Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
DONOVAN
The moment I stepped into the cabin, I knew.
Declan was leaving. His bag was already half-packed, clothes hastily shoved inside, his movements quick and practiced.
He didn’t even look up at first, but I saw the tension in his shoulders, the way his jaw clenched as I shut the door behind me.
"You're running," I said, my voice sharp with disbelief and something more, something raw.
Declan said nothing for a few moments.
"It's not running," he finally muttered, still not looking at me. "It's survival."
"Survival?" I stalked closer, fury bubbling beneath my skin. "And what the hell do you think I'm doing?"
He finally met my gaze, eyes dark and stormy.
"You're making a mistake," he said, voice rough. "Kit won’t stop at a warning, Donovan. The Guild won’t stop. They’ll come for you. For me.”
"You don’t get to make this decision for me," I shot back, stepping into his space. "You don’t get to just leave and think that’s somehow for my own good."
His throat worked, the muscles in his jaw flexing. "You have a chance to go back. If you walk away from me now, you can still—"
"Still what?" I cut him off, shoving at his chest. "Go back to a life that was never really mine? Pretend I don’t feel this, us, like a fire in my veins?"
Declan looked at me for a long time, not speaking.
I could see the war raging inside him. He wanted to fight me on this. Wanted to push me away, to make it easier.
His gaze flickered to my throat, where his mark lay just beneath the skin. His fingers curled into fists. "Donovan..."
"No," I growled, reaching up, gripping the back of his neck. "You're not walking away from me."
His breath was hot against my lips. His body tense against mine.
"Tell me you don’t want this," I said, voice barely more than a whisper. "Tell me and I'll let you go."
Silence. I could feel him trembling, the war between reason and want. But I already knew. He couldn’t lie to me.
His hands shot out, grabbing my shirt, yanking me into him as his mouth crashed into mine.
The kiss was desperate, bruising. An explosion of pent-up frustration and hunger.
His fingers twisted in my hair, nails biting into my scalp, and I moaned into his mouth, pressing against him, pushing until his back hit the wall.
“Donovan,” he murmured.
Declan dragged his lips down my throat, over the mark he’d left there. He bit down on the tender skin just enough to make me gasp.
"You were really going to leave me?" I muttered against his skin, teeth scraping over his jaw.
Declan shuddered. "I thought it was the only way."
I pulled back just enough to meet his gaze, my hands framing his face.
"It’s not." I kissed him again, softer this time, lingering. "I choose you, Declan. No matter what happens next, I choose you."
His breath hitched, his fingers digging into my sides like he was grounding himself in me. For a moment, he didn’t say anything.
Just stared at me like he was memorizing my face, like he was searching for any trace of hesitation. But there was none.
Finally, something in him gave way. The tension drained from his body, his forehead dropping to mine.
"I don’t deserve you," he murmured.
I exhaled a shaky laugh. "Too bad. You’ve got me anyway."
A low sound rumbled in his throat, deep and guttural, as his fingers curled into my shirt.
In the next breath, he was pulling me down onto the bed, his grip desperate, as if he was afraid I might disappear if he let go.
His hands were rough and searching, sliding under my shirt, fingertips tracing over the ridges of my spine, igniting heat everywhere he touched.
His mouth found mine in a kiss that was all fire and need, his lips insistent, his teeth grazing my bottom lip before he pulled me even closer.
I could feel the tension in his body, the war between restraint and desire, the way he held onto me like I was the only thing keeping him tethered to this moment. .
We tangled together, bodies flush, legs tangled, skin against skin.
My breath caught as he rolled me onto my back, his weight pressing me into the mattress, grounding me.
There was nothing hesitant about him now. No more doubt. Just him, just us, giving in to something that had been building for too long.
His mouth moved to my throat, his breath hot against my skin, his fangs dragging lightly over the mark he'd left before.
He lingered there, as if to remind himself that I was his.
That I chose to be his.
A shudder ran through me, and I tightened my grip on him, nails digging into his shoulders as he kissed a slow, searing path down my chest.
Every touch was a vow, every whispered breath between us a promise. We undressed each other, quickly and efficiently.
“How do you want me?” I asked him.
“On the bed. On all fours,” Declan said in a commanding voice that sent a bolt of desire through my spine.
I positioned myself on the edge of the bed, heard him moving around. The next thing I knew, Declan was applying lube into my entrance.
I moaned, loving the sensation of his fingers as he loosened me up. Once he deemed me ready, Declan replaced his digits with his member.
He pushed in without warning and I gasped, loving the burn. Declan pumped in and out of me, while I begged him to go faster, deeper with every turn.
It wasn’t long before my balls tightened, and I came. My mind hazed as I screamed out his name. Several thrusts later, Declan came.
When we finally collapsed together, tangled in sweat-damp sheets, our breaths still uneven, I turned my head to look at him.
His fingers trailed over my ribs, slow and lazy, his face half-buried against my shoulder.
I brushed my lips against his temple, letting the words settle between us like something unbreakable.
“No more running,” I murmured.
Declan was quiet for a long moment. Then he tightened his arm around me.
“No more running,” he agreed.
The cabin was quiet, save for the faint crackling of embers in the fireplace and the occasional creak of wood settling.
Declan and I sat across from each other at the dining table, both freshly cleaned up.
His eyes were sharp, as always, but there was a subtle weariness in the way he slouched, his hands resting loosely on the table.
Declan leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, his gaze unwavering as he met mine.
"So, we're agreed," he said, his voice calm, measured. "We leave. No contact with Kit."
I exhaled slowly, nodding in agreement. It was the only option that made sense now. Kit had made his position clear. He would report back to the Guild, whether I wanted him to or not.
The Guild would send more hunters after us, and once they did, there would be no way to outrun them.
Still, I couldn't shake the knot in my gut. I glanced toward the window, the soft glow of the moon through the curtains, and my thoughts drifted to the sparrow shifters.
They had taken us in without hesitation, trusted us.
I had spent weeks teaching them how to fight, how to defend themselves if trouble ever came knocking. But they were far from ready.
The rogue vampires had already shown how deadly they could be, and if they came after the sparrows...
My jaw clenched as the image of their bloodied bodies flashed in my mind. What if we left and they were slaughtered because we hadn’t done enough?
What if the flock the families we’d grown to care about, paid for our failure to protect them?
Declan must have seen something flicker across my face, because his expression softened, and he leaned forward.
"Don’t do that," he murmured.
I looked at him, meeting his gaze. "Do what?"
"Blame yourself for something you can’t control," he said, as if he read my mind. He probably just knew me better than I thought.
I let out a sharp breath, frustration and guilt bubbling up inside of me. “I just—”
“They’re shifters,” he interrupted gently. “They know how to survive. And we can’t save them if we’re dead or captured.”
I hated the truth of his words, but I knew they were right.
The sparrow shifters had proven they could hold their own, but I didn’t know if they could handle the rabid vampires, not without the proper preparation.
And we weren’t in any position to stick around and offer that preparation. Leaving had to be our number one priority.
If we disappeared off the Guild’s radar, if we found somewhere they couldn’t track us, then maybe once the heat died down, we could come back.
I reached across the table, my fingers brushing against his.
Declan looked at me, his eyes searching mine, as if he was still trying to figure out if I was going to fight him on this, if I was going to pull away.
For a moment, I allowed myself to believe that maybe we could do this. Leave, find safety, and eventually, come back.
We could rebuild. But that thought was fleeting, overshadowed by the gnawing worry in the back of my mind about the flock.
Before either of us could speak again, a frantic knock shattered the silence, loud and insistent.
I tensed, Declan’s posture immediately stiffening beside me. My heart kicked into a faster beat, as the knock came again, rapid and desperate.
I was on my feet in an instant, Declan following close behind as I rushed to the door. Without a word, I wrenched it open.
Lena stood there, panting, her chest rising and falling in quick, sharp bursts. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with panic.
“They’re coming,” she gasped, and for a moment, I thought I might lose my grip on the doorframe. The air in my lungs turned to lead.
“Who?” I managed to croak.
“The rabid vampires,” she said, swallowing hard. “Only this time, it’s different.”
Declan stiffened next to me. “Different how?” Declan demanded.
Lena hesitated, glancing over her shoulder as if expecting something or someone, to leap from the shadows.
“There’s someone leading them,” she said, her voice hoarse with fear. “A bigger vampire. He’s somehow controlling them. They’re not acting like mindless predators anymore. They’re organized.”
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. A leader?
A cold dread slithered down my spine.
I thought of Kit’s team, the Guild, and what they might do if they found us. And now these rogue vampires, with a leader at their helm. Luck wasn’t really on our side.
“Now’s not a good time for this,” Declan muttered.
I took a breath, forcing myself to focus. This wasn’t just about surviving anymore.
This was about figuring out how to get ahead of both the Guild and these vampires. Kit was part of the equation, whether I wanted him to be or not.
I turned back to Lena, my gaze locking with hers.
“Tell me everything you know about this leader,” I demanded. “How many rabid vampires are under his control?”
She blinked, startled by the shift in my tone, but quickly nodded."At least twenty."
I looked to Declan, my mind racing.
This wasn’t just a matter of survival anymore. This was about making sure we didn’t get caught up in the Guild’s web or fall prey to these rogue vampires.
“Donovan,” Declan started, his voice a low warning, but I held up my hand, cutting him off.
“I have an idea,” I said, a plan already forming in my head.
It wasn’t a perfect plan. Nothing ever was, but it was the only option we had left.