Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Rafael
Watching San drain Samantha is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. The sight of her wasting away before my eyes kills me. My mind screams for me to feed her, but the pain in our bond keeps me at bay. Every inhale brings more of the sour taste to my mouth.
And then it’s gone. Between one gulp and the next, her scent changes and I surge forward, tearing Santiago off her. The strain on her face fades, leaving behind emptiness, death.
“Fucking feed her,” the wolf growls. He cradles her head and it lolls to the side like a puppet with its strings cut.
I bite into my wrist hard and deep and lift it to her mouth.
The wolf already pried her jaw open and the blood trickles straight down.
She’s not biting or drinking. I don’t think she’s even conscious anymore, but we need to get the blood inside her.
Reaching over, I massage her throat to get her to swallow. Her skin is so cold, but at least she reacts to my prodding and swallows. Her eyes flutter open and she licks my blood. As soon as my wound closes, I tear it open again.
Every swallow should help her rebound, but she stays just as lethargic. She’s not getting blood fast enough.
“Help her sit up,” I say to the wolf and gouge my neck open. The alpha lifts her up and I pull her mouth to my throat.
“Bite, sweetheart,” I urge her. Still, she only licks slowly, barely swallowing. Urgency hammers at me. I need her to drink. To really drink.
“Come on, dove. You need to drink,” the alpha pleads. He’s pushing her tighter against me and I hug her closer. I can’t lose her, not again.
“Samantha, please,” I murmur. When even her feeble licking fails, what’s left of my patience snaps.
“Drink!” I bellow, pushing everything I can into compelling her.
She shudders from the force, but her fangs shoot out and latch in.
“Keep drinking,” I demand. I’m her maker.
She’s not allowed to stop. I won’t let her die on me.
Fury blazes in my gut and filters out in my voice. Even the alpha shudders at the punch it delivers, but he’s not complaining, not when she finally curves her hand around my neck and holds tight.
Now she’s drinking properly, big gulps, one after another, draining me. “Blood,” I say more evenly and Olivia pushes a glass into my hand. I drink it down but barely feel it. She’s a wolf shifter but not a strong one, and Samantha will need all the strength I can give her.
She starts to pull back and I dig my fingers into her nape, grounding her in place.
A soft whimper escapes her, but I don’t care.
She’ll keep drinking until I say so, until I’ve nothing left to give her.
The amount she’s taking is starting to take its toll, but it’s not nearly enough to revitalize her.
“More blood,” I say.
“I might need some too,” Santiago says, his voice hoarse from throwing up. “The poison… it’s some potent shit.”
I glance over to see him leaning against the couch, pale as death, eyes bloodshot and fangs out. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him brought that low and I itch to help him. Give him blood, even if just a sip.
He meets my eyes and shakes his head. “I won’t drink from you. She needs it all, trust me. Every drop.”
She does. I don’t doubt that, but that’s not the only reason he’s refusing and from the looks of it, he knows it too. Jere moves to the drink cart and pulls out a clean glass. Before I think to question it, he lashes his wrist and fills the glass.
“Here,” he says, thrusting it into Santiago’s shaking hands. It’s only then I notice Olivia bringing me another glass of her blood.
“Thank you,” I murmur and guzzle it down. She immediately goes to fill it again, but the alpha stops her.
“That’s enough, Olivia,” he says and turns to me. “You need more—she needs more.”
I nod and wait. He’s still holding Samantha up, so he maneuvers her a bit to free one hand and offers it to me.
“Drink. I give it willingly,” he growls.
We both make sure not to jostle Samantha and then I clamp down on him. The moment his blood hits my system, I fly. The power in him is ancient, passed through generations, and it’s not just wolf I taste in him.
Entwined with the taste of earth is the flavor of spring water, fresh and clear.
And beyond that are other things that tempt me.
Inhaling his essence, I get a whiff of storm and wind, a hint of something soaring high above clouds.
Everything in him screams predator, one who’s on the top of the food chain.
I don’t sense any weakening in him, despite the blood he’s losing.
But I do feel Samantha getting stronger.
She’s now drinking in earnest and I can sense the alpha’s blood hitting her system.
Relief cools the rage and terror boiling in my gut and I relax a bit.
I can be patient now, as long as she keeps drinking.
“Alpha Zack,” Olivia tries to say something, but he growls over her.
“Don’t interrupt.”
“He’s taking too much,” she tries again.
“I’m fine.”
“Alpha Zack,” the other wolf butts in too. “Maybe—”
“No,” Zack says, full of alpha command, and even Samantha shivers.
“But—”
“She needs more,” Santiago interrupts Olivia this time.
“I don’t care what she needs,” Olivia mutters.
“Olivia,” the other wolf—what the fuck was his name—says and takes her hand.
“It’s not right…”
I tune them out and focus on Samantha. She might have a point or not, but I don’t care. The only thing that matters is Samantha and what she needs. More blood. Powerful blood.
Beating sounds thrum against my senses. The wolves are getting louder when they are agitated. Bodies readying for action. The irregularity of it annoys me. I want a steady beat. Strong beat, not this… fluttering.
“Samantha, dove,” the alpha says, wonder in his voice. “Dove,” he whispers again, leaning closer.
And I freeze, every muscle in my body turning frigid. The fluttering gets stronger, forcing me to become aware of every beat. One after another, until each of them thrums against my body.
Her heart is beating again.
Fuck! How is that possible? Vampires don’t have heartbeats.
Shuddering, I grip her closer, but the wolf is there, basically twining himself around her. Even if I’m filtering his blood for her, he’s acting like she’s drinking straight from him.
She quivers in my arms and suddenly pulls back. Her blue eyes are crackling with life, and there’s a slight flush on her cheeks. Then the hazy look returns to her eyes and she tears the wolf’s arm from my mouth.
“Mine,” she growls and fuses her lips over mine. It’s a battle for dominance, filled with fire and need. Her. Mine. The wolf’s. Samantha pierces my lip with her fang and sucks it into her mouth.
When I gently pull back, I notice her nails digging into the wolf’s arm.
“Mine,” she growls again, this time glaring at him, daring him to object. When he doesn’t, she relaxes a fraction before turning and sinking her fangs into my neck again.
And this time, the bite is full of pleasure, enough to shake me to my core.