“Hey,” I say, my eyes locking onto hers. “You’re safe. I’m not gonna hurt you. I’m going to help you.”
“Rogue…” Crave’s voice cuts through the moment like a blade. I feel him approaching from behind, feel his presence trying to press against our bond, trying to reassert our primary connection.
But it doesn’t work.
Not anymore.
I finally turn to look at him, my Alpha, my brother, the vampire I’ve protected for over two hundred years, and the expression on his face tells me he feels it too.
Our bond withdrawing.
His silver eyes meet mine, and for a moment, I see confusion, hurt, understanding, all flickering across his features too fast to process individually. He feels me pulling back, even though I’m not doing it consciously, even though every instinct I have still screams to protect him.
But she’s louder.
She’s…everything.
“What…” Crave starts, his voice tight, controlled in that way that means he’s barely holding something massive back. “What’s happening, Rogue?”
I look at her, then back at him. The words stick in my throat, heavy with implications I don’t fully understand yet.
“I…” My voice cracks. “I don’t know.”
But that’s a lie.
Idoknow.
This woman, this blood-soaked, newly turned vampire who stumbled into our territory by accident or fate or some cosmic joke I’m not in on… she’s my fated mate. And my bond with Crave, the sacred oath that’s defined my entire existence, is bending to accommodate her.
Making room.
Stepping aside.
Choosingher.
Sloane appears beside Crave, her crimson-gold eyes flaring with Crimson Sight as she looks between this woman and me. I watch understanding dawning across her features, watch her grab Crave’s arm and whisper something too quiet for me to hear.
Whatever she says makes Crave go very, very still.
The kind of stillness that means a predator is calculating threats, outcomes, and whether violence is the answer.
My mate sways, her legs finally giving out. I’m moving before she hits the ground, crossing the distance with lycan speed and catching her. She’s lighter than she should be, new vampires always are, their bodies not yet adjusted to undeath’s strange physics.
She looks up at me with eyes that are starting to dim, the bloodlust fading into exhaustion. Her hand reaches up, her fingers trembling as they touch my bearded face.
“I-I know you,” she whispers, and her voice is silk, smoke, and everything I never knew I needed. “I don’t… I don’t know how. But I know you.”
“Yeah,” I manage, my throat tight. “I know you too.”
Then she passes out in my arms, her body going limp as the crash finally hits her. New vampires can only sustain bloodlust for so long before their bodies shut down, forcing them to rest while the turning completes.
I stand here, holding her, feeling the weight of multiple gazes on my back.
My packmates.
My brothers.
My family.
