Chapter 21
Chapter
Twenty-One
Avampire guard hissed his warning at the other end of the library hallway and dashed toward me.
The sight of this predator sprinting toward me sent my mind into overdrive.
My pulse quickened as my gaze assessed my surroundings for an escape route.
In a moment, I was going to become a vampire meal.
Since his master was dead, the guards had no reason to keep me alive.
I twisted my head left and right, clenching the book to my chest. The exit to the staircase was right behind the vampire, but the library had to have a fire exit to the side alley. I didn’t know which way to go, though.
I spotted the large butterfly creature fluttering to my right as if waiting for me. I limped to it, ignoring the ache in my ankle.
“Thank you,” I said to the bug.
Engaging in conversation with the creature seemed strangely natural.
It danced in a circle before me, allowing me to truly see its form for the first time.
Doing a double take, I gasped as I saw not a simple butterfly, but a tiny boy-like figure.
His vast wings were as big as his entire human-like body.
His golden hair poked out from every angle, wild and untamed, and his knee-high pants and shirt were the same vivid emerald color as his wings.
He easily would camouflage in the forest but not in the library.
“Who are—” I started to ask, not even knowing if he could understand me, when the butterfly boy flew straight forward, not turning to wait for me.
At the sound of approaching footsteps, I hurried after the strange creature. Where did he come from? He seemed to be helping me and had led me to the two magic books, but why?
I followed the creature, turning left and right among massive bookshelves, until we reached a metal door with an illuminated exit sign.
“Thank you,” I said, and he flew away, disappearing from sight.
I opened the door and limped down the metal stairwell of the fire escape. Descending from the second story to the small alley below felt like it took an eternity. An old gray sedan backed into the alley. Stickers covered the dent on the back bumper.
The driver's car door opened, and Hayden stepped out. His eyes widened as he watched something behind me. I stepped on the cement and limped toward Hayden.
Suddenly, the vampire from upstairs landed in front of me, having jumped from the top of the fire escape stairs. His fangs protruded, and I held my breath.
The next moment, the vampire grunted in pain as something hit the back of his head. Blood splattered around him. The clang of a metal car wrench echoed as it hit the cement.
Looking behind the vampire, I stared at Hayden, who shrugged and sent me a “duh” look. That was my cue to punch the dazed vampire in the throat, so I did. His hands flew to his neck while he coughed.
Then I kicked him in the stomach with the energy I had left, and as I did, I used my bad ankle to balance my body, when a sharp pain cut through it. The vampire bent over and tried to take his next breath. I grimaced and limped slowly to the car.
“Get in, sweetheart,” Hayden urged me.
I slid into the back seat next to Torin's unmoving body. His eyes were closed, his head tilted, chin dipped. At least he seemed peaceful in his sleep.
The greenish fabric of the back seat was covered in suspicious spots, and I had to ride with my knees up, having stepped on a toolbox in front of me.
I didn’t care if I felt and looked like a pretzel as long as Hayden got us safely out of there.
We drove silently while I watched Torin’s chest rise and fall. Hayden watched carefully for anyone following us, but they didn’t. Of course, the vampires knew where to find us, and I was sure they’d try to attack us again.
It was only a matter of time.
I inhaled deeply and let out a heavy sigh. Today’s fight with a werewolf traitor and hungry vampires was only a small taste of a bitter battle I didn’t know I could win.
The supernatural world had consumed me the night I first accessed my dream realm and found the first magic book. Now I was fully immersed in it, and there wasn’t going back to the peaceful human life I had imagined I’d live in for the rest of my life.
When we reached pack territory, Hayden pulled over at the main gates and twisted the handle to roll down his window.
Leaning forward from the back seat, I told the warrior on duty, “Call your Beta and have him meet us at the front doors of the pack manor.”
The warrior looked at Torin’s sleeping body and then nodded at once. But then his gaze kept darting between Hayden and me.
“Your Alpha is safe, but we need to see the pack doctor now,” I demanded, and I wasn’t proud of my impatience.
Probably as impatient as me, Hayden didn’t wait for the warrior’s answer and drove off toward the manor.
Alexander already waited at the front doors, and behind him, the rest of Torin’s Council seeped through—Mason, Oliver, and Sebastian.
Hayden parked, and we got out of the car and opened the back door where Torin slouched. The Beta swatted Hayden’s hand and growled at him.
“If the Alpha didn’t have to hunt a pest on the territory, he wouldn’t have left the princess alone, and she wouldn’t have been kidnapped,” Alexander spat out at Hayden, almost shouting.
Hayden stepped away to allow the other men to carry Torin inside. I moved closer to Alexander.
“It was going to happen anyway, Alexander. Veronica would have found another way,” I said.
Hayden crossed his arms around his chest.
“At least you found out that not all your pack members are as loyal as you may think. It’s a lesson learned,” Hayden said in a steady voice, making the tension in the air thicken.
We climbed the stairs to Torin’s apartment, and I walked behind the Beta.
“I figured you’d see Veronica and the car on the security cameras. Torin didn’t allow you to go with him, did he?”
Alexander shook his head without turning back.
“I want your bodyguard out of here asap, Breanna. I don’t want him around when our Alpha wakes up,” the Beta rushed to say with his back to us.
My blood boiled in my veins.
“Yes, we were in bigger danger because of Hayden, but he saved your Alpha’s life, so show some respect. And he’ll need to clean up, so have one of the housekeepers show him a room where he can shower and rest for now.”
I was surprised at my own voice, which came out firm. I wasn’t Torin’s official mate. We hadn’t had a mating ritual to make me the Luna of his pack, but I hoped I could convince Alexander as a friend.
Alexander’s shoulders stiffened, but he did as I said and took Hayden to another bedroom.
I walked in front of the Councilmen and grabbed Torin’s robe and bath towels. I laid them out on his bed. The men placed his bloody body on the mattress and left me alone with Torin.
I could barely stand on my foot, my entire body aching, my stomach churning at the sight and stink of blood. Torin’s soaked shirt had a rip at the hem, and I pulled on it with all my strength. I moved his heavy body around until I took the shirt and then his pants off.
Going back and forth between the bathroom and the bed, I took extra wet towels and wiped the blood from Torin. As I did, I traced the defined muscles of Torin’s upper body, the rippling strength beneath his skin, and sinewy arms with my gaze.
I breathed easier, realizing his body had healed from the dart wounds. As I worked, I delicately brushed my fingers over his old scar—a reminder of Torin’s secrets and past struggles.
Tribal lines intertwined with delicate flowers adorned his arm and shoulder.
His tattoos had boldness in the pattern of the lines but also softness in the petals of the flowers.
I continued to cleanse his skin methodically, but exhaustion hit me so hard that my body swayed.
Holding the towel, I stared at Torin’s solid, rigid form.
The vampires wanted him alive, but they could have used the silver solution the vampire Queen had injected Jason with. The dart could have been filled with the poison, and instead of sleeping, Torin would have been dying a slow and agonizing death.
“Princess?” A male voice startled me, and I flinched.
I faced an older man carrying a large bag, and behind him, the Beta stood quietly.
“I’m the pack doctor and would like to tend to my Alpha.”
I nodded.
“If you wash up, I’ll be able to check on your injuries, too.” He pointed to my ankle, which now looked like a balloon. “And immobilize your ankle to heal.”
“Thank you,” I said and headed to my bedroom bathroom.
After showering and changing clothes, I re-emerged in Torin’s bedroom. The doctor assured me Torin was getting a good sleep and would wake up on his own. He then bandaged my shoulder and put a black brace around my ankle.
I then left the doctor, and the Beta watched over Torin while I picked up the book from my bed where I had left it before I took a shower. I walked into Torin’s closet and opened his safe room.
I was about to place the newly found book in the old place of the one I’d lost, but the old book sat in its place. Torin must have brought a fake to the cave under the library. He never meant to give them my magic book, which made me smile.
Before I placed the new book on top of the first one, I studied it carefully. This one was thicker, with a faded brown leather cover and a strap that kept the book shut. I fumbled with the clasp, but the strap wouldn’t move.
Figured.
If the brown book was similar to the other one, then there would be a riddle to open it.
“Breanna?” Alexander called for me.
I left the book on the shelf and quickly slid the mirror door back into its place. “Coming. Just a minute.”
When I entered the living room, Alexander and Hayden waited for me there. The doctor must have left. Hayden had a fresh change of clothes, and his hair was damp from the shower.
Alexander let out a heavy sigh and said, “I need him to leave soon.”