Fuck, I was a mess. I hadn’t felt like this in… ever. Yeah, never. This didn’t happen to me. And why the hell was I still bleeding?
I tried to focus on my wrist, my eyes widening, then narrowing at the jagged teeth marks. Huh. Willow really had bitten me. Why hadn’t I felt it?
“Fine.” Damien’s voice came to me again. “Four hours.”
I scowled. “Bury us.”
“We’ll be there,” Damien said, hanging up. He approached again, his expression hard. “I’d apologize for this, but I think you kind of deserve it.”
I frowned at him. “What?” This wasn’t the plan. We were supposed to—
Damien’s fist flew at my face, meeting my jaw in an astonishingly accurate punch. I should have been able to duck, but I didn’t even see it coming, nor did I have anywhere to go.
I also should have been prepared for the second one.
Only, I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to comprehend his actions.
And it fucking hurt.
We’re going to have a very serious talk in a few minutes, I thought at him, woozy and spinning in a world of darkness.
The third punch did me in.
I swore I heard him chuckle.
Or maybe that was me.
Because all I could think about was how I intended to kill him the second I woke up.
With at least three bullets.
One for each hit.
Dick.
21
Ryder
My head fucking hurt.
What the hell did I do last night? It reminded me of that time Damien and I had indulged in six bottles of tequila just to see what it would do.
Answer: severe dehydration.
And it had sucked.
I’d refused to touch the shit ever since, which was a damn shame since I lived in Texas. Or did I?
My fingers flexed as I tried to lift them to my head, only to find them handcuffed behind my back. I frowned. What the fuck?
It took significant effort to open my eyes, almost as though I’d been severely drugged. My dry mouth added to the effect, as did my general dizziness.
“I need you to hear me out before you try to kill me,” a familiar voice said, causing me to frown.
Why the hell would I want to kill Damien? He was my best friend. My progeny. One of the only beings in this world I could trust.
Only, a memory started to resurface that had me thinking otherwise. Something about my pet…
My eyes flew open as I realized what it was, then I winced at the intense light coming in from my living room windows. I looked around quickly, realizing where we were.
Back in Texas.
What the fuck?
I found the source of my confusion standing a few feet away with his arms folded across his plain white shirt, looking only slightly contrite.
“You fucking punched me.” And, ugh, did we have to do this in daylight? It made the entire room so damn bright.
“I did a lot more than punch you,” he admitted. “But hear me out.”
“Get these handcuffs off of me.” They were the ones I used to hold vampires in my basement. I could tell by the way they refused to bend.
“I will once I’m confident you won’t try to shoot me.”
“Oh, I’m absolutely going to shoot you,” I promised. “Where the hell is Willow?”
“She’s alive.” The way he said it had me narrowing my eyes.
“You don’t sound very sure about that.”
“She nearly killed you, Ryder,” he replied on a growl.
My eyebrows shot up, a humorless laugh leaving my lips. “Pretty sure I’d remember that.”
He scrubbed his hand over his face, allowing me to see his exhaustion. “Something’s wrong with her.”
“No shit,” I deadpanned.
“No, you don’t understand. She bit you.” He started to pace. “She took a chunk out of your damn wrist.”
“I did that when I was trying to feed her,” I snapped. Although, I did vaguely recall jagged teeth marks on my wrist, the memory somewhat clear.
He shook his head. “No. I mean, yes, you did, but then she bit you, Ryder. Like, really bit you.” He stopped in front of me. “She bit you like a fucking lycan.”
I tried to recall exactly what had happened after I opened my vein for her, but it was a blur. However, I did remember feeling strange and knowing the process had taken on a unique twist.
Rather than comment on it, I glanced around again. Damien must have knocked me out with drugs afterward to get me on a plane back to Texas. I could only assume he had a logical reason for it. “Why are we here?”