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his movements. One second Rhys was in front of Madison, the next both men were in the hallway. Connor rushed over to Madison. Will he be okay? she asked, crying. Connor couldn t answer. He was too busy running his hands over her body. When he pulled her away from the wall, she gasped. He felt moisture on his hands. He gently lifted his mate and carried her out into the hallway. Laying her down on her stomach, he carefully lifted the blood-encrusted material away from her back. She whimpered. I m sorry, baby, I have to see how bad it is. Without jerking her body, he gathered material on either side of the sliced fabric and ripped it in half, exposing her back. What he saw had him feeling ill. There were four slices running from the base of her neck to her tailbone so deep he could see her spine in some places. Baby, you have to shift, he pleaded. Can t, drugged, she slurred. He placed his hand on her chest and felt her heartbeat begin to slow. She can t shift. What do I do? Aleks! What do I do! Through his mate bond he felt her begin to slip away. Gabriel, I m begging you. Please donate some of your blood so that my brother s mate may live, Aleks begged of Gabriel. Connor looked over to the prince. He cradled Rhys in his arms ever so gently. His long pale fingers wrapped around the back of Rhys s head, holding him to his neck. The beauty of the moment in the middle of such terror etched the scene in his mind. Gabriel looked as though he were nursing Rhys the way a woman nursed her baby. I m kind of indisposed at the moment. Daniel, do you agree to donate your blood? Gabriel asked, his voice a hollow imitation of what it normally was. Daniel jumped up and nodded enthusiastically. Just a few drops, Daniel, just enough to get her to shift, Gabriel warned. Daniel s fangs elongated, and he pricked his finger on his own fang. Gently he put his finger in Madison s mouth. He swirled it around and removed it. He looked at Connor, worried. Come on, baby, just a few swallows. I always swallow, she joked, her words faint. Connor s heart flipped over. Here she was moments from death and she was still giving him a hard time. We ll test the validity of that statement later. Shift, he ordered, and her heart rate began to race. Seconds later a large white Bengal tiger lay sprawled over his body. He lay on the floor and buried his hands in her fur. He could feel her purr vibrate over his entire body. Exhausted, he closed his eyes. He didn t care that he was on the floor with his mate in an abandoned warehouse, only that she was alive and in his arms. I still say we got gypped. I want to shift into an animal. Daniel pouted. Madison lifted her head then buried her cold nose in Connor s neck. He laughed. Baby, you lied. You are closer to four hundred pounds than three fifty. The Bengal tiger stared down at him, her sky-blue eyes flat and unamused. She stood, letting Connor scoot backward and stand. She then curled up in a ball and wrapped her tail around her body. Sir. I don t know how to say this, but we need to put the vampire down. Baron walked up to Connor, the Sentinel squad at his back. Madison opened one eye, stood and majestically sauntered over to Gabriel, effectively putting her between the Sentinels and Gabriel. Her mouth opened and she hissed long and loudly at the men. Baron, that vampire is a member of Gabriel s coven, one of his children. I can t let you kill him, not when there is a chance to save him, Connor protested. He noticed that the Arkadians spread out behind him, forming a wall between the Sentinels and Gabriel. Professor, you know as well as I do that in these cases when their eyes go red and they turn feral, there is no way to get them back. I m sorry. I really am, but if we let him go he will kill. Baron widened his stance, not backing down. Those other vampires chose to kill. Rhys didn t have a choice in any of this. He was kidnapped and held against his will. There is no blood on his hands, his soul is intact. He refrained from attacking Madison, even though he was starved and she was dripping blood. I saw his eyes, Baron, they were green, even if it was for a second, they turned back to green, Connor argued and Baron shook his head. Dammit, look at him! Connor yelled, throwing his arm back to point at Gabriel. The Sentinels watched Rhys suckle at Gabriel s neck. His hand gripped Gabriel s collar, and his head lay peacefully on the Prince s chest. Look at him. Gabriel is one of the oldest vampires in existence, he is Rhys s creator and he is donating his own blood to save his child. Gabriel s blood is one of the rarest substances in the world, and he is giving it freely to save Rhys. I can not let you kill him. Not now. Not when he has finally been found. Connor met Baron s eyes. They stared at each other for a minute before Baron nodded. Prince Gabriel. How long before you know for sure that he cannot be saved? Baron asked. If his eyes don t return to normal within the first month, then I won t be able to save him, Gabriel said, sounding weaker. We ll visit again in a month. I am not doing this to be an asshole. But if he has to go down, it might be easier to let me do it. Baron ran his hands over his shaved head. I appreciate the sentiment, but if anyone will put my child to rest, it will be me. Gabriel s voice held no emotion. Baron nodded. Connor, we re moving out. I doubt he will return here. But we ll monitor the place just to be on the safe side. We re back to square one with this killer. He said he was moving on, now we have to wait for bodies to start popping up again. Baron growled. When you catch him, I would like to be present for his judgment, Gabriel announced. Coming from him it didn t sound like a request. Of course. Connor, we re taking one of the SUVs, Baron said, giving a half bow to Gabriel. Connor nodded then started counting people. They had enough room for Madison, but no one was expecting to find Rhys. Connor watched as Daniel walked over to Aleks and pulled on his hand. His head jerked to Gabriel. He mouthed the word please. Aleks nodded and walked over to Gabriel and Rhys, rubbing his hand between Madison s ears. Gabriel, you ve given enough. Any more and we ll have to carry your ass out of here. If you re still set on donating more to him later, do it after you ve rested and eaten. If I take you back to Arkadia sucked dry like a Capri Sun, Ashby is going to kick my ass, Aleks teased. Gabriel graced them with a rare smile. We couldn t have that. It would damage your grumpy reputation. Gabriel closed his eyes and eased Rhys off his neck. The man made weak protesting noises before settling down to sleep. When Gabriel opened his eyes he looked at Daniel. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |
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