Lucien shifted her as he stripped her blood-soaked clothing before removing his. Then he lifted her into his arms and carried her into the bathroom. He kicked the door closed behind them, turned on the water, and waited for it to warm before stepping beneath the spray.
Callie flinched when the water hit her skin, but she soon calmed again, and she didn’t wake. He set her down in the tub and knelt to massage muscles he knew had to be sore after everything she endured. He worked his way up her legs and over her back and shoulders as he leaned her against him.
Blood streamed from their bodies and swirled around the drain before vanishing. It took a good five minutes before the water ran clear. The wound in her chest was healing, but it remained a gaping hole. However, he could no longer see her heart beating inside her as bone and muscle had knitted closed over it.
He fought against the emotion burning his throat and eyes as he gazed at the injury. He’d come so close to losing her, and now that they were finally safe, the reality of how close was sinking in. His shoulders hunched forward as he drew her into his arms and crushed her to him as his tears mingled with the water streaming over them.
“I love you,” he whispered over and over.
The words were so difficult for him to say for so long, but he would make sure she heard them every day for the rest of their lives together. She was his everything, and his brother had sunk a sword into her beautiful heart. He’d almost lost her, but he’d been granted a miracle, and he would cherish it for eternity.
The water was turning cold by the time Lucien shut it off. They didn’t have any shampoo or soap, but he felt infinitely cleaner by the time he stepped out of the tub.
Steam choked the air and coated the large mirror over the sink as he opened the door. With no towels available, they dripped water across the wood floor as he carried her to the bed.
When a knock sounded on the door, he settled her on the bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. He made sure she was completely covered before tugging on his boxers and walking to the door. She was covered, but he used his body to block the room as he opened the door.
Declan stood on the other side with his and Callie’s bags in hand. “I thought these would come in handy.”
Lucien took the bags from him. “Thank you.”
“How is she?”
“Okay. I think she’s going to wake soon.”
“Good.”
“How’s it going with the demon?”
“It’s still unconscious.”
“We’re never going to get any information out of it.”
Declan ran a hand through his auburn hair and tugged at the ends of it. “No, but maybe, if we can get it talking, I’ll be able to sense something from it.”
Lucien’s eyebrows lifted. He’d always suspected—he was sure they all had—that Declan possessed an ability to understand and feel more than the rest of them. They’d worked together for centuries, but this was the first time Declan ever confirmed it to him.
With a jolt, he realized how much Willow had changed him. But then, finding their mates had changed all of them. They were all far different than the Defenders who existed before Ronan discovered Kadence and the Alliance formed.
They were always close, but they’d been shut off to each other and trapped in their thoughts, memories, and troubles. Now, they were closer and more open. Ronan had taken his rightful position as king, Killean was nowhere near as cold as he once was, Saxon was happier, and Declan was revealing more of himself than ever before.
And he… well, he was nowhere near the asshole he was before being taken prisoner. He glanced over his shoulder at Callie. Before her, his heart had felt like a lead weight in his chest. Now, every beat of his heart pounded for her, and he didn’t loathe the world as much as he once did.
She’d made him stronger; all of their mates had made them stronger. However, having their lives and their hearts tied into the well-being of another also made them weaker.
That weakness nearly destroyed him when he saw the sword plunge into her heart, and without her, he would become a monster the likes of which none of his brothers had ever seen. But he welcomed the weakness she’d brought into his life if it meant having her by his side.
“Do you think you will be able to sense anything from it?” Lucien asked.
Declan shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not really sure if that thing is capable of experiencing anything I could sense, but we’ll find out.”
Lucien studied Declan as he set their bags on the floor next to the door. “We’re not the same anymore, are we?”
A small smile played at the corners of Declan’s mouth. “No. Nor do I wish to be.”
“Neither do I,” Lucien admitted.
“Let us know if you need anything.”
“I will.”
Lucien closed the door, stripped out of his boxers, retreated to the bed, and curled up beside Callie to draw her into his arms. He held her close while he tried not to think about how close he’d come to losing her. Even with her in his arms, he still might go mad from the memory of Yannis stabbing her if he focused on it.
Another hour passed before he felt the flutter of her lashes against his neck. When she stirred, a low groan issued from her, her nails bit into his back, and she whimpered.
“Shh,” he soothed as he ran his hands over her back. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”
Callie’s eyes fluttered open, and she found herself staring into the curve of Lucien’s neck as his body warmed her and his thick muscles ensconced her in safety. When the vein in his neck throbbed, something inside her stirred, but the sudden tidal wave of memories bombarding her buried it.
Jerking back, her hand flew to her chest, and she released a strangled cry as her fingers fell on the hole there. There was a hole in her chest!
She ignored the pain as her fingers prodded at the frayed flesh and animalistic sounds filled the air. It took her far too long to realize those sounds were coming from her, but she couldn’t pull herself out of the memory of her death.
She could still hear the crunch of her bones as steel pierced her body before the sword buried itself in her heart. Once again, she saw the sick smile twisting Yannis’s mouth as he relished her anguish.
Lucien clasped her hand. “It’s over now. You’re safe, and you’re alive.”
“How?” she croaked. “How am I still alive?”
“Simone got to you,” Lucien said as he ran his thumb over her trembling bottom lip. “She was able to get some blood into you before the Savages stopped her. And then, I managed to get more blood into you. Between the two of us, you received enough blood to ensure you didn’t die.”
Callie’s eyes flew up to his as he pulled her hand away from the hole in her chest.
“He stabbed me through the heart,” she whispered.
Red flickered through his eyes. “I know.”
“I felt myself dying.”
His hand squeezed hers as he used his other hand to grip her nape. “But you’re alive and still here, with me.”
“Am I… am I a vampire?”
“The transformation isn’t complete yet. You have to feed, but once you do, you’ll finish becoming a vampire, you’ll feel better, and you’ll heal faster.”
Her gaze returned to her chest, and she shuddered. “So close… I was so close. I felt it all slipping away. It was all being torn away from me and… and….”
“And?” he prodded when she stopped speaking.
“And I was so scared.” She met his gaze again. “I didn’t want to lose you, but I was so glad I found you and got to experience real love before I died.”
“And you’ll get to experience that love every day for eternity.”
She gave him a wan smile as she rested her fingers on the solid wall of his chest.
“Don’t think about it,” he murmured as he kissed her forehead. “It’s the past; it’s over, and you’re safe, but you need to feed to complete the transformation.”
Callie’s eyes dipped to his neck again. This time, when she saw the rhythm of his pulse, she understood the strange sensation fluttering in her stomach; she was hungry… for blood.
She should be repulsed, but a strange tingling started in her canines, and saliva flooded her mouth. A part of her recoiled from her intense reaction to drinking his blood, but another part was desperate to ease the hunger building inside her.
“It’s okay,” he said. “I fed extra to prepare for this, and we have to complete the bond.”
“It’s time,” she murmured as she nestled closer.
“It’s time,” he agreed and closed his eyes when her breasts flattened against his chest.
He stopped breathing when her lips peeled back, and his dick hardened when her fangs grazed his skin. Then she sank those fangs into him, and pure, unadulterated joy shot through him.
He cuddled her close as a sensation of rightness stole through him. This was it. This was why he’d spent his entire life fighting. This moment of happiness was why he’d waged such a relentless battle against the ever-increasing evil in the world and the increasing dark instincts inside himself.
And he would spend the rest of his life fighting for her, and this world, because no matter how awful things were, he believed there was still more love than hate out there. His overwhelming love for her hammered that point home.
As she fed on him, she hooked her leg over his thigh and drew him closer while her hands gripped the muscle etching his back. She remained sore from Yannis’s attack, but Lucien’s blood helped ease the ache in her muscles.
Yearning burned through her as his blood eased her hunger, but it didn’t sate her desire. Thankfully, he sensed what else she needed, and rolling her over, he slipped his cock into her.
Callie gasped as he stretched and filled her until he was deep inside and they were joined together. With him inside her, she could shut out all the bad memories.
As he moved within her, she forgot the awfulness of her death. She focused on him and the strength of their love. When the Savages kidnapped her, she was sure her life was over, and in a way, it did end. The life she’d always known was gone forever, and she would miss it and her friends, but she wouldn’t change anything.
This was where she belonged.
Lowering his mouth to her shoulder, Lucien bit deep as he thrust within her again. He wouldn’t take much from her; she couldn’t give much right now, but he needed to be a part of her in this way.
He had to complete the bond.
As their bodies joined, their blood filled each other, and their thoughts mingled, he felt the bond uniting them forever.