“Enough!” A power rips through the room, and I know Bryce has arrived. “Get out of here now.” I’ve never seen Bryce mad, but he is now. No, he’s furious.
“The vampire deserves to die,” somebody says, and Bryce turns to him, eyes glowing.
“Get out now. We will deal with this in a civilized manner. Pack meeting right now.” They must not move fast enough, because he adds, “Now!”
I get a few shoulder bumps on their way out, but soon the room is empty except for me, Hunter, and Bryce. “What was that? And what took you so long to get here?” Hunter asks, anger in every word.
Bryce turns his gaze on him, and I don’t miss the anger on his face. “I got here as soon as I could.”
“Why are they suddenly after Sherese?” Hunter demands.
He doesn’t say anything for a moment. When he does, there is no emotion in his voice. He sounds...cold. I’ve never heard Bryce like that. “Enforcers on duty found a body this morning.”
Hunter’s scowl deepens. “What’s that got to do with her?”
“It was drained, and there were bite marks.”
I feel the oxygen sucked from my lungs. There is absolute silence in the room. When Bryce looks at me, I nearly take a step back at the cold there. “Was it you?” Shock rolls through me. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”
“No,” I manage to get out. “It wasn’t me.”
His expression doesn’t change, but he turns to Hunter. “Don’t leave her side until we get this figured out.”
He starts to turn to leave, but I stop him. “Wait. Is that to protect me or to protect everybody else?”
He meets my gaze. “Both.”
Then he’s gone. I feel like I’m going to throw up. “Sherese?” I hear Hunter’s voice, but it sounds far away. “Hey, look at me.”
I feel two hands on my face, and it shocks me. I look up. Hunter’s dark eyes are right there. Desperation comes over me. “I didn’t do it. You have to believe me.”
He doesn’t skip a beat. “I do.”
“Really?”
“You’ve never drunk from a person. I can barely get you to drink your blood bags. And besides that, you’re not cruel. I know it wasn’t you.”
A sense of relief so strong overcomes me. I drop my head for a moment. I take a deep breath and look back up at him. “If it wasn’t me, who was it?”
His eyes darken. “That’s what I intend to find out.”
“Well, that’s going to be tough when you’re stuck babysitting me.”
“I’m not babysitting you.”
We both know he is, but I don’t argue with him. He drops his hands to my shoulders, and I’m shocked to feel his hand touch bare skin. “They ripped your shirt.” His words are mostly a growl.
“It’s fine.”
He scowls at me. “It’s not fine. Where did they hurt you?”
“They didn’t hurt me.”
His eyes search mine, but he doesn’t say anything. I take a step back, putting much-needed space between us. “I’m going to put another shirt on.” I start back towards my room.
“Sherese.” I turn back. He’s frowning fiercely. “Do me a favor and put one of mine on, will you?”
“One of your...” my voice trails off. I’m not sure what he’s asking.
