“Hi, Chloe.” He nodded toward my shoulder. “May I?”
I wanted to shy away, to hide the mark, but I squared my shoulders. I was a MacArthur and I’d be damned if I let myself give in to the urge.
I tugged the material away, watching Finn’s face as I did.
His eyes flared, the purple depths glowing from within, as he took in the damage. “May I try something?” he asked. He looked to me for confirmation before his gaze flicked briefly to Lachlan, who nodded in approval.
I frowned, wondering why in the hell he thought he needed Lachlan’s okay.
Finn’s hand lifted, hovering over my shoulder. He began to chant in a language I’d never heard before. His eyes grew brighter and brighter until I could no longer bear to look at them. The skin beneath his palm tingled, then stung. Heat built beneath my skin and I sucked in a sharp breath at the burn, but I forced myself to remain still.
Then I felt it. Somewhere deep in the muscles of my shoulder and neck, I felt twitching and warmth. It built to nearly an unbearable level, bringing a low whine from my throat.
Lachlan’s hand closed around mine and I gripped it tightly, fighting the instinct to flinch from the pain.
“Almost done,” Finn muttered softly. “I know it hurts.”
I gritted my teeth and held on. Finally, the agony began to fade, the burn settling into a comforting glow.
“There,” Finn said, rubbing his hands together. I saw lavender and silver sparks falling from his fingers, disappearing before they could hit the porch.
I lifted my hand, running my fingertips over my neck. Beneath my touch all I felt was smooth, unblemished skin.
Then I did something I never thought I would do. Especially not in front of my grandmother or Calder. Or any other wolf for that matter.
I threw myself at a vampire, wrapping my arms around his neck.
Chapter Thirty
Lachlan
Finn’s eyes metmine over Chloe’s head and I mouthed, “Thank you.”
He nodded, just a subtle tilt of his head.
I’d felt the way Chloe tensed when my lips touched the wound this morning while we were in bed. If the scar remained, every time she looked in the mirror, she would be reminded of that night.
I owed the vampire something I could never repay because he’d not only healed the wound, he’d saved Chloe from more pain.
While I held her in the early morning hours, I’d realized why I’d been so desperate to stop what was happening in that cell. I knew she would fight until Brayden killed her before she would submit to a forced mating.
And I could no longer imagine a life without Chloe in it.
At the realization, something stirred within me. An instinct I never thought I would feel again. The urge to mate. To mark her as mine.
As I watched Chloe release Finn, I knew that discussion would have to wait. We had wolves to track and a pack to save.
But when it was all over, we would talk. I only hoped she would listen.
Carter appeared in the front door, still pale and a little stooped, but he looked much better.
“We need to talk,” he stated, his eyes taking in the wolves on his porch, pausing on the single vampire in the group. He took Finn’s presence in stride without a word, gesturing for us to follow him.
We filed inside and trailed behind Carter into the living room. In one corner a bank of monitors and speakers was set up, showing different camera feeds of Prater.
“Darrell’s gone off the deep end,” Carter stated grimly, gesturing to the screens. He turned up the speakers and voices began to filter into the room.
I watched in horror as Darrell and two of his deputies dragged a family from their home, mates and their two female pups. One deputy had a tight grip on the little ones’ hair, lifting them onto their toes as they walked. Darrell had secured the parents’ hands behind their backs but I could see the fear and rage on their faces as they stumbled behind.
