Greg watched anxiously as she leaned forward to lift the blood-soaked towel away from the chest wound, then held it close to Lissianna's face. Her mouth had fallen closed once he'd let go of her face, but when Mirabeau held the towel near her nose, Lissianna jerked and took a quivering indrawn breath, her mouth opening on its own as her canine teeth slid out to biting position.
Greg immediately moved his wrist up to her mouth.
"You need to be sure her teeth hit the vein," Mirabeau instructed, then offered, "Shall I help?"
"Please."
Leaning forward, she took his hand to reposition his wrist under Lissianna's teeth, then hesitated and glanced up. "You're sure about this?"
He nodded without hesitation and the moment he did, Mirabeau snapped his arm upward, slamming his wrist into Lissianna's teeth. Greg sucked in a sharp, shocked breath as pain shot up his arm. This definitely was nothing like the two times she'd bitten his neck. It was nothing like giving blood either. Her teeth were much bigger than the needles medical staff used.
As the first shock of pain receded, Greg became aware of another, deeper pain as her teeth began to draw blood at a rate faster than his veins were use to supplying. It was a drawing sensation, a deep ache and he gritted his teeth against it, but remained still.
"I did warn you," Mirabeau said softly. "Do you want to stop?"
Greg shook his head grimly.
Mirabeau shifted in her seat, then said abruptly, "Tell me what happened."
Greg knew it was an effort to distract him from the pain and was grateful for it. He quickly related the events that had taken place since he'd heard the sound of shattering glass that evening.
"I guess I left a bit of a mess there," he added at the end. "Lissianna's friend will be in a state when she walks into her home and finds the blood and broken glass. She'll probably call the police."
"Don't worry, we'll take care of it," Mirabeau reassured him.
They were both silent after that, for an extremely long time it seemed to Greg, but that might only have been because he was in pain. He was starting to feel woozy when Mirabeau said, "She's coming around, I think--Greg!"
She pulled his wrist from Lissianna's teeth and hurried around the bed to his side, catching him when he would have tumbled off the bed.
"Lissianna already bit you once tonight, didn't she?" Mirabeau asked sharply.
Greg nodded, then wished he hadn't as the action made his head spin worse.
"Dammit, why didn't you tell me?" she snapped. "You never should have-- Here lie down." Mirabeau eased him onto the bed beside Lissianna. "Just lie there. I'll go find you some juice or something. Like I'd have any," she added in a mutter. "I'll have to go see if my neighbor has any. I may as well bring her back for Lissianna while I'm at it. She's coming around and will be in horrible pain and desperate for more blood."
Greg glanced toward Lissianna as Mirabeau left the room, relieved to see that her eyes were open.
"Greg?" His name was a breathless gasp on her lips and he levered himself up on one elbow to peer at her.
"I'm here, Lissianna. How are you?" A stupid question Greg supposed, he could see she was in terrible pain. "Mirabeau is bringing you someone to feed from, love. It won't be long now."
"Mirabeau?" she asked with a frown of confusion.
"Yes. We're at Mirabeau's. Thomas brought us here."
"Oh." She closed her eyes and he saw her teeth grind together. She was in terrible pain. "Who was it?"
Greg was confused until he realized she was asking who had staked her. "Didn't you see them?"
She shook her head jerkily. "It was dark. It was a man.
I thought you had come to talk to me, then I saw the stake."
"Did it look like your uncle?" Greg asked.
She appeared confused. "My uncle? No. He--" She stopped, a moan slipping from her lips and rolled onto her side, half-curling into a ball.
"Mirabeau should be back soon," Greg told her encouragingly, then fell silent, feeling helpless as he watched her struggle with the pain. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her fists and teeth clenched, her breathing short, almost a pant, and this was his fault as far as he could tell. If she hadn't taken him away, tried to save him from whatever it was she feared they'd do to him...