War of Hearts (True Immortality) - S Young Page 0,101

wasn’t that simple. “The pack, Conall. I’d put the pack in danger.”

“You just killed the biggest threat.” He nodded to Eirik’s ashes. “Once word reaches the Blackwood Coven you fried the oldest vampire in the world, they might think better of coming after you. And if they dinnae, we’ll go somewhere they cannae find us.”

Shocked, Thea slumped against him. “You’d leave the pack?”

“To protect you, I would. But first we need to get Callie back.” His expression hardened to granite. “There is no way on earth I’m letting you face Ashforth alone.”

Sensing his resolve, Thea didn’t see any point in arguing. Honestly, she wanted him by her side when she finally dealt with Ashforth. Still, the thought of him leaving his pack did not sit well with her at all. She knew how much they meant to him and how much Torridon meant to him.

However, it was a discussion for another time. “What now?”

“We go back to Torridon and we rally the pack. We’ll need to come up with a plan to get Callie and James back without them coming to harm.”

Nodding, Thea stood and reached for Conall, who got to his feet with ease. “I feel stronger,” he said, staring at his hands.

“My blood.” Her stomach flipped unpleasantly at the blood covering Conall’s shirt. There was so much of it. It was all over her too from when they’d held each other. “We need to clean up.”

Hearing the rasp of pain in her voice, Conall grasped her chin in his fingers and leaned down to brush a kiss across her lips. She could taste the coppery tang of her blood on his lips. “I’m fine, Thea.” His eyes dropped to her wrist, and he frowned before pulling it toward him for study with more force than he probably intended. The wound from the iron blade had barely closed, the jagged cut swollen and painful.

Scowling, Conall’s gaze fell to the floor where the iron dagger lay in a pile of vampire ashes. His eyes flew to her. “Thea,” he whispered, realizing what she’d done.

Thea tugged on her wrist and he reluctantly let it go. “The wound wouldn’t stay open long enough for you to drink. I had to.”

“It’ll scar permanently,” he said, his voice hoarse.

“You’re alive. That’s all that matters.”

Conall’s eyes blazed. “You know I’d do the same for you.”

She nodded, emotion thick in her throat. She had to clear it to speak. “I’ll go out to the car for our backpacks. You use the traitor’s shower.” Thea squeezed Conall’s arm as she felt the tension riot through him. “I’m sorry about Vik.”

The muscle jumped in his jaw. “I’m sorry I trusted him and put you in danger.”

“No.” Thea stepped into him. “I won’t let you blame yourself.” She glanced around the apartment, noting all the research material and books Vik had left behind. “I wonder where the bastard took off to.”

A growl rumbled up from Conall’s throat. “I know where he is. I’ll always know and when this is over, there’s nowhere on earth he can hide from me.”

Thea couldn’t shake the image of that vampire stabbing Conall in the neck, especially not with Conall still covered in his own blood. Vik would pay for that. “Us,” she bit out, her eyes bleeding gold. “There’s nowhere on earth he can hide from us.”

As Conall was out of cash and unable to use his credit card to buy Norwegian krone, Thea suggested they steal Vik’s credit card. She laughed at the Scot’s expression. “He betrayed us, Conall. A little financial aid is not a lot to ask.”

“I shouldnae have to steal from anyone,” he muttered, drying his hair with a towel as he slumped on Vik’s sofa. His hair fell in damp curls around his forehead and at the nape of his neck. Thea had to resist the urge to stride across the room and bury her hands in it.

The need to feel him, real, alive, his body against hers, was almost unbearable.

Mate.

It explained these overwhelming feelings, yet it was still difficult for her to wrap her head around. So instead, she rummaged through Vik’s drawers, and when that was unsuccessful, she moved to the next logical location. The jackets hanging by the door.

“Jackpot.” She tugged the leather wallet out of a tailored wool coat. The vampire really had been in a rush to get the hell out of Dodge. Weaselly little coward. “Ah, even better.” Thea pulled out a thick wad of krone. “No one can follow a cash