I need to find her. Now.
I can hear boisterous laughter inside the house and know time isn’t on my side. If the vampires inside notice Silver is missing and follow her trail...
I need to find her, get her away from this place, safely to my lai—
To Nexus.
To her injured mage.
Thisis why I don’t allow the animalistic part of me to do the thinking. He’s an idiot. He thinks only with our teeth and our dick.
I head further from the house until I reach an outbuilding where the bins are kept.
She’s somewhere around here. Hiding among the trash.
Smart. She’s masked her own scent under that of rotting food waste.
“Silver?” My voice is barely more than a strained whisper. “Are you here?”
No response.
I creep closer, feeling every inch of my predator self as I track my prey.
There’s a rustle of movement to my left and the sharp, delectable tang of blood. I flash forward, colliding with a soft body and steadying her with my hands on her hips before she knows I’m there.
“Dante?” her voice is just shy of breaking and the sound of it tugs at something deep in my chest.
“I’m here.” I pull her into my chest, unable to stop myself. I need to feel her against me. To touch her and know she’s safe.
I’ve got her.
The words come out of me before I can stop them. “I’m here Silver. I’ve got you.”
She clings to me, like I’m her anchor in a storm, and I band my arms around her, holding tight.
The beast in me settles.
“We need to get you out of here. Where are you injured?”
She blinks up at me. “It was just my arm. I caught it breaking out the window and landed weirdly when I jumped out. I used my magic to staunch it, but I guess I’m kind of covered.”
Despite knowing that’s what happened, having seen the evidence, it makes me feel vaguely sick to hear her speak of it.
“I’m going to get you out of here. Can I carry you?”
I’m being overly polite, considering my inner beast wants to lick the blood from her skin and lap at her wounds.
Better keep it together. She doesn’t need me drooling over her.
“That’s fine.” Her voice is quiet. Distant. She’s probably wishing it was someone else here with her. Someone not currently having to grit his teeth to avoid popping another inconvenient boner.
I take a bracing breath before scooping her up into my arms and dashing through the snow toward the gates. I don’t even hesitate as I take the leap, springing eight feet in the air and then darting off again. Silver’s sharp inhalation of breath tells me I probably should have warned her of my intentions. After all, it’s not every day I leap over fences like a damn cat. But tonight is exceptional.
She is indanger. She needs to be protected.
We don’t speak as I continue to carry her through the city at a speed that should be impossible. Her scent fills my lungs, and it’s an effort to not bury my face in her neck. I have to grit my teeth and mentally fold all the socks in my drawers to distract myself.
“Where are you taking me?” she asks in a small voice.
