Page 19 of Twice Bitten

“Bastard,” that cultured voice hissed. “You are not supposed to be here. Report back to the Hive immediately to explain your absence.”

Beckett’s eyes turned poisonous green in response.

My eyes slowly drifted closed.

A pair of the hands holding me disappeared. My side ripped and tore. Warmth gushed over my ribs and hip.

I hurt too much to scream again. A low, despondent moan slipped past my lips. I could only open my eyes in a squint. Images swam and blurred in my vision. I blinked hot tears away, trying to focus on my surroundings, but the pain was making it hard to concentrate on anything other than the very real possibility of dying.

Strong, warm arms wrapped around me, and I sensed my head was now resting against a well-muscled chest.

“Alric! Fuck, man!” A large hand pressed against my side, the wound burning like fire.

My heart pounded as my eyes locked onto Beckett, his terrifying visage a looming presence in the dark alley. If he lunged for me, I was toast. I didn’t think for a second the two men I ran into would risk their lives to save me. Not since I was half-dead anyway.

Beckett took a step back, turned, and tore off like a rocket. A flash of pale skin and blond hair followed the other vampire, so fast he looked like a blur.

“I got you,” the man rumbled. “I’m sorry. I-I don’t have any healing packs. That asshole Alric accosted me. Arrogant bastard.” A heavy sigh. “We’ll get you help. I promise.”

This…whatever he was, rambled as I lay against him dying. I assumed I had to be dying. My body trembled, and I was freezing. My toes had gone numb, and my breath sounded like a bubbling rasp.

He brushed my hair from my face. “Why was that guy chasing you?”

I no longer had the energy to answer.

The sound of shuffling footsteps came. Alric had returned. “Is she alright?”

“Idiot,” the man growled. “No. She’s not alright. Do you have a healing pack?”

A long pause. “I’m a vampire, Silas.”

I felt Silas’s chest rise in a deep exhale. “Yes. The world does revolve around you, doesn’t it?”

Cool fingers touched my throat. “She’s dying. If we call an ambulance, we’ll have to answer some uncomfortable questions we aren’t prepared for.”

“You want to leave her in an alley?” The disgust in Silas’s voice rivaled the feeling burning in my chest.

“Of course not. But if we don’t, the entire peace conference will be upended. We’ll undo centuries of work.”

Silas’s chest rumbled with a growl.

“We both know this has to work. One human can’t undo all our efforts.”

“You and I were about to kill each other five minutes ago,” Silas snapped. “Do you really think this peace conference settlement will hold?”

“I was about to kill you because you’re an asshole, Silas. Not because you’re a wolf.”

“Fuck off,” Silas said unhappily.

The vampire’s tone softened. “Do not dismiss my apparent callousness as a lack of care. Every life matters—human, witch, vampire, wolf. We all matter. But this is one life, one that might put us all into a war none of us can afford. If things were different, if the world was a different place, I’d do everything I could to heal her.”

I was so cold. Silas shifted, wrapping me in his warmth.

There was a long pause. “I’ll sit with her. Until it’s over.”

The shift of clothing and scrape of gravel sounded. “Then I’ll sit with you.”

“Who was chasing her?”