softly. "It will be all right."
He attempted to move.
"No, stay still. I'm Healing you but it's going to take a long time."
He made an anguished sound deep in his throat that tore at my heart.
"I'm sorry. I know it hurts," I whispered. "Unfortunately this is as fast as I can go."
The rapidly departing energy quickly drained my strength and concentration. Before long I was half unconscious despite his continued pained noises. I had to hope the Healing process would continue on autopilot. I would soon find out.
Warm lips closed over mine dragging me from the depths of dark oblivion. A delicious sensation coiled in my abdomen thanks to the hand on my breast and the gently stroking fingers between my thighs. It wasn't until I heard a rumbling groan that I realized I wasn't dreaming. By then something far warmer had joined the fingers.
My eyes snapped wide to find Dominick's dimly lit mahogany eyes staring down at me. He murmured my name just before plunging himself into me fully. I tried to lift an arm with the idea of either hanging on while he thrust or smacking him in the head for his bold misuse of the situation, but my limb couldn't be moved higher than a centimeter. I'd used up too much energy Healing him.
As far as the Healing had gone, from what I could tell he was good as new. The skin I could see was bronzed and whole. The skin I couldn't see felt smooth against mine.
"You asshole," I hissed in a whisper once he'd finally lifted his mouth away from mine. But a well-timed thrust had me gasping rather than fighting him. "Oh gods," I moaned because it felt quite nice.
"You...in bed with me...naked and on top...too irresistible," he panted against my neck. I wondered when I'd ended up beneath him but was too preoccupied with the quickly blooming need to ask.
"I Heal you and you get sex out of the deal?" I couldn't seem to make it sound angry.
"I'll buy you a house to make up for it."
His answer made me laugh.
And then the door burst open. In a heartbeat Dominick was torn off and thrown into the wall. I heard an awful crunching noise as he hit.
"Stop!" I gasped out because it was all I was capable of doing.
Aiden's face appeared over me a moment later. The light cast deep shadows across his furious expression. "Only because you've commanded it," he said with an icy voice and a savage gleam in his eye. I instantly saw what it was that frightened his employees into submission.
He yanked the blanket up over me, gently gathered me to him and then carried me out of the room without saying another word. I was too weak to fight him even if he hadn't been ridiculously strong.
"I didn't Heal him just so you could kill him," I snapped uncomfortably.
"He isn't dead," Aiden snapped right back. "He may have a broken leg, but that is the least of his problems."
He stopped to set me down on soft bedclothes amidst a sea of pillows a moment later. I hadn't seen where we were going, partly because it was dark and because my vision was blurred from my overexertion.
"This isn't the Hilton," I pointed out weakly.
"This is better than the Hilton," his angry voice spoke from just beside me.
I tried to pull myself up onto my elbow but failed miserably. I could barely turn my head enough to look at him. It mattered li
ttle. The room was too dark for me to be able to make out his expression. "I told your doorman I wanted to be taken back to the Hilton after I passed out. He said you'd made arrangements."
"What Owen meant to say was that I'd made arrangements to keep you here."
"Aiden," I practically whined. "I can't stay here."
"Why?"
The forceful sound of his voice, the demand of it, almost made me admit the true reason I couldn't be there, the one that had nothing to do with propriety and sick werewolves. The fact that I'd used his given name at all meant I wasn't thinking clearly.
So I told him a half truth, "I don't trust you."
He pushed out an angry breath. "You'll stay here until you can walk down those stairs on your own."
I heard pounding footsteps move away from me. My heart leapt in worry. "Don't hurt him. He's an asshole but he doesn't deserve to die because of it."
The vampire replied from further away, perhaps the door. "I have no intention of nullifying your sacrifice. I'm merely going to make certain that he's removed from my home."
I supposed I couldn't argue with that, even if I'd had enough energy to do so. My eyes closed because I couldn't hold them open any longer. The darkness took hold once again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
I wasn't quite sure what time it was when I woke next. Hell, I didn't even know what day it was. One thing I was sure of: I had to use a restroom in a massive way.
Thankfully my body cooperated enough to sit up. Getting to the edge of the bed took effort but it could have been because the damn thing was as big as a continent. Gingerly I attempted to stand with the help of the tall bedpost at the foot of the bed. When I didn't immediately topple over I took a step forward, followed it with another and then stopped when I realized I was completely nude.
