Julian really resented that Luther was always so reasonable and one of the wisest people he knew. Every instinct he had screamed at him to make Quinn bend to his will. She was the most important thing to him. Outside of her and his friends, he really didn’t have much concern for anyone else, but she did. She’d been through hell and still somehow had a big enough heart to love and care for others.
“I’ll try,” he said.
“That’s more than I’d expected,” Luther replied with a laugh.
Julian smiled at him before stepping back inside and closing the door. He turned to take in an ashen-faced Quinn. Walking over to the couch, he settled beside her and took hold of her hand. “Did you know?” she inquired in a hushed voice.
“I suspected a while ago. I knew the first time we were together.”
Her eyes were the color of molten gold when she turned toward him. Her chocolate hair tumbled around her shoulders in waves, enhancing her pretty features. Reaching out, he rubbed the scar on her chin. Unlike the first time he’d tried to do this, she didn’t pull away, nor did she become angry.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.
“Because I didn’t know what to say or how to go about telling you. I love you, Quinn. You love me. Surely, you suspected something more was happening between us when we both allowed the pathways to open between us during the blood exchange. I’ve never let such a thing happen before.”
“My uncle is the only person I’d ever fed from before. At the time, he was dying, and all I felt was a mindless hunger for blood.” Tears shimmered in her eyes at the memory, but she blinked them away.
Unable to resist trying to comfort her, he leaned toward her and pressed a kiss against her forehead. He brushed his fingers over her cheeks as he pulled away. “Forgive yourself, love. I’m sure he has.”
“He would have, but…” Her voice trailed off.
“It’s difficult, I know.”
Her head tilted toward him. “Why did you never allow the pathways to open with another before?”
“Because you’re the only one I’ve ever wanted to share the experience with. You made my heart beat again; I’m guessing that’s another sign of our bond.”
Just as he’d hoped, she grinned at him.
***
Quinn leaned against his side as she contemplated his words. She supposed she should be mad he hadn’t told her his suspicions earlier, but what would it have changed? She still would have had sex with him. She would never take that back. She still would have taken his blood; it had been irresistible to her and still was.
The only way to avoid this happening would have been to have never met him, but that idea only made her heart and mind recoil. She would never wish to go back to the lonely existence she’d been living before Julian and his friends had walked into her life. He’d brought her back to life, had shown her acceptance and love when she’d believed herself undeserving of either of those things.
“Mates,” she pondered. “So one of us will die if something were to happen to the other?”
“Or go insane,” he confirmed.
The possibility of losing him was enough to make her fangs tingle, but the idea of being bound to someone in such a way was… “Terrifying,” she murmured. “I love you so much. I can’t imagine losing you.”
“You don’t ever have to. The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man couldn’t squish me.”
She couldn’t help it; a burst of laughter escaped her as he brushed her hair behind her ear. “And you are okay with this?” she asked. “To being bonded to me for eternity?”
“Dewdrop, I would gladly relive every wretched day of my existence, and believe me, there were plenty, if it meant I would have you in the end.”
Her heart may not beat in her chest, but those words caused it to melt completely. She clasped his cheeks in her hands. He was magnificent, and he was hers.
“So would I,” she whispered and pressed a kiss against his mouth. When heat and passion swirled up within her, she pulled away before she could become lost to him. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to cave on trying to lure out that murderous bastard somehow.”
Julian groaned as he dragged her into his lap and rested his chin on her shoulder. “We’ll figure something out,” he said as he wove his fingers through hers. “Together.”
CHAPTER 11
Over the next few days, they worked to come up with a plan that would lure out the vampire. Fortunately, no one else was killed in between, but everywhere she went, she felt as if eyes were burning into her back watching her every move. Only in her packed apartment did she feel as if she weren’t being watched, which was funny considering her apartment was littered with people.
Luther slept on the couch. Melissa had a cot in the corner by the TV; if she swung her arm out at night, she’d most likely knock the TV over. Zach, Lou, and Chris were sprawled across her living room floor. Trying to get into the kitchen had become a maze of arms, legs, and heads. She had to be a gymnast to maneuver her way through without stepping on something important to someone.
As a child, she’d often played a game with Betsy and Barry called The Floor Is Lava. They would laugh as they jumped from one piece of furniture to the other in an attempt to avoid putting their feet on the “lava” floor.
The adult version was nowhere near as fun, she decided when Chris rolled over and she barely avoided stomping on his privates. Sometime during the night, Zach had rolled up against her door, blocking it. Finally, leaping like a ballerina over Lou, she managed to get into her kitchen.
There she found Julian already sitting at the table, his long legs stretched out before him and his hands folded on his stomach. “It’s like Tetris,” he said.
“I was thinking The Floor Is Lava.” She walked over to the fridge and pulled out a can of Mountain Dew. Popping the top, she swallowed it eagerly. Caffeine didn’t have the same effect on her as it used to—much like alcohol, it would take a lot to have any real impact on her now—but it was still one of the first things she went for after waking in the afternoon. Perhaps it wasn’t the best habit, but it wouldn’t rot her teeth, so what did it really matter?
“I was considering buying a house to get some time alone with you again.”
Quinn almost snorted soda out of her nose as she bit back a laugh. “Could you imagine?”
The hungry gleam in his eyes as they raked over her caused her knees to go weak. “Very much so.”
The can crumpled in her hand. She was half-tempted to heave it into the sink and jump on him, but a loud snort from the other room kept her restrained. Rising to his feet, he moved with lethal grace across the room to stand in front of her.
The corners of his mouth quirked into a smile as he rested his hands on the counter beside her and leaned toward her. “I can wake them all and boot them out now if you’d like,” he murmured against her lips.
She would like that very much, but she shook her head no instead. “Let them sleep, but as soon as they’re up…”
“I’ll personally shove them out the door.”
Quinn laughed as she grabbed his shirt and rested her head against his chest. The heady, peppery scent of power and the spicy scent of the soap he used enveloped her. Comfort and love stole through her when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest.
“Good afternoon.” Quinn lifted her head as Melissa stretched her arms over her head in the doorway and released a loud yawn. Her short hair was tussled around her pretty face, a smile pulled at her full mouth as she dropped her arms to her sides. “Aren’t you two the cutest?”
Quinn chuckled, but Julian scowled at Melissa. “I’m not cute.”
“Aw, but you kind of are now,” she teased. “You’re like a little kitten.”
Quinn couldn’t hold back her laughter. The look on Julian’s face would have made most people cower, but Melissa sauntered forward with a smile as she pulled a glass from the cabinet and removed a bottle of water from the fridge.
/> “You’re lucky I like you,” Julian muttered.
Melissa laughed as she uncapped the bottle. She turned toward Julian. “And you’re lucky…”
Water shot out, spraying the wall and Julian when her hand compressed around the bottle. Julian jumped back; he opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when Melissa remained unmoving before them, her eyes glazed and her mouth slack.
“Melissa,” Quinn whispered and stretched her hand toward the young woman.
Julian snagged hold of her arm and pulled it away. “Don’t touch her. She’s having a vision.”
Quinn’s hand fell loosely back to her side. Helplessness filled her as water continued to trickle down the wall and Julian’s face. She wanted so badly to grab hold of Melissa, to shake her, to wake her from whatever held her within its firm grasp.
The bottle tumbled from Melissa’s hand. Her arm swung out, catching the glass on the counter. It flew across the room and shattered against the wall as she staggered back. Melissa crashed into the wall, gasps escaping her as tears spilled down her face.
“Melissa,” Julian said softly as he carefully approached her. “It’s okay, you’re safe. Just breathe.”
Quinn moved in front of Julian and knelt to rest her hand on Melissa’s shoulder. “Easy,” she soothed. Melissa took a few more lurching, steadying breaths as the tears dried and she regained her composure.
“Can you tell me what you saw?” Julian asked.
The color had faded from Melissa’s face. Her lower lip trembled as her eyes cleared and she focused on Julian. “Death, so much death. We have to stop it.”
“Where?” he asked.
Melissa’s forehead fell into her hands. “The desert, a bonfire. I’m not sure when. Tonight maybe. It could be tomorrow. It could be…”
Beside Quinn, Julian’s body jerked forward and a startled shout escaped him. Quinn stared at him in confusion as his hand shot around to his back. Melissa’s gaze latched onto his chest. Still unable to understand why Julian’s face was twisted in agony, and Melissa looked as if she were staring into the face of death, Quinn could only gaze in dismay at the blood spreading across the front of his shirt.
Blood!
She jumped up as Julian collapsed into her arms. She cried out in sorrow when his icy-blue eyes briefly met hers before rolling up in his head. “Julian!” she screamed.
Melissa leapt to her feet to take up a battle stance. Quinn couldn’t begin to think about fighting as confusion and disbelief swirled through her. Her eyes latched onto the stake jutting out of his back. What? How? I don’t understand. It can’t be real! It’s another nightmare; it has to be! I can’t lose him. Wake up, you idiot!
Her shaking legs gave out beneath the weight of his body. Falling to her knees beneath him, she cradled him in her arms. Not real, not real!
Those words kept tumbling through her mind, but no matter how hard she tried to wake up, she remained sitting on her kitchen floor, trapped in the nightmare. His warm blood, pooling around her, caused her t-shirt and yoga pants to stick to her skin. Her hands frantically ran over his back in a useless attempt to staunch the flow of blood seeping out from the puncture. She knew a mortal wound when she saw it, and this was one.
“No!” she moaned.
Her heart shattered in her chest; jagged pieces of it sliced her open and shredded her soul. Tears poured from her eyes. She lifted her gaze to find Zach standing behind Julian with a glazed look in his eyes as he stared at the body in her arms. The body, she shuddered at the realization. Zach had made Julian nothing more than a body.
But how? Why? He was one of them, their friend. They’d been so focused on Melissa that they’d never heard him approach, and even if they had, they never would have thought anything of it.
Melissa’s eyes narrowed on Zach with fury; she stepped toward him but froze when he remained unmoving. He didn’t seem to realize what he’d just done. Bewilderment and desperation flitted over Melissa’s face. Quinn’s fangs began to tingle with the urge to drive them into Zach’s throat and tear it out. She didn’t care why he’d done this; she only needed him dead. If it wasn’t for Julian’s body in her lap, she would have leapt on him and tore him to pieces.
“What happened?” Chris demanded from the doorway of the kitchen. His gaze shot back and forth between all of them before comprehension dawned. The color drained from his face, his jaw clenched with fury as he grabbed hold of Zach’s arm and jerked him back a step. Lifting his arm, he looked about to drive his fist into Zach’s face and beat him to death but his eyebrows knit sharply together when Zach remained unmoving in his grasp.
“What the fuck?” Chris muttered as he released Zach’s arm.
Quinn’s power began to seep out of her to shake the walls and floor around them. She had no control over it, and she didn’t care to try to regain any. There was nothing left to care about as her insides continued to shred apart.
Melissa staggered to the side, her hand falling on the table to steady herself. Luther and Lou pushed their way past Chris and into the kitchen. Lou took an abrupt step back and Luther’s jaw fell open when they spotted her and Julian on the floor.
Turning, Luther grabbed Lou’s shoulders and pushed him out the door. “Get somewhere safe, now!” he barked at the young man.
Quinn’s hands shook as her hair whipped around her and sparks of energy shot from all over her body. The air crackled around her. Chris and Luther gestured frantically for Melissa to come to them. Melissa edged carefully around Quinn and ran toward the door. Chris grabbed hold of her arm and jerked her up against his side.
Julian’s blood continued to soak her as his life slipped away. Not slipped, it was gone already. He’d told her once, “I’m more difficult to kill than a cockroach on steroids and a thousand times faster. You won’t lose me.”
He was wrong; she had lost him. She’d lost everything. There was nothing left to her anymore except for the fiery burn of fury and the icy chill of a grief so intense she knew she couldn’t survive it. Something within her fractured, and the waves of power coursing out of her knocked the others back. Luther pushed them toward the doorway, but Chris and Melissa resisted him as they shook their heads. They were speaking, but she had no idea what they were saying, nor did she care.
From somewhere in the not so broken recesses of her mind, she recalled words Luther had once uttered to her, “I just witnessed the damage you can do, but you can also breathe life back into things. Humans, animals, plants, you can give them all life again.”
He hadn’t said vampires, but then a vampire had already died and been granted an unnatural life. She’d require a vast supply of life, more than her own force to revive a vampire. Lifting her head, she tilted it back to stare at Zach. She didn’t know why he had done this, and she didn’t care. All that mattered was getting Julian back.
Her hand wrapped around the stake in Julian’s back, and then she tore it free. Her belly twisted when it gave way with a sickening sucking sound. Rolling him over, a moan of misery escaped her when she saw his open, unseeing eyes. So empty. Not for long, not if she had anything to say about it.
Turning her wrist over, she bit deep into it before pressing it to his open mouth. Her blood flowed into him, but it wouldn’t be enough to bring him back. Lurching forward, she grabbed hold of Zach’s arm and yanked him toward her. His mouth parted, and his eyes widened briefly. Finally coming back to life, he squirmed in her grasp, but it was too late. The tentacles of her power had already slithered out, grasped hold of his arm, and dug into him.
Zach’s eyes flew to hers. Suffering twisted his face as the pulse of his life flowed into her.
“Quinn!” Luther shouted.
She didn’t look at him; she didn’t tear her gaze away from Zach’s. They’d trusted him, and he’d slaughtered the only man she’d ever love in cold blood. Right now, she didn’t care what it made her, didn’t care if it was wrong, she would do whatever she could to get Julian back. If she had to use his murde
rer to do so, she would.
Zach’s skin became sallow as she funneled his life into her and out to Julian. Keeping her wrist pressed against Julian’s mouth, she closed her eyes and tilted her head back as the influx of life within her made her feel as if she’d grabbed a live wire.
Her entire body sizzled with power. The air crackled as her hair whipped about her face and sparks of energy continued to light the air around her. She’d always tried not to drain a person or vampire completely. It had happened before, but the strength and vitality that came with draining someone was like a drug, so addicting and tempting. She could feel that drug trying to drag her under now, trying to twist and turn her into something malevolent and power-hungry.
Perhaps she already was those things.
She hadn’t hesitated about using Zach to do this, even though there was a chance it might not work. Luther had said she could breathe life into things, but she never had before. No, she realized. She had breathed life into someone before. She’d made Julian’s heart beat again. If she could do that without trying, then certainly she could do this when every ounce of her energy was fixated on him.
She kept focused on nourishing Julian, on filling him with the life she stole from the young Hunter. Around her, Julian’s blood cooled against her skin and clothes. When she opened her eyes again, Zach’s brown eyes had faded in color so they were nearly transparent. His cheeks were hollow, his skin the graying color of an old corpse. His eyes were still on hers, but there was little recognition within them as the last of his life slipped into her and on toward Julian.
Thrusting Zach’s body away from her, she quaked as his not yet released life zipped around her body in search of an outlet. She poured all of that life, and more, into repairing Julian’s lethal wound. She kept her eyes on the wall, unable to look at either of the bodies before her. Unable to acknowledge she may have become a monster worse than any she’d faced over the years.
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