The poor bastards sank to the floor, twitching as they suffocated. Sadie went to her hands and knees. Standing didn’t just hurt—it was agonizing. After she had her sword in hand, it took several attempts to get it into its sheath. She didn’t worry about cleaning the blood away. If the sword was ruined, she’d have another made. Right now she had to find Trey, free him and phase to the healing caverns.
“Let me help.”
Leigh wrapped her arm around Sadie’s waist, aiding her as she rose. Her legs were like water wobbling beneath her, and the gunshots to her thighs burned like a son of a bitch. Gazing down, she saw the blood covering her chest. Blood loss was another thing a vampire could survive, but if she lost too much she’d slip into a coma until she was reawakened with a feeding.
“There might be more of them,” Sadie wheezed, leaning on Leigh and hating herself for it. “It’s not safe for you to go downstairs.”
“I’m in better shape than you,” Leigh replied, her lips curving into a small smile. “You might need me.”
“Why?” So many questions in one word, but Sadie knew Leigh would understand.
“I don’t like magic.” Leigh supported Sadie’s weight as they started down the stairs. “I just want to be normal. Magic takes that away.”
As a vampire, Leigh would never be normal. There were too many changes in her life, too many differences. The puzzle pieces started coming together, allowing Sadie to see the big picture. “And you’re afraid your power will make you stand out?”
“Won’t it?”
Yes, it would. If the coven found out that Leigh was capable of such things they’d extort her ability. Each member of the coven had a purpose, and it was well-known that when a gift was revealed it was used as often as possible.
“I won’t tell them about Trey if you don’t tell them about me.” Leigh intruded on her thoughts. “Deal?”
“Deal.” Sadie lifted her head and looked at the powerful vampiric mage. “But we’re going to talk about what you can do. You need someone to help you understand the magic inside of you.”
Leigh nodded and lowered her gaze, staring at the stairs and watching her feet. “It’ll be nice to have someone to talk to.”
When they made it to the basement floor, Sadie was relieved to discover all the men on watch had come upstairs to intercept her. She didn’t have the strength to fight anyone else. Hell, she couldn’t even walk. A couple of steps and she saw the cage. Trey was inside, resting on his side. She would have run to him if she’d been able, ripping the silver bars from the atrocious thing that kept him trapped. Sadly, she relied on Leigh to get her there.
“Lean against the bars,” Leigh said and helped her get her balance. “I’ll get this open.”
Sadie wondered what other trick Leigh had up her sleeve and groaned when she saw a key hanging on the far wall. Shepherds might be smart but in this situation they were damn stupid. Leigh retrieved the key, shoved it into the lock and opened the door. Trey didn’t stir, nothing more than a large mass resting on the cold floor.
Leigh kneeled over him, touching his shoulder. “He seems fine. I don’t see any injuries. But jeez, he’s huge. I’ve never seen anything like him.” She looked at Sadie, her gaze going up and down Sadie’s bullet-ridden body. “I can’t move him by myself. If his weight isn’t issue enough, he’s too big for me to carry. You’re going to have to help.”
Sadie staggered when she moved, trying to enter the cage. Unable to do more, she went to her knees and inched toward him. Her heartbeat slowed, a warning that if the bullet in her chest remained where it was for much longer she wouldn’t make it out of the building alive.
Reaching out with a trembling hand, she touched his hair. The strands were lush and silken, so dark against her skin.
“I can’t,” she whispered, studying the shifter she wanted so much it broke something inside her. “One of the bullets hit my heart.” Lifting her eyes, she met Leigh’s concerned stare. “How weak are you?”
“Too weak to provide for you,” Leigh confessed with a sigh. “I should have taken more blood tonight. I didn’t know that I’d need it.”
Sadie touched Leigh’s arm, attempting to convey a sense of comfort. “It’s all right. You did what you could. Thank you.”
“You need to feed from him.” Leigh sounded determined, her rubbery backbone suddenly reinforced with steel. She brushed Trey’s hair out of the way, allowing a full view of his neck. “His blood will be stronger than mine. If you take what you need we can get him to the car. I’ll drive him home and you can phase to the caverns to heal.”
“It’s not that simple,” she snapped, canines elongating and nose flaring, drawn to the temptation of Trey’s lifeblood. Remorse assailed her. The tone she’d used with the girl was all kinds of wrong. If it weren’t for Leigh, Trey would have remained caged, the Shepherds would have killed her and horrible things would have happened.
“Why not?” Leigh cocked her head to the side, speaking softly. “He’s yours and you’re his. You were willing to die for him. What’s the worst that could happen?”
Starvation, anyone?
Goddess, the thought didn’t appeal to her. It was the third way a vampire could die—the most painful way imaginable. And it only happened when a vampire was stupid enough to mate with a shifter. Her body would slowly break down, making Leigh’s frail form look like a cover model’s in comparison. She’d slowly rot on the inside until there was nothing left. Most vampires went mad before they died on their own, the bloodlust turning them into mindless creatures.
“You’re going to die either way,” Leigh informed her drily. “You’re too weak to phase. If you don’t drink from him nothing you’ve done serves any purpose. He might escape but then again he might not. We don’t know if anyone else will come. Do you really want to leave him unprotected? Is it worth the risk?”
“Damn you, Leigh.” Her eyes burned with tears. “It’s. Not. That. Simple.”
Trey had made it clear he detested what she was. A vampire, a parasite. Yes he’d probably fuck her and allow her to drink as he did but there would be no emotion. No love would sustain them. Now she was totally fucking doomed, caught between a rock and a hard place.
“Then I’m going to make it so.”
Leigh reached over Sadie’s back and removed her sword. Before Sadie could argue, Leigh pressed the blade against Trey’s throat. It was a thin cut but blood flowed from his skin. Sadie’s hunger crashed into her. Her body needed blood—demanded it—and it was from the man she’d wanted to taste for so long she had wet dreams about it.
“Drink,” Leigh ordered. “Take what you need so we can go.”
Sadie tried to fight the impulse, to stem the raging lust coursing through her. Trey smelled delicious, his woodsy scent calling out to her. In her current state she feared taking too much. Thankfully Trey wasn’t human. He would regenerate the blood she consumed within a day, his body reviving itself in hours. She could take enough, not only to phase but to help him to safety. Maybe there was something the coven could afterward do to assist her, to make the hunger less painful. Perhaps it wasn’t all doom and gloom.
Stop thinking or you won’t be able to do this.
Resigned to her fate, she dipped her head and laved her tongue over his skin, cleaning away the thick red line that had risen to the surface. Her moan of pleasure couldn’t be helped. Salty and male, his blood didn’t just call to her, it sang a haunting chorus. She didn’t want to experience sexual desire in front of Leigh but she could feel a rush of wetness from her pussy, the way her womb clenched.
How embarrassing would it be to orgasm at the first real taste? As she fed from Trey as she’d fantasized about? Her fangs pulsed, her stomach clenching in need. With a prayer to the Goddess that she didn’t make a fool of herself, she opened her mouth and went for Trey’s jugular.