Page 59 of Alaska Lights

I never want him to let go.

He feels so good. His skin is so much softer than I imagined it would be.

“Don’t let me go,” I beg him, clutching his hand with a little too much force.

Leo is at my side immediately. His lovely green eyes that I want to stare at and get lost in all day are swollen from tears.

“I’m never going to let you go. Okay?”

Soren sniffs the arrow and snarls, tossing it onto the floor. “Silver. It must have released into your system after I broke the arrow in half, a way to make sure the job is done.”

“The job? What? What are you talking about?” Leo presses a kiss to my knuckles, and even on the brink of death, it makes me smile.

I got to experience a kiss.

“Don’t,” I warn Soren through tight teeth. “Not like this.”

“Well, that’s too fucking bad, isn’t it, Alaska? Because guess what? He’s the only one who can save you now.”

“What are you talking about? Will someone just tell me what’s going on?! Is Alaska dying?”

The other half of the arrow is still lodged in my chest, and the splinters are chipping away, pressing closer to my heart.

“He is,” Soren doesn’t mince the words. “I haven’t taken the other half of the arrow out yet because we will need to act quickly. The arrow is pressing against his heart. I can hear the strain.”

“You can hear it?” Helios asks. “I’m confused. Just tell me what to do.”

“Soren,” I warn with a small shake of the head.

Sweat beads on my forehead and drips into my eyes. Leo is there, pushing my hair out of the way and dabbing my forehead with a paper towel.

“Okay, Leo. Here is what is going to happen, and you are allowed to freak out later after we save your mate.”

“My what?” He sniffles, glancing down at me before staring at Soren again. “Just tell me what I need to do. I’ll worry about the other bullshit later.”

“This arrow was made by a professional vampire hunter. One of the original families, by the looks of the symbol carved into the wood. Inside is silver. Silver hurts like hell and can kill us if directed into our veins. The hunter who shot this arrow will return. He missed Alaska’s heart, which is why he is still breathing and not turning into ash.”

Soren continues, wrapping his blood-stained hand around the other end of the arrow. I grunt in agony; the slight movement from Soren has the arrow pressing further against my heart.

“Usually, blood would save him. Any blood would do, but not now. Not now that you’re here, Leo. You and Alaska have been tiptoeing around each other for good reason. You’re his fated mate. I have no time to explain that. He can’t drink another’s blood anymore. Only yours. Once I take this arrow out, you have a few seconds to make your decision, and I know it isn’t an easy one. If he dies, you die too. If he lives, you guys can figure out how to be together. I’m sorry to break it to you like this, but cliff notes. We don’t have the time.”

“Yeah, uh, yeah, okay,” Leo stumbles, giving his head a quick shake as if to make sure he isn’t dreaming. “I’ll do anything.”

“Okay.” Soren warns of the impending countdown, “On three, give him your wrist. He’ll need a lot. Considering he has been dying for a while.”

“What?” Leo snaps.

“Not important,” Soren sings in a reminder.

My mate’s anger and confusion are easily felt even when I’m dead. I know we will have a lot to talk about after this.

He hovers his wrist above my mouth, and with my red, wet fingers, I grip his arm. My teeth clink together as I shiver, but he needs to know this.

“Helios, there’s no turning back. Once you give me your blood, it starts the process of the mate bond.”

“Shut up.”

Before Soren counts, Leo presses his wrist in my mouth. Soren’s surprise is drowned out by how fast he rips the arrow out. The roar that leaves me shakes the entire house. The plates in the cabinets. The dishes in the sink. The glasses on the dining room table.