Page 20 of Twice Bitten

A long, pregnant pause. “No idea. I didn’t get a good look at him. The bastard must be with the conference.”

Liar, I thought to myself. Even through the haze of pain and fear, I knew Alric wasn’t being truthful—the tone of his voice changed, and he’d paused for too long, as if trying to come up with some way to deny knowledge of Beckett.

“They’re all yours,” the one holding me said.

“Not a local one, then.” A pause, and there came the sound of shifting fabric as he adjusted his position. “She’s quite pretty. Even under the circumstances.”

“Don’t be a dick,” Silas snapped.

The sound of low voices filtered through the air. Both went still.

“We need to get out of this alley,” Alric whispered. “Someone is coming.”

Silas swore under his breath.

“I’m serious. Get up now. Leave the girl behind. I’ll make sure someone collects her later and sends her back to her family. You and I are not supposed to be meeting outside of the conference. It will look like collusion.”

The male underneath me stiffened. “You’re a real shit, you know that?”

The vampire sighed. “You will not last long as king if you do not adopt some of my methods. Everything I do, I do for our survival. We can’t afford for our peoples to think we work against them for our own gain. If we cannot come to a peace agreement, the witches will have the upper hand.”

What did that mean? As far as I knew, the witches weren’t part of this conference.

“We aren’t colluding,” Silas growled. “I’d rather never see your face again.”

“I am aware, but perception ruins lives. Let the girl go.” His voice softened. “We both know it’s better if she dies. All knowledge of our unfortunate meeting here will die with her.”

Silas snarled and jerked, stopping when a breathy scream tore from me. Pain, there was so much pain everywhere. And Icouldn’t escape. The vampire could kill me if he wanted to and I wouldn’t be able to stop him.

As my blood drained onto the cold concrete, my fear followed. A sense of resignation settled over me, mixed with sadness at what could have been.

The vampire continued. “I will find her family and make…amends. Anonymously, of course.”

Alric, such a philanthropist was he. He would find no one.

A warm hand swept over my hair, bringing tears to my eyes. Silas shifted, gently laying me on the ground. “I’m sorry, girl.” He gave a heavy sigh. “You’re a sonofabitch, Alric.”

“And yet, you know I’m right. Come, wolf. Let us leave her to her peace.”

Something heavy and warm landed on me, a warm and spicy scent wafting up—nutmeg and vanilla. Someone crouched beside me. Cool fingertips brushed over my cheek and rested against the side of my face.

“Rest,” Alric’s voice said quietly. “I can take your pain away for a little while. Until it’s over.” A soft sigh and a whisper. “For what it’s worth, I am sorry.”

Cool magic curled through my veins, and relief came almost immediately. A breath of relief bubbled from my lips. Tears seeped from the edges of my eyes and rolled down my cheeks.

His presence by my side disappeared as heavy footsteps faded into the distance.

Oblivion took over not long after.

Time passed in waves of agony. In and out of consciousness, I willed myself to move, an inch, a half inch, anything to help me get out of this filthy alley and get help.

For the first time in my life, I was well and truly alone, not even a snarky comment from Edmund advising me he told me so. I managed to roll over onto my side, jostling the devastatingwound the vampire had given me. Warm blood spilled over my body, rolling down my hip to drip onto the dirty concrete underneath.

A broken sob bubbled from my throat.

“Help,” I wheezed.

But there was only silence, interrupted by the occasional skittering of rats and trash blowing in the wind. Blood slipped from between my lips and ran down my cheek.