“No one,” Hannes seethed in a barely humanoid voice, still trying to contain his werewolf. “No one would fucking touch a hair on her head knowing the truth.”
“Does the Viscountess know about this?” I asked, trepidation capturing my every muscle.
“If she does, she’s never shown me,” D confessed.
“Then I don’t want to be there when she finds out,” Vanessa dreadfully exhaled, echoing all of our thoughts. “Did she faint?” she added when her gaze fleeted over Natasha, and a new bout of guilt clouded D’s expression.
Shit. We all knew what that meant.
“Tell me youdid notuse compulsion on her,” Vane scolded.
An annoyed grunt left her brother, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I had no choice, Vane. She was fighting me, in the air, and I hadn’t recovered yet. I was struggling to fly us away as it was.”
That inevitably reminded us of his injuries. I felt like an ass for not offering to help heal him sooner.
Our attention finally focused on the gruesome slashes across his body, some even cutting through hissacred bondtattoo, and a new bout of concern engulfed us. Vane immediately stood, pulling out adonor bagfrom her jacket and handing it to D.
The instant his fangs pierced it, and the blood caressed his tongue, literal life returned to him—as it did for all Vampires. As expected, the nourishing blood incited his venom to take it from there, and the multiple claw slices left along his chest and arms immediately started to heal. The venom surged throughhis veins, regenerating his cells, and causing a bout of vigor to visibly crash into his being.
Still connected to him through my darkness, I felt it all as though it were my body regenerating. It was the oddest thing, yet undeniably familiar to what I experienced with the powerof theTwilight.
Before he could dispose of the empty bag, Vanessa threw her arms around him, hugging her brother fiercely. Her emotional embrace told us everything she hadn’t said out loud. She had been terrified for D’s life. He probably felt like an asshole for putting her through that… but I knew he would do it again if it meant saving Natasha.
His mouth pressed to her cheek, leaving a hard and loud kiss that made her chuckle. “Don’t worry, little sis. After everything we have been through, I’m not going away that easily.”
A small smile curved her lips, though concern still churned in her dove-grey eyes. Vane pulled another donor bag from her jacket.
“You love me,” D taunted, making us all chuckle while he bit into the extra bag.
It was hard to deny that I, too, was relieved to see D was well. Not that I would tell him that.
My attention returned to Natasha, and Hannes and I crouched at either side of her—his wolf receding by finally being so close to the object of his affliction.
“How did you find her, anyway? How did you get out to look for her if they trapped you?”
Bjørn’s question caused D’s mouth to tilt into his signature crooked grin as I glanced at them over my shoulder. “Actually, she found me before I could even try to get out of there. She broke me out.”
“Now,that’smy kind of woman,” Bjørn teased, receiving a possessive glare from both Hannes and me while D just snorted.
Bjørn loved to mess with us.
“Are you serious?” Vanessa’s voice was filled with equal elation and disbelief.
“Yep. And she kicked the crap out of two of the Hunters while she was at it. Nothing made me prouder.”
“That’s my girl…” Vanessa grinned.
“Of course, she thought I was human when she saved me, so…”
Cazzo!
Bjørn cringed while Vane cursed under her breath. Hannes and I exchanged afuck meglance because all of us knew the implications of that. This had just gotten more difficult.
Coming to our side, D briefly crouched next to Natasha, gently caressing her cheek before placing a soft kiss on her lips. “Arnoldt is wrong. Your father would be so damn proud of you…” he murmured, finally taking his place before her.
It was time.
“Shall we—?” The question died on my tongue when undiluted darkness surged out of the deepest hollow of my core towards Natasha’s sleeping body.
