Chapter 28
My blood and emotions heightened straight into a hum as blood trickled from the corner of Dave’s mouth.
A sign of impending death.
A death that would rob me of answers about why he’d drugged me and who had asked him to do it.
Stay here, Raffe snarled as he pulled ahead, racing toward the blonde-haired woman leaning over Dave’s body, holding the hilt of the dagger lodged into his chest. Raffe’s fear and uncertainty swirled through our bond, adding to mine, and I struggled to take a deep breath.
The power ravaging my blood poured from my feet and into the ground, causing it to quake as Josie howled mournfully.
The woman jerked her head toward me, her dark-brown eyes widening. “It’s not what it looks like.”
“Get away from him!” Raffe growled. His six-foot-five frame towered over the shorter woman, and the muscles in his back were so tense I could see the outlines through his polo shirt.
She lifted her hands, the dagger remaining in Dave’s chest. She’d made it stick.
Acid burned my throat. We couldn’t lose him … not when he could provide us with answers. We need to keep him alive long enough to talk.
The ground shook harder, moving toward Raffe, and a lump lodged in my throat.
If I let my power increase, the ground might crack, and Raffe could get hurt.
As if something inside me understood, my power eased, though my emotions were getting more volatile.
Strange. That had never happened before, but it had to be due to our mate bond.
“Listen, if you don’t get the dagger out of his heart, there’s no chance he’ll recover.” The woman’s hands were coated in blood … Dave’s blood. “Not that he’ll survive necessarily, but getting it out will allow his supernatural side to attempt to heal him.” Her attention homed back in on me.
Raffe laughed jadedly. “Like we’ll believe you have good intentions. If you keep looking at her, I’ll kill you without a second thought.”
She averted her gaze and wrapped her arms around her body. “I’m not a threat.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” Raffe’s anger boiled hot between us.
We’re here, Adam linked as two dark-brown wolves rushed from between two firs behind the woman.
From their musky scents, I knew they were male: Adam and Keith. But their eyes were the easiest way to tell them apart; the one farthest from me had milk-brown irises, which meant that it was Keith, and Adam’s honey-brown eyes were on the woman.
Keep an eye on her, Raffe commanded as he pushed the woman back several feet, and the two wolves circled her.
With the threat handled and my blood under control, I ran the remaining distance to Dave and dropped to my knees beside him.
Dave’s hazel eyes fluttered open, and his gaze landed on me as his teeth extended. A low hiss came as he tried to sit up, desperate to taste me.
My damn blood. I’d thought that since I’d become a wolf shifter, vampires wouldn’t find my blood as alluring because it could kill them, but this proved me wrong.
“Dammit, Sky,” Raffe groaned as he appeared across from me and shoved the vampire’s shoulders against the ground. His frustration slammed into me as he asked, “Do you want him to bite you before he dies?” His crystal eyes narrowed into slits as he glared at me. Did he think his stern look would force me to walk away from this?
That wasn’t happening.
Deciding no answer was best, I focused on Dave. His eyes were closing as the blood from the corner of his mouth thickened. He was fading fast.
I scanned him, confirming what the woman had said. She was right—as long as the dagger remained lodged in his heart, he would die, and removing it was the best way to give him a chance to survive.
A threatening growl came from behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder to find Adam standing between us and the woman.
We’ve got to try to save him. We need answers. I swallowed and grasped the hilt of the dagger, ignoring the way the cool, sticky blood slid between my fingers. I gritted my teeth and tugged just as Dave’s eyes opened. He reached for me, causing the blade to dig deeper into him.
“Shit,” I groaned. I wanted to remove the dagger to help him heal, not make the injury worse. Sometimes, I felt like I was cursed. “Can you hold him still?”
Raffe looked at me and arched a brow. He linked, What do you think I’m fucking trying to do here? He’s a vampire and stronger than his scrawny ass looks. But let me tell you, if he dies, I won’t be upset. I just hope we get answers before he croaks.
Hurried footsteps came from beside us, and I tensed. A human sob that sounded familiar reached my ears.
Dark fur flashed past me as Keith hurried in that direction, but when a naked Josie ran out from between the trees, he stopped in his tracks.
Even though jealousy was the last thing I needed to experience at this moment, my wolf howled and demanded to break free. I tried like hell to fight the tug because shifting wouldn’t help anything.
What the hell are you doing? Raffe asked and jerked his head back toward Dave’s face so fast that my wolf eased.
I didn’t understand what was going on, but one thing was clear: I needed to get the damn dagger out of Dave’s chest and maybe stab Josie with it. Wait … I hadn’t meant to think the last part.
I need to help him. Josie’s long, dark, wavy hair flew behind her as she dropped down at Dave’s head and leaned over his face. Her hair covered some of her nakedness, and her bronze skin contrasted with Dave’s, revealing just how pasty he was.
Blowing out a breath, I gripped the dagger. Dave tried to bite me again. I stood and placed a foot on each side of his body, then leaned down. I gripped the hilt again, and when Dave tried to rise, Josie smothered his face with kisses.
“I’m here,” she whimpered. “You’re going to be okay. We just need you to calm down.”
“Josie, get back!” Raffe exclaimed. “He’s going to bite you.”
Instead of fighting harder, Dave relaxed.
“She must be covering my scent.” I exhaled shakily and yanked hard on the dagger. The sickening sucking sound of the blade leaving his bone and flesh made bile roil in my stomach.
Finally, I lifted the dagger over my head, and blood from the edge splattered on me, including my face.
I was going to be sick.
With all the dissections I’d done in my science classes to prepare for vet school, I’d believed I was past being squeamish, but clearly, that wasn’t the case.
Blood gushed from Dave’s chest, and I didn’t have time to worry about being nauseated.
With my hands soaked in his blood, I squatted and placed pressure on his wound. “I need clothes or something to pack this and slow the bleeding. My hands will work, but they’ll get too slippery.”
“What do you want me to do?” Raffe’s chest heaved. “I’m holding him down.”
“Fine.” My shirt was ruined anyway. Ignoring that my hands were coated with blood, I removed it.
What the fuck? Raffe linked. Adam and Keith can see you.
I’m trying to get answers about who’s trying to kill us, I replied, bundling my shirt into a ball and using it to put pressure on Dave’s wound.
The cold October Portland air whipped around me, raising goose bumps across my skin. I wasn’t nearly as cold as I would’ve been if I’d been human. “Is there anything vampires can do to heal?”
“Feed, but that isn’t an option,” Raffe gritted out. “Our shifter blood will kill him.”
I could only think of one thing we could do: get answers from him before he died. I hated to be that callous, but we hadn’t put him in this situation.
Turning my attention to Dave, my breath caught. He and Josie were staring at one another while tears streamed down her face and onto Dave’s cheeks. She bent and placed her forehead on his as her body shook with silent sobs.
I hadn’t realized they were close.
“Dave?” I bit my lip, unsure what to expect.
When his glassy eyes turned to me, my head jerked back. He was so close to death.
“Why did you attack me?” I tried to keep my emotions level, but some hurt broke through. “I thought we were friends.”
“We … are.” He paused and swallowed. “Had … to.”
Raffe’s hands tightened on Dave’s shoulders, and his jaw twitched. I could feel the unbridled anger swirling off my mate, but he kept his mouth shut.
“Why?” I couldn’t imagine doing something like that to one of my friends. Maybe I would if Raffe asked—he was my fated mate, and I’d do anything to protect him—but Dave was single and didn’t have that kind of connection with anyone. “Why in the world did you believe you had to do that?”
“I …” He shook his head and gurgled. “Can’t …” He wheezed, and his chest rattled.
“Stop making him talk.” Josie straightened and cupped his face. “Leave him alone. He needs to rest so he can get better. You can ask him all this stuff when he’s healing.”
My heart stopped and my jaw dropped. I wasn’t sure what to say. I wasn’t sure how she could assume he’d get better.
“Josie …” Dave’s eyelids closed slowly. “I lov—”
“No.” Josie smacked his face. “Don’t go to sleep.”
What the hell is going on here? Keith linked from his spot behind me, where he was watching the strange woman. They’ve never even talked to each other. Did she fall and hit her head?
I … I don’t know, Adam replied, sounding as perplexed as Keith.
“Sorry …” Dave sputtered, and his eyes closed.
“We need to take him somewhere.” Josie smacked his cheeks again. “He’s lost consciousness.”
Dave’s breathing turned more shallow, and Raffe released his shoulders.
I was at a loss. “Josie, he’s not—”
“Don’t.” She jabbed a finger at me. “He’s going to be fine.” The whites of her eyes were red from crying, and she sniffled. “You’re not a doctor, and you just became a supernatural, so don’t even pretend you know anything about this world.”
I tensed. She’d never been even slightly rude to me before, and it caught me off guard.
“Listen here,” Raffe damn near bellowed, but he kept his eyes on anything but Josie.
Calm down. She’s upset, I linked. There had to be more to her and Dave’s relationship than anyone knew. They were acting as if they were lovers, but with how tight this group was, if they had been, someone would’ve known. It hadn’t taken long for Keith to catch Raffe and me when we’d been dating secretly. Give her a pass.
Dave’s heartbeat slowed and became sporadic.
“He needs blood and lots of it if you want him to survive,” the woman said loudly from behind me.
I spun toward her and sniffed. How did she know this? She was human, yet she clearly knew about the supernatural. One plausible explanation came to mind—the secret society. Were they recruiting humans? Hell, maybe they had been the entire time. We knew nothing about them. Or maybe this woman was a witch and cloaking her scent. “Where do you suppose we find that?”
She moved toward us. “Me. I’m human. I can feed him.”
Adam and Keith growled, the fur on the napes of their necks rising as they advanced toward her.
“Fuck no.” Raffe shook his head, removed his shirt, then tossed it to me. “You were trying to kill him. You want to finish him off so he doesn’t give us answers. We’re not that stupid.” He then linked, Put that on before I have to kill Adam and Keith for looking at you … even by accident.
Don’t forget Josie is naked, not five feet from you! A growl escaped, though I hadn’t meant it to. At least I’m wearing a bra and pants.
I can’t help it. Raffe glowered. You took off your shirt.
We were wasting time bickering like this. I put on Raffe’s shirt to appease him and tried not to focus on his bare chest and muscles.
Maybe I can lure another human into the woods so we can use them to feed him. Keith edged a few steps back toward campus.
Who’s going to erase their memory? Adam shook his body, ruffling his fur.
My emotions swirled inside me, and my blood rose to a fizz. I hated how each time I thought we were getting somewhere, we got more behind.
Dave’s heartbeat slowed further.
“Forget that,” Josie rasped.
I spun around to find her biting into her wrist and placing it over Dave’s partially open mouth.
Raffe clenched his fists. “Josie, that won’t help. It’s going to kill him faster.”
She didn’t budge, keeping her wrist over his mouth. “At least I’m trying something.”
I wasn’t sure if that was the best, and Raffe hung his head.
Should we stop her?
Raffe wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest. No, it’s done. We need to focus on the human. Maybe she can give us some answers.
I nodded, turning so my back was against his chest.
“What are you doing out here? How did you get Dave here?” Raffe asked, turning toward the woman.
A deep groan came from behind us, and my blood ran cold.