The other vampire—the one whose eye I'd gouged—tried to lunge at me again. But his head exploded with the gunshot, like a rotting melon.
My mind went blank. I stared at the two fallen vampires, my body still trembling uncontrollably with fear, limbs rigid.
"Kai!" I finally moved my legs. Ignoring everything else, I rushed to the hospital bed. Kai sat on the floor, face ashen, still clutching my phone.
"Mommy..." He threw himself into my arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
"It's okay, it's okay..." I held him, my hands shaking. "Baby, it's okay..."
I buried my face in his hair, feeling his soft body, feeling that strong, vigorous heartbeat—Kai was alive. My child was alive.
I gasped, still shaken, and looked up.
The hospital room door stood wide open.
Kayden stood there, a silver pistol in his hand, smoke still curling from the barrel. He wore a suit, but his jacket was gone—just a white shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows, collar open, revealing his lean chest.
Those eyes burned with golden fire.
Kayden walked in, tucking the gun into the back of his waistband. He crouched beside the three corpses, examining them carefully. He turned one wrist over, saw something, and his frown deepened.
"So it was them." He muttered under his breath.
"Who?" I held Kai, seizing on his words sharply, still scanning our surroundings like every shadow was a threat. My voice still shook.
"Vampires." Kayden stood, moving to the window to inspect the frame. "And they're organized."
He turned, looking at me. His brow furrowed as he scanned my wounded body.
"Your shoulder..."
"I'm fine," I said, but my voice sounded so weak even I didn't believe it.
Kayden approached, carefully moving aside the torn fabric on my shoulder. The wound was deep, flesh peeled back, still seeping blood.
"Damn it." He cursed quietly, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket. "We need to stop the bleeding first."
He pressed the handkerchief to the wound. I gasped sharply.
"Hold still," he said, his eyes betraying barely restrained pain. "I'll get a doctor to treat it properly in a moment."
"How... how did you come back?" I asked. Kayden's presence gradually eased my vigilance. "You left."
"Went to the pack, but I couldn't shake the unease," Kayden said, his movements gentle. "You went through too much tonight... Lucas, the bloodline surge. I was worried you'd be exhausted taking care of Kai alone."
"Wanted to come back and take over, let you get some real sleep."
He looked up at me, his voice tinged with residual fear. "Didn't expect to hear a commotion the second I reached the door."
If he hadn't come back...
If he'd been a second later...
The thought sent ice through my veins.
"What kind of gun is that?" I changed the subject, not wanting to dwell on those terrible possibilities.
"Custom silver bullet pistol," Kayden said, showing me the weapon. "Bullets blessed with moonlight. Lethal to vampires."
