Chapter 33 #3
Keenan frowned. His gaze swung toward the deepest of the shadows, like he could sense where Nelson was. As soon as his eyes were focused elsewhere, the wolf spun and lunged through the cabin door, coming straight at me.
Instinct had me dipping my head. I braced, ready to use my horn against her.
Then, in a flash too fast to track, she was gone. Her body hit the kitchen counter with a thump. Her back leg twitched as she fell to the floor.
Inky black blood pooled around her body.
I blinked, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. The fireplace poker I’d set on the counter a few minutes earlier was now protruding from her chest. The vampire rushed to her side as if he meant to save her.
“Bloody hell,” Keenan muttered.
Yes. I agreed. It was bloody. Very bloody. But I couldn’t look away, even though the sight was making me queasy. He ripped the poker out of her body and cast it aside. Then he dragged his teeth along his own wrist and let his blood fill the wound.
“Come on, you mangy betraying mutt.”
But whatever he’d been hoping for obviously wasn’t happening. The wolf didn’t move. Blood no longer pumped out of the wound. Her heart had stopped. She was dead. Keenan sighed, and I wondered if he was more bothered by her and the mage’s deaths than it had first appeared.
I knew I was bothered.
I staggered, feeling lightheaded. Two people had just died right in front of me. They’d been trying to abduct me, but still… I hadn’t wanted them dead. I’d just wanted them to stop.
My knees hit the hardwood floor as I collapsed. My horn clunked against the wall as I shook my head and tried to regain my bearings.
Nelson’s shadow flowed into the cabin. He shifted into his human form a moment later.
He fell to his knees beside me, his hands brushing over me, as if assessing for injuries.
I wished I could talk in this form like other shifters so I could assure him that, other than being a little lightheaded, I was fine.
When he came to the same conclusion, he turned angry eyes to the vampire.
“You killed her.” Nelson’s accusation rang through the small room as he rushed toward the vampire.
I was surprised when the vampire didn’t retreat.
“She was destined to die from the moment she betrayed me,” Keenan said. “But I did try to postpone her death so you could get your answers. However, her injury was too severe.”
He was telling the truth.
Nelson looked at the poker and the blood on vampire’s wrist. Then he grunted, as if to acknowledge the veracity of Keenan’s words. “Your situation will prove to be fatal too if you betray us.”
Carter huffed from just outside the door. “Can we leave now? Or do you want to threaten him some more first? I want to get back to Willow Lake before someone else shows up here.”
I snorted. It came out like a neigh. Right. I’d forgotten I wasn’t in my human form. Carter’s gaze landed on me. His eyes widened in surprise.
“Fuck me,” he whispered. “I mean I knew he was a unicorn, but…”
The other guy, Eric, emerged from… wherever he’d hidden himself and grabbed Carter’s hand. He scowled at me.
That wasn’t nice.
Did he want to hurt me too?
I swung my head to make sure he noticed my horn, hoping he understood I was prepared to use it if I had to. But I really, really didn’t want to. I’d seen enough blood to last a lifetime. My horn slammed against the wall again, and the shock reverberated through my skull.
Oops. I forgot I was still inside. And I forgot how big my horn was. That’s what happened when I didn’t shift regularly.
Nelson was at my side in a flash.
“Morgan,” he whispered. He brushed his hand along my body, patting me down as if to confirm I was uninjured. “Are you okay?”
Nelson wouldn’t let anyone hurt me. And interestingly, I suspected no one else would either. I let my shift sparkle over me.
“I’m okay,” I said, pleased that he was still cupping my cheek when I finished shifting. “I just forgot how big my horn was.”
Carter let out a loud rumbling laugh.
Nelson frowned at the other man. “You’ve been spending too much time with Jeremy and Isaac.”
The big man just shrugged. “Come on. You know it was kind of funny.”
Nelson sighed. He turned his attention back to me. He held my gaze for a long moment. “I don’t trust the vampire…”
There was a derisive noise from Keenan.
“…but I do trust Carter. He’s also a bear shifter, so he’s strong. If the vampire turns on us, we can take him.”
“How lovely,” Keenan said.
Carter stepped into the cabin now and stared at Nelson and me. “Fuck me, you guys are mates.”
“Quit saying that,” Eric muttered behind him. “None of them are fucking you.”
“Right. Sorry.” Carter’s cheeks darkened, but he nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. Then he looked around the cabin. “Do you need help hauling anything to the car?”
“What about the… you know.” I couldn’t look at the bodies, so I waved vaguely toward the wolf.
“My people will take care of everything,” Keenan said.
Carter and Nelson exchanged a look.
“We don’t have much,” Nelson said as he met my gaze again. “You ready to get out of here, Sweet?”
“Yes.” I would follow Nelson anywhere, especially when he called me a cute little nickname.