Lucien stacked the three remaining containers outside the door of Callie’s shed. He glanced up the stairs toward the apartment as he leaned against the doorframe. He’d give her a few minutes to herself and her memories before returning.
He studied the building before turning his attention to the other homes lining the street. Fences separated most of the backyards, and this one was no exception. The six-foot fence surrounding the property kept it neatly separated from the neighbors.
Lifting the two full containers he’d carried downstairs, he walked to the closed gate and set them down to open it. He used his foot to keep the door open while reclaiming the containers and strode into the front yard.
He stopped at the back of the SUV, pulled out his keys, and hit the unlock button. Setting the containers down again, he lifted the back door as, down the street, another door slammed shut. He set the boxes inside and closed the door before turning to discover Saber stalking toward him.
“Don’t you answer your phone?” Saber demanded.
Lucien frowned and slid his hand into his pocket. “It didn’t ring.”
He removed the device and checked the screen; there were no missed calls. It was no secret he despised technology, but he knew how to use a phone, and he held it up to show Saber before turning it back to him.
Then he saw there were no bars at the top. He glanced at the sky as if he could somehow see the waves, or signal, or whatever it was the stupid devices used to work, but of course, they weren’t visible.
“I don’t have any service,” he said to Saber. “Why? What’s the problem?”
“A human went inside a couple of minutes ago. There’s no sign of Savages, but we thought you should know.”
Usually, a human wasn’t a cause for concern, but Savages sometimes used them to do the dirty work they couldn’t during the day. He glanced up and down the street before lifting his eyes to the third-floor windows.
He kept his eyes on the windows as he opened himself up to Callie’s presence. Although they weren’t mated, he could still sense her moods. However, he kept her shut out so as not to intrude.
Now, as he opened himself up to her, Callie’s terror hit him like a bolt of lightning that seared straight into his soul.
“Shit!” he hissed as he bolted for the door.
• • •
“You whore!”
Carter’s spit and the blood from his broken nose sprayed her face as he lifted her off the ground. Callie kicked at him as white stars lit the blackness engulfing her. Her lungs burned, she couldn’t breathe, and instead of her punch knocking his hold free, it only infuriated him.
“Are you fucking him?” he shouted at her.
Carter had to realize she couldn’t answer him and that he was on the verge of crushing her windpipe, but it didn’t seem to matter as he continued shouting at her. Straining to maintain consciousness and her wits, Callie gathered what remained of her strength and lifted her feet. She planted them in his stomach and pushed against him.
Carter grunted, and his grip on her lessened, but it wasn’t enough for her to draw air into her brutalized lungs. She was going to die; this asshole was going to kill her. She’d been so anxious about Savages that she never considered this monster might return.
A roar filled her ears, and she thought it was the blood thundering through them as she experienced the last few seconds of her life. And then Carter was torn away from her.
Startled by the abrupt freedom, Callie hit the floor on her ass. She wheezed as she tried to inhale, but her constricted lungs refused to let in oxygen. Her head bobbed down before snapping up. When her lungs finally eased, oxygen flooded her system, and she gasped in air.
Red filled Lucien’s vision as wrath pulsed through his veins with every rapid beat of his heart. This man… this thing had tried to kill her.
He scented Callie’s blood on the air seconds before he sank his fangs into the bastard’s throat. The man’s arms flailed before the agony of Lucien’s bite ceased his movements.
He’d never intentionally inflicted pain on someone while feeding, but he gladly did so now. He could have protected and sheltered the man from the pain; he didn’t. Instead, he made sure he knew nothing but suffering while he fed.
He’d almost drained him dry before pulling away and twisting his head to the side. The crack of his breaking neck reverberated through the kitchen. Lucien would pay for killing a human with increased sensitivity to the sun, but he’d gladly kill him a thousand more times.
Callie’s head bobbed down before popping back up. She blinked at Lucien as he released the body, and it hit the floor with a thud.
“Callie? Callie, look at me,” he commanded as he knelt before her.
Blood spilled from the lump already forming in the center of her forehead. Her skin was turning black around it. A trail of blood ran down the center of her nose and fell off to splatter on the ground. She blinked at him but didn’t reply.
His gaze fell to her brutalized throat and the finger marks standing starkly out against her skin. When he cradled her cheek in his palm, she lifted her eyes to his before they fell away again.
“Callie, who is this?” But as he asked it, he already knew the answer. “Is it Carter?”
Callie opened her mouth to reply, but only a small croak came out. Her brutalized throat and spinning mind wouldn’t allow much more to slip free. Swallowing, she winced when the movement caused fresh pain in her brutalized throat.
“Yes,” she managed to whisper.
Lucien bit back a curse as he glanced at the lifeless body behind them. He wished the asshole was still alive so he could make his death far more painful. It had been too quick and easy for him.
Lucien leaned closer and kissed her wounded forehead before cupping her cheek. “Are you okay?” When her dazed eyes met his, he saw her shock and terror. “He’s dead, Callie. You don’t ever have to worry about him again.”
Tears filled her eyes as her lower lip trembled. She sobbed and then winced when the movement jarred her brutalized throat.
“Hey,” someone called from the living room. “Is everything okay in there?”
Callie wiped away her tears; she refused to let anyone see her cry. She refused to let Carter be the cause of any more of her tears.
“It’s Saber,” Lucien said. “Can you invite him in? I need help cleaning this up.”
“Yes,” Callie croaked.
Lucien helped her rise, and keeping his arm locked around her waist, he led her around the body. He held her face in his chest so she couldn’t see Carter. When they entered the living room, he spotted Saber standing in the doorway; Logan stood behind him, but Asher must have stayed with the vehicle.
“You can both come in,” Callie rasped.
The sound of her brutalized voice caused a muscle to jump in Lucien’s cheek. Carter had gotten off too easy.
“Is everything okay?” Logan asked as his pine-colored eyes ran over Callie before settling on her forehead.
“There’s a body to dispose of,” Lucien told them.
Saber stepped into the apartment. His face was expressionless as his cobalt blue eyes ran over the room before settling on Callie. His face remained distant. Lucien had no idea what to make of the man, but then, that was nothing new. He hadn’t known what to make of Saber ever since he started working with them almost five years ago.
Saber shifted his attention back to Callie as she kept her chin raised and her eyes focused on the window across from them.
“We’ll take care of it,” Logan said as he entered the apartment.
Callie didn’t move as the two of them walked past her toward the kitchen.
“This way,” Lucien said and guided her through the living room to her bedroom.
When he settled her on the bed, she clasped her hands together in her lap. Inhaling a shaky breath, she leaned forward and put her head between her knees as she tried to calm her racing thoughts.
“You shouldn’t have killed him,” she murmured to the floor.
“I should have killed him slower,” Lucien said as he sat beside her on the bed and rested his hand on her back.
“He was human.”
“He was a monster.”
“Yes, but his death will affect you.”
“It was worth it.”
Tears burned her eyes again, but she blinked them away. Taking a deep breath, she sat up. She couldn’t hide from what happened here today, and she refused to let herself fall apart.
Lucien rested his fingers against her brutalized throat. Red fingerprints were visible against her skin, and they were already darkening to a deep purple hue.
“Let me give you some of my blood,” he said. “It will help you heal faster.”
Callie blinked at him. “Will it… will it change me?”
“No. I would have to take a lot of your blood and give you a whole lot more of mine. I’ll only give you enough to heal you faster.”
“Oh.” She pondered his offer as her stomach turned. She didn’t like the idea of drinking blood, but she would have to get used to it if she was going to join him. “Okay.”
Lucien draped his arm around her waist, and pulling her closer, he kissed her temple before biting his wrist. When his blood welled forth, he offered it to Callie. She clasped it in both of her hands, and keeping her eyes on his, she brought it to her mouth.
She didn’t know what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t the sweetness mixed in with the coppery taste of his blood. She expected to be repulsed, and though her stomach churned with the realization she was drinking another’s blood, she wasn’t as repulsed by it as she’d expected. No, instead, she discovered she liked it.
As the blood seeped into her system, strength flooded her. Her tension and the tenderness in her throat eased until she could breathe easier. When his blood stopped flowing, he removed his wrist from her mouth and bit into it again.
This time, Callie eagerly brought it back to her mouth.