Page 40 of No One’s Daughter

Why was every-fucking-thing after me?

Time stretched, warped, lost all meaning. Every second dragged, heavy and suffocating. It must have only been minutes, but it felt like hours until the noise outside fell away into nothing.

I stilled.

Silence ensued. It pressed in from all sides, settling into my bones with a cold certainty that made something twist low in my gut. I strained to listen, forcing my senses outward, desperate for anything—a sound, a movement, something to tell me what was happening beyond the door.

Nothing.

A shudder ran through me.

Was he dead?

The thought came uninvited.

What the hell was I supposed to do if he was?

“Ailsa.”

The sound of my name hit me like a shock. It was rough and weaker than before, but definitely his. Relief crashed though me so suddenly it almost knocked the breath from my lungs.

He’d made it.

Thank fuck.

A thud against the door came next, followed by “Open the fucking door.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Ailsa

I WHIRLED AROUND, about to ask him a million questions, starting with, “What the fuck were those things?”

Only to find him passed out on the settee. Completely unmoving. His powerful form was lightly lit from the little bit of moonlight that filtered in from the outside. It was an image at odds with the worn seating and dated decor.

“Ha, very funny,” I drawled. Though, I couldn’t help but notice how still he was. Stiller than even he tended to be. And his eyes were shut.

“Yo,” I kicked at his boots. “Get up.”

No response.

Shit.

“Wake up you dipshit!” I yelled, slapping his face.

Nothing.

My attention snagged on the rips in his t-shirt and the blood weeping from them.

Fuck.

He’d saved us, protected me.

I lifted his shirt to see his chest covered in blood. Claw marks covered his chest and blood poured from them. Too fast, even for a vampire.

Oh no, no, no.

This wasn’t good. I quickly pressed a cushion from the settee against the wounds, hoping to stop the bleeding so his body could catch up and seal them enough to heal. I put my ear to his chest, desperately searching for a heartbeat, but there was nothing. Just eerie silence.