Chapter 20 Sable #2
I could still smell him underneath the decay. Pine and wolf musk and that scent that belonged only to Rhys, cutting through centuries of death. His trail wove between massive trunks, marked with drops of blood that made my teeth ache.
I pressed deeper into territory that should have terrified me, following the silver thread of connection through clearings where nothing grew and past trees scarred with claw marks. The bond pulled harder, and a part of me was growing weaker as I got closer.
The scent of fresh blood stopped me cold.
There was Rhys’s blood, but there was also vampire musk thick enough to choke on, mixed with the acrid smell of burned silver. I drew on my dark heritage to cover my wolf scent as I approached. They’d be distracted by the smell of blood, enough that I could approach without their knowing.
Voices carried through the darkness ahead. They sounded bored.
“Useless,” one was saying. “Perhaps we should drain him and move on.”
“The master said we might as well get Orion intelligence from the beta. Consider it punishment for dragging his pathetic feral carcass into our lands.” This was another speaker, female, who spoke with cruel patience. “Pack routes. Territory weaknesses. The usual.”
I crept forward until I could see the clearing through the twisted undergrowth. Three vampires stood around a figure chained to an oak by silver links that pulsed with malevolent light. Even from here, I could see the burns where the metal touched exposed skin.
Rhys hung naked and unconscious, head tilted forward, his chest rising and falling in shallow gasps. The open wounds I’d left were surrounded by bite marks in various stages of healing. They were feeding slowly, keeping him alive but weak.
My magic flared without permission, silver light crackling around my fingers. The urge to rip them apart was so strong my fangs began to descend—wolf or vampire, I wasn’t sure which.
Control, I snarled at myself. There are three of them. You can’t take them all if you lose your head.
The female vampire moved closer to Rhys, a thin and sharp blade glinting in her hand. She pressed it to his throat, and he jerked awake with a sound that made my wolf howl.
“There you are,” she purred. “Ready to discuss Orion’s patrol schedules? Or shall we continue our little experiment?”
Rhys lifted his head, and even weakened, defiance burned in his eyes. “Fuck off.”
She laughed, pressing the blade deeper. A thin line of blood appeared. “Such spirit. I do hope you maintain it.”
Her eyes were widening and her pupils dilating, as if the pull of wolf blood was too much to overcome.
That was when I moved.
The first vampire never knew what hit him. I silently climbed a tree and dropped from the canopy above, silver magic wrapped around my fists as I drove them into his spine. Bone cracked. He crumpled without a sound.
The other two spun toward me, fangs extending, but I was already rolling behind the cover of brambles.
“Another wolf,” the male said, circling my position. “Lost, are we, little pup?”
I stayed low, calculating angles. They would be fast, but they were arrogant. Confident in their remote location and having me outnumbered.
“She moves strangely,” the female observed, blade still poised at Rhys’s throat. “Too controlled for wolf panic.”
I stepped into the moonlight, letting them see me clearly. Silver magic danced around my fingers, but I kept it contained.
“Let him go,” I said quietly. “Walk away. Live another century.”
The female vampire studied me with sudden interest. Her nostrils flared as she caught my scent, and recognition dawned across her features.
“Fascinating,” she breathed. “You smell familiar, little wolf.” She took a step closer, leaving Rhys for the moment. “Those eyes. That bone structure.” Her smile turned predatory. “You have his look about you. A look we know well.”
Ice spread through my veins. No. Not here.
The male vampire was staring at me too, head cocked in consideration. “She does, doesn’t she? Something about the way she carries herself…” His eyes narrowed. “Another one of his bastards, perhaps?”
These bottom-feeders recognizing the bloodline I’d spent decades hiding meant others would too. Others who mattered far more than they did.
“Who gives a fuck about my lineage?” I said, voice steady despite the panic clawing at my chest. “What matters is that you’re about to expire.”
The female vampire laughed. “Oh, little half-breed. You think—”
I exploded into motion.
Silver magic erupted from my hands as I launched myself at her, moving faster than any pure wolf could dream of. She tried to dodge, but I was already close, fingers closing around her throat.
The silver burned her where I touched her, flesh sizzling against undead skin. She screamed and raked her claws across my arms. I held on and squeezed harder.
The male vampire hit me from behind, sending us both crashing through undergrowth. I rolled with the impact, came up swinging. We traded blows in a deadly dance, each strike calculated to maim or kill.
His fist connected with my ribs. My elbow found his solar plexus. He grabbed for my throat; I broke his wrist.
I glanced behind us to find the female was getting to her feet, silver burns healing slowly on her neck. She approached more carefully, wary of the power I’d shown.
“The Headmaster always did breed strong children,” she called out. “Pity most of them turned out so disappointing.”
Rage flared white-hot in my chest. I spun and drove my fist through the male vampire’s chest before he could react. His eyes went wide as my fingers closed around his heart. Black blood poured from his mouth as I ripped the organ free, silver magic ensuring it would never regenerate.
He crumbled to ash.
The female vampire stared at the dust pile, then back at me with something approaching respect.
"Perhaps we should discuss—"
"No discussion." I was already moving, silver magic wrapping around her before she could turn to run. This time, when I grabbed her throat, I didn't hesitate.
She clawed at my arm, eyes wild with panic, but my magic held her immobile. I drove my other hand through her ribcage—felt bone crack and splinter beneath my fingers—and closed my fist around her heart. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Just a wet, choking gasp.
I ripped it free.
Her body crumpled at my feet, lifeless before she hit the ground. Silence fell over the clearing, broken only by my ragged breathing. The sound of Rhys's heartbeat echoed through the bond. I turned toward where he hung from the silver chains, his eyes open and watching my every move.
“How?” he asked, voice barely audible.
I approached carefully, preparing my magic to work on the vampire restraints.
“How did you find me? How did you move that fast? How did you…” He nodded weakly at the vampire ash. “How did you kill them so easily?”
The chains fell away under my touch. Rhys collapsed forward and I caught him, his weight solid and real against me.
“I followed the bond,” I said, not entirely a lie, as I set him down on the ground and sat beside him. “It might be damaged, but it’s still there.”
Even as I spoke, I could see him catching up. The way the silver hadn’t burned me. The speed. The recognition in the vampires’ voices.
“You’re hurt,” I said, taking inventory of his injuries. Vampire venom had left dark veins spreading across his chest. Silver burns marked his wrists and ankles. Blood loss had drained the color from his face.
“I’ll live.”
I could feel his weakness through our connection, the way the venom fought against his natural healing. Without intervention, he’d be dead within hours.
“No,” I said quietly. “You won’t.”
I bit into my wrist before I could think too hard about what I was doing. Dark blood welled up, and I pressed it to his lips.
“Drink.”
He tried to pull away. “Sable, what—”
“The venom will kill you. My blood will neutralize it.” I let command creep into my voice. “Drink.”
His lips parted, and I pressed my bleeding wrist to his mouth. The moment my blood touched his tongue, the phantom bond jolted awake.
Real warmth spread through the connection I’d tried to sever.
His eyes widened as he tasted me. He should have recoiled. Any sane wolf would have been revolted by drinking blood, even to save his own life. Instead, his hand came up to cradle my wrist, fingers gentle against skin that should have been burning him with silver magic.
The intimacy caught me off guard. My blood carrying pieces of what I was into him, all the secrets I’d never shared.
I felt each pull as he drew life from my veins. The bond pulsed stronger, but so did something else—something that made my breath catch and my wolf pace beneath my skin.
At first, Rhys drank with careful control, his grip on my wrist almost gentle. But then something shifted. His fingers tightened, bruising-hard, and a low growl rumbled from his chest. When I tried to pull back, his other hand shot up and clamped around the back of my neck, holding me in place.
"Rhys—"
Another growl, deeper this time, vibrating against my skin. His eyes flickered open—wolf-gold and wild, the color nearly swallowed by black. He wasn't looking at me anymore. His gaze was unfocused, distant, like he'd slipped somewhere beyond reason.
His mouth worked against my wrist, no longer just drinking but consuming—tongue, teeth and desperate pulls that sparked heat low in my belly.
My body responded before my brain could stop it—wetness, aching need, the traitorous urge to drag him closer even though every instinct screamed this was dangerous.
Control yourself. This means nothing.
But I couldn't look away and couldn't pull free.
He lifted his head, blood smeared across his mouth, and my heart kicked hard against my ribs. His expression was raw, unhinged—all predator, no restraint. For a moment I thought he might lunge, might sink his teeth into my throat instead.
Then his lips moved. "You have a—" His voice cracked, barely human, the words torn from somewhere deep and unconscious. His eyes went hazy, unseeing. "Beautiful soul."
The softness of it didn't match the wildness in his face. Like two different versions of him speaking at once.
His tongue swept across my wrist one last time, slow and possessive, and I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek to keep from making a sound I'd regret.
He blinked. For a heartbeat, confusion flickered across his face—like he'd just surfaced from deep water and didn't recognize where he was.
Then his grip loosened, leaving me shaking with need.
The wound was healing, my vampire nature sealing the torn skin, but he didn’t release me immediately. His lips lingered against my pulse point, breath warm against flesh that suddenly felt too sensitive.
“Sable,” he whispered against my skin, and the way he said my name made me flush.
Fuck him now. My wolf’s command.
I pulled my wrist away, chastising my wolf at the same time. Color had returned to Rhys’s cheeks, and the dark veins of venom were fading, but his gaze stayed fixed on my face with an intensity that made me want to run—and rip my clothes off.
I turned my attention to his other wounds, needing the distraction more than he needed the healing. Silver magic flowed through my fingertips, but my hands weren’t as steady as they should have been.
Every point of contact sent heat spiraling through me.
The way he went still when I traced his ribs.
His sharp intake of breath when I reached the gashes I’d made.
His cock stiffened as I ran my magic through him, doing what I could to heal him.
I bit my lip to contain the forces within me that wanted nothing more than to straddle him, feel him inside me, and create something between us that had never existed before.
This was dangerous. More dangerous than the vampires, more dangerous than the cursed territory we were trapped in.
Rein it in, I told myself. This is about ending the bond, not sealing it.
“There,” I said finally. “That should hold until we get you somewhere safe.”
He flexed his fingers, testing his range of motion. The worst wounds had closed, though faint scars remained. Instead of thanking me, he went very still.
His expression shifted, the warmth draining from his features. His gaze moved from my face to my hands, then to the silver chains scattered on the ground. His eyes lingered on my wrist, where the bite mark had already healed completely, leaving only faint traces of blood.
“Sable.”
Something in his tone made my spine stiffen. “Yes?”
Before I could react, his hand shot out and wrapped around my throat.
“What the fuck are you?”