Chapter 10 #2
Bal clenched his jaw. “Believe me, I know that. You are stronger than most fledglings, but you are still unpredictable. We should leave her to rest.”
“You mean walk out on her so that when she’s done in there, she comes back to an empty room and believes I don’t care about her, just as she believes you don’t.”
“I do care about her!” His nostrils flared, his lips pressed tightly together, as if that admission had cost him.
“Then show it, you arrogant arse, instead of insulting her at every turn.”
His dark brows drew down. “I have treated her…”
A muffled sob came from the door.
“Quiet.” I tilted my head, listening.
Bal was at the door before me. He went to open it, then hesitated and glanced at me before knocking. “Sorcha? Is everything alright?”
I rolled my eyes. Clearly, everything was not alright, but at least he’d not barged in without any thought for her privacy. There was nothing but more muffled sobs, like she didn’t want us to hear them. Bal met my gaze, and I nodded. He pushed open the door, and we both cursed.
Sorcha was lying on her side under the spray of hot water, her knees pulled to her chest, her eyes squeezed shut. We both dropped to her side, and Bal gently pushed her wet hair from her face. “Sorcha? Can we do anything?”
The gentle timber of his voice touched something deep in my chest.
“It hurts.” Her quiet sobs tore at my chest.
"What does?” I knelt at her back.
Her eyes opened, and she looked at Bal, who seemed to have no issue getting soaked under the spray.
“They hit me.” Sor reluctantly unwound her arms from the protective hold she had on her stomach.
Bal’s nostrils flared, his eyes glinting red as he glanced at me. “We need to get her on the bed.” His tightly controlled words didn’t convey his fury, but the pulsing garnet of his eyes did.
I peered down. Dark bruising marred Sor’s pale skin, and her stomach looked swollen.
Bal and I were supernatural, with supernatural healing.
Sorcha wasn’t. She’d clearly been punched or kicked in her abdomen and hadn't wanted to tell us.
Before I could speak, Bal had Sorcha in his arms and was gone.
I joined them by Sorcha’s bed. He laid her on her back, her head cradled by a soft pillow, and then covered her with a cashmere blanket.
He sank on the edge of the bed facing her, his wet t-shirt still moulded to his skin, his hair dripping down his back.
“Sorcha, you're bleeding into your abdomen. I think it’s your spleen. We need to stop it. I can do that. Will you let me?”
Sorcha groaned, but looked at me as I took her other hand.
“Let him help you, sweetheart.”
She squeezed my hand and looked at Bal. “Blood?”
“Yes.”
She swallowed hard, sweat beading on her upper lip and forehead, then nodded.
A big breath left Bal, and his shoulders tilted forward, his relief evident, though I doubted he realised it.
One of Bal’s canines grew, and he slit his skin.
Just as he had for me, he held his wrist above her mouth.
She flinched as his blood dripped on her lips.
I almost rolled my eyes. He really had no idea how weird it was for a non-vampire to drink from an open wound, or that it was even more disconcerting to have blood splashing onto their mouth.
With my free hand, I took a firm grip on his forearm and guided him low enough that if she wanted to, she could put her mouth on his skin.
That thought sent a bolt of lust through me.
He raised a brow, probably scenting my desire, but this wasn’t the time for that. “So it doesn’t spill,” I explained at his questioning look. Thankfully, he didn’t resist. Instead, he looked right back at Sorcha, whose eyes had fluttered shut.
“How much will she need?” I had to work to keep my voice steady when my wolf was clawing at my insides, his distress infecting my own emotions.
“Not much. Humans respond to the healing properties in my blood more quickly than other species.”
I nodded, trying to damp down my need to go and find the prisoners Bal had mentioned, and rip them apart for hurting her. Minutes ticked by, and it seemed an age before Bal whispered her name and gently pulled his arm away. Sorcha immediately went lax. My stomach lurched.
“Don’t worry, she’ll sleep heavily while she heals.”
My shoulders relaxed. “Okay. Good.”
Awkwardness settled between us. At least, it did on my part. I inhaled, and his familiar scent made my heart flip. I tore my gaze away, still mad at him for forcing me to kneel while he walked away, leaving me weak and vulnerable.
“Shane…”
“I won’t hurt her. I’m not leaving.”
There was silence as he stood and walked around the bed to stand beside me. He lowered his wrist in front of my face. “Drink. Then, at least, you're less likely to fall into bloodlust. It will also finish healing you.”
I hesitated. It wasn’t that long ago that he was face down on the floor because of me.
I wasn’t a saint. I’d hurt plenty of people in my lifetime and hadn’t given two shits, but, for reasons I didn’t want to admit to myself, I didn’t want Bal to be weakened by my insatiable need for his blood. Not when his enemies were closing in.
He moved his arm closer, an edge of steel in his voice that had my cock jumping.
“Drink. You lost a lot of blood, and I’m fully recovered.
You will not hurt me. When I’m done here, I’ll station Elliot at the bottom of the stairs with two more guards.
You’ll be safe. If you need me, shout my name.
If I’m otherwise occupied and don’t hear you, Elliot will know where to find me. ”
With my heart slamming against my ribs, I took his arm and sealed my lips around it.
I shifted my pelvis, though I had no idea why; it wouldn’t hide my reaction to him.
Bal didn’t say a word, just fisted his other hand as if trying not to touch me.
I groaned and sucked harder, losing myself to his taste, feeling his power mix with mine.
My wolf snarled, pacing restlessly beneath my skin, his need to fight or enjoy me fucking Bal’s brains out made my head spin.
“Enough. That should keep your cravings at bay.”
That. Fucking. Voice.
With a dissatisfied snarl, I released his arm, panting hard, but I nodded and withdrew.
Part of me still felt guilty for what I’d done to him.
If he told me to stop, I would; even if it was the last thing I wanted to do.
His throat bobbed, his gaze fixed on where I knew a small drop of blood had escaped my lips and fangs.
He reached out and scooped it up with his finger.
“You shouldn’t waste any.” And he placed his finger against my lips, pushing it into the heat of my mouth. “Suck it clean.”
Damn, I’d thought I’d been hard before. Now I had a steel rod trying to escape my waistband and balls so heavy they were aching.
Holding his intense gaze, I sucked off the tiny drop, swirling my tongue around the tip of his finger.
His irises bled red, and by the time he pulled his wet finger from between my lips, his breaths were as deep and fast as mine.
“Fuck, what are you doing to me?”
My stomach flipped at his whispered words. He was just as turned on as I was, but before I could ask him to stay, he’d disappeared.
Bloody vamp speed…
Suddenly worn out, I grabbed another blanket to cover my nakedness so it wouldn’t be awkward for Sorcha when she woke up, and stretched out on the bed beside her.
Careful not to wake her, I pushed her covers aside so that I could see her stomach.
Thankfully, it wasn’t any more swollen, and the bruising hadn’t got bigger.
Releasing a swift breath, I covered her and turned onto my back, twisting my head so I could study her delicate features.
The slight flush to her cheeks eased some of my worry.
Her skin had been way too pale. I wanted to pull her into my arms, but didn’t want to assume she was okay with that, so I took her hand in mine and held it.
Her skin was cool, her fingers delicate in my grasp.
Knowing she was hurt made me want to kill those fuckers all over again.
My growl was low, too low for her to hear.
I wasn’t sure exactly when our friendship had become more, but I couldn’t deny my feelings.
Probably weeks ago. Before we’d gone to the handfasting, I’d even disliked Owen being in the same room and smiling at her.
My reaction had surprised me at the time, but it didn’t now.
My wolf had been too weak to claim her, and I’d been too focused on my situation to consider how she was the one good thing in my shitstorm of a life. Sorcha was beautiful, inside and out.
I knew she’d suffered badly from the betrayal by those she trusted.
What happened to her was utterly sickening, yet she still had it in her to help Balthazar and me.
I wondered if Balthazar even realised how much strength it took for her to be around vampires, when they were the ones who had abused her so badly.
He seemed to have no understanding that every time he slurred her human heritage or called her weak, it hurt her almost as much as Nikolai had done with all the physical abuse he’d inflicted.
It didn’t matter to me whether she was human or supe.
I wanted her by my side. She deserved protection from the evil in this world.
My heart constricted. I never wanted her to leave my side, but I didn’t want to scare her away by becoming a possessive asshole like I’d seen other alphas do.
I groaned quietly. Though growling that she was mine in the haze of bloodlust had probably outed me on that front.
Yet, she wasn’t mine. Not yet. And if Sor was my mate, what did that make Bal?
I stared at the fine cracks in the ceiling plaster as my fingers curled tightly into the bedspread.
He was getting to me through bloodlust, that was all.
There could never be anything more than maker and fledgling between us.
Not when I was a half-breed and he was an Original.
It was ridiculous to even consider a relationship with him.
I snorted softly. Relationship? Who was I fucking kidding?
Neither of us did relationships. I wouldn’t regret what had passed between us, but nothing more than feeding would happen again. I’d survive without him.
My eyelids drooped. Gods, I was tired; too damned tired to worry about how I’d manage my over-the-top feelings for an unobtainable and out of my league beautiful male, whose darkness called to me in a way no one else ever had.
Maybe these useless feelings would settle when my bloodlust was all over and I’d distanced myself from him.
The thought of leaving him behind made my stomach churn, but I’d never relied on anyone else before. It would be fine.
I swallowed against my tight throat. I knew little about vampire life.
I’d never needed to. Even when I’d been a rogue shifter on the streets, I’d survived by the skin of my teeth.
Would I have to use a blood store? I’d never been in one, but buying bags of blood seemed more appealing than feeding from a complete stranger at a registered feeder clinic.
I’d have to find work, too… My eyelids drooped, and I inhaled Sor’s sweet scent, releasing a soft breath as my mind and body relaxed.
My wolf settled and rumbled his satisfaction at being so close to her.
I shuffled onto my side, studying her relaxed face.
Her long, lush lashes fluttered against her smooth cheeks.
Damn, she was beautiful, even with bruises.
And, asleep like this, she looked so small and vulnerable.
“Nothing will hurt you again.”
My vow was ridiculous. I couldn't keep her safe twenty-four hours a day. Fuck, I couldn’t even keep myself safe.
But I’d get stronger, and I knew Sor had considered leaving before.
Maybe we could get out of the Count’s hair and leave together.
My thoughts surprised me. I’d never even considered a relationship before I met these two.
Christ, I wasn’t even sure I knew what one was.
Not really. And where would we go? I didn’t exactly blend into human society, and I had no particular skills that an employer would want.
I didn’t have much of anything to offer such a gentle and kind soul.
Perhaps once the bloodlust settled, and I had control of my vampire side, Connor would accept me—us, into his pack.
Did I even want to go back?
The sinking sensation in my belly was telling.
I missed Lina. Maybe I even missed seeing the other Alphas.
However, I didn’t miss being in a pack where everyone knew your business, and where I constantly worried about protecting the thousands of shifters and humans under my care.
My wolf remained quiet. He was right. I didn’t miss that life at all.
I’d never been a pack shifter, even before the prison.
I’d fallen into the role of Canadian pack Alpha because it had been necessary at the time.
Distance from my role had given me freedom from a life that had become suffocating.
I looked at Sorcha again, and my gut twisted as I stared at her full, soft mouth.
I didn’t want to return to my old life. One of the reasons was lying right next to me; the other was not even in the room, but was still taking up far too much of my headspace.
It was pointless to even acknowledge how quickly the Count had wormed his way into my head and heart, not when he’d be as likely to stick a dagger in his ancient vampire heart as he would be to start a meaningful relationship with me and Sorcha.
In the distance, I heard voices and cars pulling up, but I had no fear that it was another wave of Bal’s enemies.
No, this estate would be locked down tight.
Nothing was getting in here tonight, which made me wonder again what those soldiers had risked their lives for in the first place.
The ones I’d attacked first had been looking for something.
Balthazar knew precisely what it was; it had been in his eyes when he’d instructed Dav to take the prisoners to the dungeons.
And something told me the survivors would regret ever setting foot in his lair.