Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Santiago
Watching Rafael cradle Samantha while she sleeps tugs something in my chest. She feels so tiny compared to both of us. Not that she’s short, but there’s something fragile about her. I’m willing to bet that’s been driving Rafael crazy. It stirs the need to protect in me too, and I’ve just met her.
It’s the perfect illusion, really. Somehow, she smashed through an enchanted door without effort. Just stumbled through it and, according to Rafael, she smashed past all the doors in the safe level too. If that’s true, she is strong, incredibly so. And then there’s her venom.
If she had attacked me the same way, I’m not sure I could have shrugged the effects off like Rafael.
I’m older and tougher, but I have my doubts that she would have floored me for days.
Changelings should not be able to affect their makers at all, and yet I can still see the faint scars on Rafael’s chest.
I wonder if it would be better if I just left, but I haven’t even managed to get out of this fucking bed. I glance at Rafael and meet his eyes over Samantha’s head. He seems more settled now that she’s resting peacefully.
“So you are staying?” he asks, sounding resigned, and I can’t help but smile.
“If she doesn’t kick me out.”
“I doubt that,” Rafael says quietly and smooths his hand over Samantha’s hair.
“She’s two days young, Rafael. All of this could be the lust haze,” I force myself to point out.
Rafael chuckles under his breath. “Oh, this is tame. You should have seen her when she got in the mood as a human.”
That makes me pause and take in the creature in Rafael’s arms in a new light. She did traipse into the room with us barely dressed, and I don’t believe for a second that it was by accident. She’s pissed and she devised a plan to get back at Rafael.
“How can she be this… lucid?”
“I’m not sure,” Rafael replies and pulls the blanket tighter around Samantha.
He’s quiet for so long I’m starting to think he’s done talking, but then he lifts his eyes to meet mine. He looks pleadingly at me and my throat tightens.
“I had to make a split-second decision, San. And I wasn’t sure the venom reached her heart in time.” He strokes Samantha’s hair and clutches her closer. “She transformed slowly, way too slowly. She was under with my venom for ten months.”
I choke at that, but Rafael continues.
“Then another month after she had my blood.”
“That’s way too long,” I whisper hoarsely.
“I know. But that’s not all.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Her best friend is a witch.”
I snarl before I have time to think and Samantha frowns in her sleep, shifting uncomfortably. “Sorry,” I mouth at Rafael, who soothes her back to deeper sleep.
Once she settles, he continues in a low whisper. “A powerful one. She stopped time for those few seconds so I could bite Samantha.”
“Oh, so nothing big. Just casually stopping time.” I can’t help the sarcasm dripping from my voice. Rafael flashes a quick smile.
“Visions too.”
“Fucking hell. What have you gotten tangled into, angel?” The old nickname slips free, but he shrugs it off.
“Anyway, that’s why I was out of the house, taking care of a couple of things. I didn’t expect her to wake up until spring. There were no signs of that and Thea saw her awake among spring flowers. I was ready to wait several more months for the transformation to be complete.”
I clear my throat. “I hate to break this to you, Rafael, but you have a magical garden in your backyard. I bet there’s a patch of spring flowers blooming right now.”
The way his eyes widen makes it really hard not to burst into laughter. He shakes his head and rubs his temples, suddenly looking exhausted.
“You really haven’t been sleeping,” I murmur. “And it seems you might not have been eating enough either. Where do you keep the blood?”
“She’ll wake up,” he protests, and I let it go… for now.
“She was out of it for almost a year?” I ask to make sure I got that part right. I’ve never heard of such a slow transformation. “Anything over a few months usually ends with—”
“Don’t you think I know that?” Rafael grumbles and Samantha stirs in his arms, so he quickly lowers his voice. “I kept watch over her day and night, Santiago. Counted every breath, every heartbeat, until there was nothing to count and she still didn’t wake up.”
“I’m sorry,” I murmur, getting a flash of his emotions overflowing in our withered bond. He hasn’t lost control like that since he himself was a very young changeling. “But she’s awake now. Beautiful and fully transformed.”
“I’m not so sure about that. We don’t get sick, but she’s had several incidents. What… what if her transformation didn’t complete like it should have?”
“That’s…” I trail off. She doesn’t feel incomplete to me, but she also should be healthy unless intentionally harmed. And that brings my brain online and I curse softly. “Patricia. When she finds out about Samantha, she’s going to rip her to shreds.”
“Why do you think I’ve had you tracking her crazy ass?” Rafael hisses back.
I rear back, eyes dropping to Samantha and then locking with Rafael. “Four years. You met her then?”
He nods.
“But you only turned her a year ago.” Again, he nods, mouth pinched to keep him from flashing his fangs at me. I have no reservations like that and I let mine out with a growl. “Are you crazy?”
“Fuck you.”
“Not anymore.” I want to bite him but pull back, willing the calm detachment around me. I’m not going to let him bait me. “Well, you got a problem now, angel, since the bitch is in the wind.”
His eyes turn darker and now his fangs are showing. “Oh. Just me?”
I motion at Samantha. “I don’t have a new changeling in my arms.” But even as I say the words, they taste like ash in my mouth. The problem is that even if every bone in my body wants to protect the blue-haired, sassy creature, I can’t. Not against Patricia.
And neither can he.
“I’ll think of something,” he mutters. “Keep her hidden. Safe.”
“How, Rafael?”
“I don’t know,” he hisses. “But I couldn’t let her die. Don’t push me on this, Santiago. I will keep her safe.”
“Fine. But you’d better come up with a fucking master plan and soon. What are you going to do about the wolves?”
“Nothing.”
“Rafael, for fuck’s sake!”
“There’s nothing to do, San. They stay on their side of the border. I stay on mine. We haven’t had an incident in decades. The wolves are the one thing I’m not worried about.”
“Fine. I still don’t get how you can tolerate having those furballs as neighbors.”
“They are shifters, not the blood-thirsty monsters you grew up hunting,” he shoots back. Since he might have a point that I’m not willing to acknowledge, we fall silent for a long time. Eventually, I break.
“I’ll help where I can.”
“Thank you.”
“Not for you. For her.”
“I gathered.” He nods solemnly and kisses her temple. “There’s something about her…”
“Temperamental and sexy as fuck. Just your type,” I say and he chuckles before sobering up again.
“The blood… How can she only drink mine? With the way she reacts, I’m not willing to test it.”
Samantha mumbles in her sleep and both of us fall silent immediately. It takes a moment for her to settle down and when she does, I see that her fangs have lowered again.
“She’ll need to feed soon,” I whisper and Rafael nods. “You need to feed too.”
“I’ve got some blood bags in the fridge,” he finally replies and I scoff.
“That diluted stuff is not going to do shit for you.”
“I—”
“And it certainly is not going to help her. You need to stock up and fast, angel.” This time, I use the name on purpose to needle him and his eyes flash.
“Are you offering to be my blood bank then?” There’s a tightness in his voice that I’m willing to bet is masking desire. And probably anger.
My blood is considered high octane because of my age, but having the same sire allows the effects to transform even better between us.
It also forges a bond and we’ve been trying to ease ours away for a very long time.
Giving Rafael blood on a regular basis is the height of stupidity in that regard.
I look at Samantha and again feel the tug and the need to care for her.
If she won’t be able to drink directly from me, I’m willing to use Rafael as a filter.
That settles it. She’ll need to be well fed and strong and this is a way I can help her to achieve that.
A stronger bond with Rafe is going to be an annoyance, but I’ll manage.
I’ve done it before.
“I won’t drink from you,” I say, and surprise flares in his face. Bah! I’m willing to feed Samantha through him, but both of us feeding from each other is a recipe for disaster. He must know that. Doesn’t he?
“You’ll let me drink from you but won’t drink from me. Is that what you are saying, San?”
“Yes. I’ll feed her any way I can, but I’m not taking a drop from you. We’ll need to make other arrangements for me.”
“What about her?”
“What about her?” I ask, confused.
“Will you drink from her?” Rafael asks and my cock springs to life. I frown at my lap and shake my head. She’s too young, too tied to Rafael. It would be almost as bad as drinking from him, too risky.
“No. I won’t drink from either of you,” I say and lift my eyes when I hear him laugh.
“Good luck with that.” He chuckles. “I… I just.” He clears his throat. “It’s all right with me if you do. If she offers. I just want you to know that.”
“I won’t,” I try to embed my words with conviction, but the sight of Samantha’s fangs peeking over her lower lip makes my voice waver.
“Uh-huh,” Rafael hums and lifts Samantha up so he can turn her head toward his neck.
She sighs so sweetly before sinking her fangs into him that I have to stifle a moan. She doesn’t fully wake and as soon as she’s done drinking, Rafael settles her back down to the bed. The goofy grin on his face suddenly gets on my nerves and I finally manage to get out of the bed.
I need to get some air and preferably some high-quality blood.
“I’m going to raid the fridge,” I say and blur out of the room.