Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
Gent
We finally found our mate.
We’ve been searching for her for so long, only to find her in peril. When the vampire bitch attacked her in the woods, my heart stopped for a second. There was no time, I had to throw her out of the way. And then the werewolf attacked.
I thought he was with the blond bitch, trying to harm our mate. It took all my self-control to keep the beast at bay and keep a form I can control.
It was only when the werewolf kept trying to put himself between us and our mate that I realized he was trying to protect her. When the bitch started running away, I had to make a split-second decision to follow her and leave our mate behind with the wolf trying to protect her.
It doesn’t surprise me that our mate has more males drawn to her. She should have many protectors. Although I can’t say that any of them are doing a very good job at the moment. Even we—my beasts and I—are failing her.
She’s still radiant, glowing colors that remind me of home, but with every gulp, we sense her aura dimming. When that light is gone, so is her essence.
Both vampires crouch on the ground next to her and plead with her to let go. I don’t know why drinking down the bitch is hurting her, but it is. And she’s not stopping, not even when the vampires plead, cajole, and try to order her to let go.
Strong-willed she is, like our mate should be, but this is not good for her.
:Mate. Let go of the bitch now. I order her and press closer to her legs. My lion is exhausted, battered, and unable to change, but we are alive. Alive, thanks to our mate and the blood she gave us.
:Mate! I roar and feel a flicker of response from her. Faint and unfocused, but there. I lick her bloody leg and rumble. :Stop drinking. Now!
:Don’t… order me… around!
Her response is strained, weak, and annoyed. I rumble again. :I won’t as soon as you stop making stupid decisions. Enough!
:Fu-fuck you. I’ll kill her for hurting you. Any of… you.
Ah. What a glorious mate she is.
:Not your mate.
We’ll see about that. For now, I need to help her to get better. To regain her control. If there’s something I know about, it’s loss of control. I’m still ashamed that the loss of my restraint allowed the beast to latch onto her too hard through the bond and cause her pain.
Without hesitation, I act. My teeth sink into her leg, deep and hard, and I hold on. Little pain now will save her from much later. She thrashes, the vampires shout, and I bite down harder.
She screams—and lets go of the bitch’s wrist.
:There now, my sweet mate. That’s better. I soothe her but don’t let go.
As soon as she takes in another breath, she begins to vomit. Foul blood spills from her mouth in great spurts and the vampire supports her head, making sure most of it spills to the ground. The other one is still shouting at me, but I ignore him. He’s not important.
Our mate’s thrashing eases and, gently, I let go of her leg and lick the bite mark clean. Her blood doesn’t taste right; there’s too much of that bitch mixed in, and the lion’s hackles rise. The bear rumbles, but it knows it couldn’t do anything to help right now.
The wolf, however, is ferocious. It thrashes to be free, worried out of its mind about our mate. I try to hold it back to conserve what little energy we have left, but the wolf is not backing down.
With a howl, it breaks free and noses our mate’s hand. When she doesn’t respond, he lifts his head and howls. Our mate doesn’t hear, but others do. The other alpha wolf rouses and I hear even more howls farther away.
There’s a wolf pack running our way.