AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ajax stepped forward and waved a hand.
Her monitor flatlined.
“No!” I screamed, breaking free from Alek and Lachlan’s hold, racing toward Jocelyn.
“She’s not dead,” Ajax snapped. “She’s frozen in time.”
I stared down at my mate, her chest wide open on the table, her cheeks gray and her lips a bluish tinge that nearly took me out at the knees, but the bond was still there, flickering, but there.
“I can’t hold this forever,” Ajax warned. “It’s different than freezing time around us, so whatever decisions you have to make, you’d better make them fast.”
“What options do we have?” I asked Gabriel as his weight shifted across the table from us.
“None that I can think of,” he stated, his brow furrowed. “I don’t know much about magical healing, but these are worse than anything I’ve been trained on. The only one strong enough to handle these kinds of wounds would probably be Genevieve.”
“I’ll get—” Ransom started.
“No!” Rage blew through my veins. “Jocelyn told me not to trust her mother.” I cursed under my breath, wishing Jocelyn would open her beautiful violet eyes and tell me what to do.
“What the hell else can we do, brother?” Lachlan asked. “Your mate only has minutes once Ajax restarts time. Minutes. Even vampire blood can’t heal that—”
“That’s it. I’ll feed her.” I moved slightly so I stood at her head.
“You can’t!” Gabriel shouted.
Alek remained silent.
Sweat beaded Ajax’s brow and his face was taut, tension lining the brackets of his mouth as he stared at Jocelyn, keeping her frozen.
“It’s forbidden!” Ransom moved to my side. “We have no idea what feeding a witch would do. No idea what the combination of vampire and witch blood would bring. I know you love her, but Benedict, there’s a reason—”
“I’ve already fed her twice,” I admitted, zero shame in my tone.
“You what?” Gabriel’s jaw dropped.
I turned to Alek. “I don’t give a fuck if it’s forbidden. I’ve fed her twice and I would do it again. She’s suffered no ill effects. She can still walk in the sunlight. Still eat food. She’s fine. There’s nothing to say that a third feeding would be any different.”
His jaw ticked. “A third feeding could convert her, and there’s no history on this. No evidence to say she’d survive.”
“She’s dead either way,” I argued, the truth of the words burning through me worse than any tattoo could. “I’m not asking permission.”
He arched an eyebrow.
“But I am asking for your help,” I added. “She’s too weak to drink. I need you to—” I swallowed, hard. “I need you to force your way into her mind and force her to feed.” It was the ultimate violation, and Jocelyn would probably kill me for it when she woke up, but if I didn’t do it, then there would be no waking up.
She’d be dead.
Every cell in my body railed against that possibility. There was no life beyond her. Nothing that existed in the world without this bond, this love. Even if she didn’t want me, I’d find a way to live with that knowledge as long as she was alive.
Alek glanced from me to Jocelyn and back again.
“Please.” The plea was a strangled whisper. “I’ve fed from her enough to know that there is magic in my blood. Her magic. Let me try.”
Resolved, Alek stepped forward and nodded.
“Minutes,” Gabriel reminded us.
Ajax’s body trembled, but still, he held her frozen.
“Get ready,” Alek ordered, his focus already on Jocelyn’s blood-smeared face.
I ripped open my wrist with my own fangs and held it above Jocelyn’s lips. “Now!”
Ajax’s shoulders sagged and the monitors started to beep again, slow and sluggish.
With one hand, I tilted her chin down, parting her lips. Blood flowed into her mouth.
Alek’s brow furrowed in concentration, and her throat started to move as she swallowed, my blood flowing into her as I sealed my wrist over her lips.
“Not fast enough,” Gabriel muttered.
I lifted my other wrist to my mouth and gashed it open with my fangs, then held it over the hole in her chest. My blood streamed into the open cavity.
“That’s never worked—” Ransom started.
“Holy shit,” Lachlan muttered. “It’s sealing.”
Gabriel leaned forward. “The wound is closing!” His eyes widened, and I turned my focus back to Jocelyn. There was still no bloom to her cheeks, no flush to her lips. Her beautiful eyes were hidden behind her lids as I continued to feed her. “The gravest of the injuries has shut.”
My head swam as I emptied myself into her, giving her everything I could to see that she lived.
“Her ribs are mended,” Gabriel whispered.
“Seal that fucking wrist!” Alek ordered, motioning to the one above her chest.
“No.” I shook my head and kept on.
“Seal it or I stop,” he threatened. “You’ve cured the magical battle wounds. All you can do is feed her now, and you’re wasting blood.”
My gaze clashed with his. If he stopped, she’d never swallow enough. Her wounds might heal, but she’d never make it through conversion if she didn’t take enough of my blood. I nodded and sealed the wound on my wrist with a quick flick of my tongue.
