fully aware that Rafe is doing the same.
How about Olivia? Rafe asks. She hasn’t been here that long. You may be able to safely drink from her and not bind her to you. We could give her bottled water during the rest of her stay.
As my blood starts to seep through his organs, Paul slowly regains his strength. His mouth latches onto my wrist and he starts to suck like I’ve got crack in my veins and he’s an addict hoping to get it all out.
Good idea. Call the hotel and have them find her. Tell Asa to detour to the hotel to escort her here, weapon at the ready.
Think you’ll need more?
Oh, I know I’ll need more. It’s just a matter of time.
Paul’s hands come up to grip my forearm in place. His teeth nibble on the torn skin, instinctively opening the wound to drink more down. The cold of the night sinks into me. I wish we were anywhere but out here, exposed in the woods. As if reading my mind and sensing my discomfort, Jon and Rafe appear through the trees in that exact instant.
“Whew,” I sigh. “Am I ever happy to see you two. Paul here is a hungry little bugger.”
Without saying a word, Rafe comes up behind me to cradle my back. He picks me, and part of Paul, off the ground enough to scoot underneath us. Rafe’s warm arms circle me, drawing me back into the warmth of his now open coat.
“How much longer, liebling?” Rafe whispers in my ear.
“Another ten minutes or so, I think. He’s sucking it down pretty fast but he lost a lot of blood.”
“We need to tell his wife,” Jon announces. “You want to tell her or should I?”
I don’t answer him. It’s pretty damn obvious I’m not going anywhere for a while, so I speak my mind instead.
“Bunny has been here ten years, just like Paul. They met on the property and married. Both were donors before that, so it’s not like they don’t know what’s going on.” I pause, lost in my thoughts, and consider the woman I’ve known for years. “I think she’ll be okay with it. Ultimately, I think the decision is hers. If she can’t live with him and doesn’t think he would want to be a vampire then I’m going to need to kill him before their kids see him.” The thought weighs me down so much, I feel like I could cry. “Please, God, let her be okay with it or this night is going to be so bad for us.”
“Us?” Jon snorts. “I think Paul has it the worst. His wife decides his fate? Shit, I hope they haven’t been fighting or anything lately.”
Jerk. Like I need anything else to make me feel bad about this right now.
“Should I have chosen differently, Jon?” I wave my free hand down to the chef sucking at my wrist. “Should I have let him die when it was my enemy that attacked him?”
“No. No!” He’s pacing back and forth on the trail. “You did the decent thing. If he hated vampires, he wouldn’t have stayed this long, no matter what you were paying him. Hell, he wouldn’t have made it through the interview process if he was pre-disposed to hating the idea.” Jon kicks out with a foot, aiming for nothing. “Fuck!” He walks off into the night toward the cabins in the distance. “I’ll calm down on the walk.”
His next action belies his words. Jon punches up at the sky, letting out a horrible yell. He lets out a string of expletives, ending on a sigh. When he speaks next, he’s further down the trail and his voice sounds much calmer.
“I’ll break the news to Bunny. She shouldn’t hear this in a phone call.” Anger and confusion radiate off the werewolf in waves.
Yes, the walk will do Jon good. This incident right on the heels of his dog has got to be taking its toll on him. I hope for Paul’s sake, the married couple had stayed up late into the night talking about all the gruesome what-if scenarios like most of us have. I know Rafe wants me to change him one day if there is no other alternative, but with my strength added to his own, we hope that it never becomes a choice I have to make.
Liebling, you’re getting maudlin. If it ever came to that, we’d be the first to make it work. Trust me on that.
Millennia of vampires