“What’s the matter with him?” asked Carson.
“My guess is he hasn’t eaten in a very long time,” Colton said.
“Why not? I thought there wasn’t any way a vampire could refuse to eat,” Carson said.
“Obviously that’s not true,” Colton murmured, studying the man on his phone’s screen.
“How much blood does he need?” asked Carson.
“A lot,” Colton muttered. “More than you and Logan can give.”
“Hunter’s nearby, too,” Kieran said.
“Call him, babe,” Logan said, watching the vampire slowly swallow the blood trickling from the cut.
“What he really needs is a transfusion,” Colton said.
“Sorry, bro, fresh out of bags of blood,” Carson muttered.
“Hey, I have a great idea,” Kieran said. “Remy can magic up some for us.”
“That’d be perfect!” Colton said excitedly. “Three…no better make it four bags should do it. Also an IV kit…better make that two of them.”
“Shouldn’t he be in a hospital for this?” asked Carson.
“No time. Is there a spare bed close by?” asked Colton.
“We have one,” Carson muttered. “But…”
“Don’t worry, he’s not dangerous…at least not until he makes a full recovery,” Colton said. “Right now, he’s weaker than a newborn.”
“For how long?” asked Carson. “He’ll be in the same house as my family.”
“Given his current condition, my estimate is a day or two…but it could be less. It all depends on how well he responds to the blood transfusions,” Colton said.
“Is it safe to move him now?” asked Logan.
“You can’t risk it until the tears stop. Carson, take Logan’s place,” Colton ordered.
Sitting back on his heels, Logan watched as his brother placed his cut wrist against the vampire’s mouth. Seeing the man’s throat move as he swallowed, he wondered what had driven him to refuse to eat, deliberately starving himself.
“Kieran, have you been able to help him?” asked Colton.
“A little bit…but there is something blocking me,” Kieran replied.
“What do you mean?” asked Colton.
“I’m only able to remove the first layer of pain but I can’t go further. It’s like a huge wall keeping me out and nothing I do will allow me to penetrate it,” Kieran said, frowning.
“Sounds like…hmmm…that can’t be,” muttered Colton.
“Can’t be what?” asked Logan, worried about his mate.
“A spell…but that just doesn’t make any sense,” Colton mused. “Vampires only consort with other vampires.”
“That’s not true,” Logan said. “Oracle told Reif that the vampires who’d taken control of his people had partnered with a couple of witches who practiced black magic.”
“Carson, can Remy tell if there’s a spell that was cast on this vampire?” asked Colton.
