Blood Hunt (Sentinel Wars Book 5)

by Shannon K. Butcher

  “We need to get out of here. That demon will be back.”

  She let out a heavy sigh and her head hung limp from her neck in exhaustion. “I don’t know if I can drag you both out of here. I barely made it up those last few steps.”

  Not to mention the fact that he was bleeding and the scent would eventually draw other Synestryn to him to feed.

  He was too weak to heal himself. Too weak to even stand. He needed blood. If she wasn’t going to leave his side, he had to be strong enough to defend her.

  “Feed me,” he whispered, feeling ashamed that he had to ask. “Give me some of your blood and I’ll get us all out of this mess.”

  Hope’s hand covered the spot where he’d fed from her last night. Uncertainty drew her pale brows together before she gave him a resigned nod. “No more hospitals,” she warned him. “Deal?”

  Logan couldn’t speak. His mouth had already begun to water in anticipation. His body clenched at the thought of holding her close again, of feeling her power sliding into him to become a part of him.

  He returned her nod, sealing the deal. Even unspoken, the promise he’d given her had power. It fell across him, warm and sweet like a lover’s kiss.

  Hope brushed her hair away from her neck and bent down. “Don’t you dare make a habit of this,” she said.

  Logan feared he already had.

  Krag stilled as that flash of power slammed into him again, coming out of nowhere. This time he was ready for it.

  He closed his eyes and concentrated on the path, letting his mind slide out and through the ribbon that led to the source of that power.

  The frozen landscape flew past him, giving way to homes and then to the run-down buildings at the edge of the city. The speed at which they passed was dizzying, but he held tight, needing to know who the source of such a vast amount of power was.

  Krag caught only a glimpse of honey blond hair and a slender neck for an instant. A Sanguinar was feeding from the source. A woman.

  How dare that leech touch what belonged to Krag? All blooded humans in this region belonged to him. Their blood was his.

  Rage broke Krag’s concentration and he was flung away from the scene, dragged back into his body against his will. He fought it, struggling to go back to the woman and see her face, but it was useless. The connection was already gone.

  At least he’d seen her location. It was an old, run-down building some of his minions used for shelter. The Tyler building.

  Krag sent his mind back out, racing across space until he touched the thoughts of the demon lurking in the basement of the Tyler building. He shoved his orders into the demon’s mind, forcing it to obey. It shuddered in defiance, but in the end, Krag’s will won out.

  Now all he had to do was send one of his Dorjan—his human servants—to fetch her and bring her back here. With any luck at all, he’d have her at his feet before sunrise.

  Chapter 12

  The flash of pain was gone, leaving Hope floating in blissful warmth. It was better than she remembered. Pleasure became a palpable thing, winding around her cells and soaking into them. The gentle tugging at her throat, the feel of Logan’s lips moving against her skin, made her head spin, and not with loss of blood, either. As the seconds passed, he became stronger, gathering her up in his arms and holding her tight.

  He sat up and swung her around until she was cradled in his lap. She felt his muscles swell and harden against her body. His erection throbbed against her hip, sending zingers of need arcing through her.

  She heard a strangled sound of shock coming from somewhere nearby, but it didn’t matter to her. Nothing mattered but the scent of Logan in her lungs and his strength surrounding her, keeping her safe. Here, there were no worries. No fears. No monsters could touch her here, in this place of blissful peace.

  Weakness slid into her, but even that was welcome. Her eyes drifted shut and sleep beckoned.

  Hope fought it off only because she didn’t want to miss even a moment of what Logan was doing to her. It was too good to miss.

  His tongue slid across her skin, sending a parade of shivers marching down her spine. A moment later, his mouth pulled away and she lay in his arms, looking up at him.

  He was so beautiful. His jaw was tight and that lovely silvery light in his eyes was back, glowing with need—a kind of need she’d never seen on a man’s face before. It made her feel special. Cherished.

  “If there were more time . . .” he whispered, his voice stroking over her like a caress. He didn’t finish what he was saying, but she enjoyed filling in the blanks for herself.

  If there were more time, he’d kiss her. Touch her.

  And then he laid her down on the cold floor, leaving her feeling weak and alone.

  Hope struggled to sit up.

  “Not yet,” he said from somewhere behind her. “Give yourself a moment.”

  She didn’t want to, but her body had other ideas. That unexplained strength she’d experienced before was gone now, leaving the opposite in its wake. She could barely hold up her own head. She had to settle for rolling onto her side to see what he was doing.

  He was at the stranger’s side, bent over his neck. Feeding from him.

  Feral jealousy rose up inside Hope. She didn’t want Logan doing that to anyone else. Ever. Only her.

  The reaction was so strange and unwanted, it shocked her. Of course she didn’t want Logan to drink her blood all the time. What kind of an idiot wished for a thing like that?

  Logan leaned back and pressed an elegant hand to the man’s head. The stranger closed his eyes as if falling asleep.

  “What did you do to him?”

  “He was poisoned. I had to administer an antidote.”

  “How did you get it?”

  He ignored her question. “I’ll take him to a human hospital.”

  “But not me. You said so.”

  “No, not you. You I get to keep an eye on myself.” He said it in a way that made her wonder if he saw the task as a chore or a pleasure. “Can you walk?”

  Hope was wobbly, but she could walk as long as it was out of here. “Yeah.”

  “I’ll carry him. Follow me.”

  They hurried outside to Logan’s van. He loaded the unconscious man in the back and drove to the hospital. He parked at the emergency entrance and got out. “I’ll just be a few minutes,” he told her. “Will you please await me here?”

  Hope nodded and leaned her head back against the seat to rest. She was still feeling woozy, but she’d take that over dead any day of the week.

  Logan came back out wearing scrubs. He had a trash sack full of something clenched in his fist.

  “Where are your clothes?” she asked as he got back in the van.

  “Bloodied. I have to dispose of them properly.”

  “You make it sound like you have some kind of disease. I really hope that’s not the case with all the necksucking you’ve done.”

  A faint smile lifted one side of his mouth. “I can assure you there’s nothing for you to worry about. You’re perfectly healthy.”

  Except for a slight case of brain damage that made me enjoy getting fed on by a vampire. Not that she was going to bring that up.

  He drove onto the highway and headed east. “Where are we going?”

  “There are too many people here for me to simply toss my clothing out the window. I have to go to a safe place where I can burn them. You’re coming with me until I’m certain there will be no lasting damage.”

  Worry crept into her. “Damage?”

  “I tried not to take too much from you—just enough for us to escape—but after what I took from you last night . . . I just want to be careful.”

  “So you’re not trying to scare me?”

  “No, Hope. That’s the last thing I want to do.”

  He opened a compartment between them and pulled out a bottle of water. “Here. You need the fluids.”

  Hope popped it open and drank, struggling to make sense of everything. She’d l
et a vampire suck her blood. Twice. Sure, he didn’t call himself that, but that’s what he was.

  And she’d almost died tonight. So had Logan and that other man. If she hadn’t shown up, they probably would have died.

  If she hadn’t had that odd burst of strength, all three of them would have bought the farm right then and there in that creepy old building.

  She opened her mouth to ask Logan if he knew anything about what might have caused her to get so strong so fast, but closed it again before she could speak. She didn’t know this man. She didn’t know anything about him other than he could drink her blood and feel better.

  That was not something that recommended him for a confidant.

  She leaned her head back on the seat, wondering why she trusted him enough not to jump out at the first stop. Maybe it was what he’d done for Charlie. He’d done something to help the old man, to ease his pain. And he hadn’t even wanted credit for it.

  That went a long way in her book. Not many people would bother to help, and those who did wanted recognition. But not Logan. He’d hidden what he’d done, though she didn’t understand why.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  “Fine.”

  “Dizzy?”

  “A little.”

  He reached over and wrapped his long fingers around her wrist, checking her pulse. His touch was warm, gentle. Warmth radiated out from him, streaking through her blood.

  Hope shivered in response.

  “Cold?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she said, more because she didn’t want to admit his effect on her than anything.

  Logan cranked up the heat until it was pouring out of the vents by her feet. “If that doesn’t help, tell me so I can care for you properly.”

  “Properly?”

  He glanced at her quickly before returning his attention to the road. “I might need to restore some of the strength I took from you.”

  “You mean you want me to drink your blood?” The idea should have grossed her out. Yesterday morning, it would have. But a lot had happened since then, and she found the idea of giving him the kind of pleasure he’d given her more compelling than she would have ever imagined.

  She wanted to make him feel good. The fact that she’d get her mouth on his neck was simply an added bonus.

  “No,” he hurried to say, as if the idea was somehow forbidden. “Of course not. It would merely be a transference of energy.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You don’t need to. All you need to know is that I’ll take care of you.”

  While Hope wouldn’t mind a little of that, she didn’t like being treated like a child. “I want to understand. You don’t get to turn my life upside down and not tell me the whole story.”

  “There’s a good chance I’m going to have to remove your memories of tonight’s events. The less you know, the more comfortable that process will be for you.”

  Remove her . . . ? “Excuse me?”

  Logan sighed. “It won’t hurt. And it’s for your own good. Synestryn can sense those memories. They’re like a beacon that calls them to you. If I can’t scrub them away, you’ll be in danger.”

  Anger burned hot and bright in her belly. She had to force words out between clenched teeth. “You touch my memories and you’re a dead man.”

  He let out a musical laugh. “You are such a fetching creature. As if you could actually stop me.”

  “No one is taking any more memories from me. Ever.”

  His laughter died off suddenly. “Hope, I’m sorry. I forgot you already face a substantial loss. Forgive me.”

  “Only if you promise not to touch a single memory I still have left.”

  He was silent for a long moment with only the sound of the tires on pavement filling the space. His jaw was tight with righteous determination. “I’m sorry. I cannot do that.”

  A void opened up inside her and was instantly filled with a sense of betrayal. “Stop the car. Let me out here.”

  They were through the suburbs and towns were getting smaller as each one passed. If she didn’t want to be stuck out in the middle of nowhere, now was the time.

  “No. If I leave you alone in the dark, chances are you won’t survive until sunrise.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  A silvery light flared, splashing across the steering wheel. “I do. I’ve seen it happen often enough to know. Now, you can be as angry with me as you like, but you’re going to do it here, next to me, where I can protect you.”

  “I saved your life,” she reminded him. Sure, it made her a smaller person to bring it up, but the way she saw it, he owed her at least a little respect for what she’d done.

  “You did. And I’m repaying the favor by keeping you from needlessly going to your slaughter.”

  “Fine, then drop me off somewhere public. A police station. I’ll be safe there.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, remorse softening his tone. “You’re too precious to entrust your safety to humans. I have to insist that you come with me.”

  “And do what? Where are we going? What, exactly, do you want from me?”

  “We’re meeting friends. They will see to your safety.”

  “And what about our deal? What about those missing people?”

  “My friends are far better equipped to handle that task than I.”

  “So, you’re handing me off. I’m too much of a bother?”

  “Hardly. I find your company . . . stimulating.”

  Hope couldn’t stop herself from looking at his crotch. It was a knee-jerk reaction. Uncontrollable.

  He was hard. His erection tented against the loose fabric of his borrowed scrubs.

  The idea that she could do that to him was more than a little exciting. A thrill winged through her belly, exploding into a thousand tiny, shimmering streamers.

  She’d never been very physical. She’d dated a few men. Had sex with a couple of them. But not even all-out sex with all the bells and whistles made her feel half as good as she did now, thinking about how Logan would feel sliding inside her.

  Hope squirmed in her seat.

  Logan’s nostrils flared as he pulled in a deep breath. His eyes fluttered shut for a brief second and a shudder shook his big body. “We cannot.”

  She didn’t ask him what they couldn’t do. She knew what he meant. No sense in playing coy. “You’re married,” she stated, knowing a man like him had to be taken.

  “I’m not married. I’m also not human.”

  “Point taken. Not that I would have slept with you anyway.”

  He sent her a brief, pointed stare so full of arrogance she had to marvel at the trick. A small smile played at his mouth. “You think not?”

  “You’re awfully full of yourself.”

  “Indeed.”

  “Someone should cure you of that conceit.”

  “Feel free to try. But do so in a hurry. Our time together is nearly at an end.”

  Instantly, Hope began to grieve. Sure, he was arrogant and strange, but there was something compelling about him—something that called to a part of her soul that hovered on the dark side of her memories. She didn’t know what it was or what it meant, but what she did know was that she didn’t want Logan to leave her life. At least not yet.

  If Logan didn’t hand Hope’s care to another soon, he was going to do something unforgivable. Already he could see her slim body writhing beneath his as he drove his cock deep into her, over and over.

  She was warm and soft, and the way she went pliant as he fed from her, letting out those quiet little noises of pleasure, nearly drove him mad.

  He could smell her arousal as they drove. Combined with the sharp scent of her anger, breathing her in was intoxicating. It made him forget his purpose and think only of how she would smell and sound if he stripped her bare and tasted every inch of her skin.

  Down that road lay the destruction of his race, so Logan shoved aside his inconvenient desire for the woman and focuse
d solely on doing what must be done.

  As soon as he had her settled safely inside the closest Gerai house, his bloodied clothing burning in the fireplace, he excused himself and snuck outside.

  “I need you to come and handle this woman,” he told Tynan as soon as he answered the call. He knew he sounded desperate, but he couldn’t help it. He was desperate.

  “What happened?”

  Logan considered veiling the truth, but that would get him nowhere. Tynan needed to know the risk in order to respond appropriately. “I want her.”

  “So have her.”

  “It’s not that simple. The longer I’m with her, the more convinced I am she might be a Theronai.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “No, but her blood is pure enough that there is a chance. You know what happened the last time someone stole away one of the Theronai’s mates.”

  “I remember. And with a truce between the Slayers and Theronai closer than it’s ever been, I don’t want anything reminding either side of why the war began in the first place.”

  “Neither do I, which is why you must come. Now.”

  “I cannot get away. I’ve tried. Between Grace and Tori, my hands are full. Why not escort her back to Dabyr and wash your hands of her?”

  “I promised to help her find the cause of some locals gone missing in exchange for her cooperation.”

  “Foolish,” chided Tynan.

  “I realize that now. Too late.”

  “I’ll contact Joseph. He’ll send one of his unbonded men to deal with her problem.”

  “I already spoke to him. I’m expecting his men to show up at any time.” Logan didn’t like the idea. He didn’t like the thought of some giant pawing at Hope, desperate for her to save his life.

  She would if she was able. The fact that she’d gone back for Logan in that basement proved she was selfless and courageous. If she thought she could save a man’s life, she’d tie herself to him. Logan was sure of it.

  And the thought made a dangerous anger swell deep inside him. He didn’t want her tied to a Theronai. He didn’t want her tied to anyone except him.

  “You need to come,” he told Tynan, desperation lifting his voice. “You need to take over her placement—wherever that might be.”