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Cortana.
Heat and light filtered through their mating bond, burning away the darkness that had begun to spread within him. It was her determination that renewed him, forced him to cling to the wolf with both hands, pulling the beast away from the precipice.
Together, they fought back against the sunlight that burned through him. He panted, slapping a hand over his mouth as he struggled to his feet.
Shaking his head to clear the dizziness, Riaz staggered toward the lobby doors and out into the turmoil of the street. Two hands cinched around his arm, yanking him further outside in the fresh air, conflicting with the irate tone of a very irritated vampire.
“What the hell were you doing?!”
Cortana was lodged against his chest, screaming curses that were muffled by his shirt. Gulping breaths of clean air, he tried to play it off, but he was too busy fixing the oxygen deficit that had been required while he played Knight in Shining Armor. Though stars danced along the edges of his vision, each lungful brought his eyes back into alignment.
“I’m fine.”
Rearing back, cool blue eyes pierced him with a look that froze him to the bone. “You big oaf! Why didn’t you come out when everyone was saved? You could’ve died! Why did you go back in?”
Taking one last big swallow of air against the burning in his lungs, he shrugged and thrust his hand in the handbag he had never let go of. “It seemed pretty important to you.”
Instantly, her eyes were drawn to the ornate comb he pulled out, widening as she stared at it. Her fingers rose to hover over it, almost tentatively. Then, as if waking from a dream, she shook her head and glowered at him.
“In what world would I value an object over the life of my mate?”
His throat thickened, feeling as if a fist was shoved down his gullet. “We’re not mates, Cortana. You made that perfectly clear.”
Flipping her hand over, he dropped the comb in her hand and stepped away, trying to right himself while agony split him down the middle. His legs quivered weakly beneath him, but he pushed aside the sensation and straightened.
Tour buses were lined up alongside the House’s curb, and scores of firemen and police loitered outside, behind yellow caution tape that’d been strung around the skyscraper’s foundation. Beneath his skin, his animal howled, still fighting the effects of the airborne toxins.
Claws raked at his skin, the wolf demanding to be freed to run off the excess tension that’d built up from fear and anxiety. It had a dark edge to it that Riaz was wary off, and shifting when the rabidity loomed ominously in the distance was ill-advised. He couldn’t allow it—at least not until he had a better grasp on his second nature.
Shaking his head, he nearly jumped out of his skin when Cortana’s fingers wrapped around his wrist. When he saw the confusion and concern in her furrowed brow, he knew she’d continued speaking to him, and in his turmoil, he hadn’t even heard her.
“What?”
“Riaz, come on.” Worry crept into her voice. “We have to go.”
He merely nodded, too weak to fight with her. He took weary steps across the pavement and into a waiting tour bus before meeting up with Remmus onboard.
“To Lexington?”
“No,” Cortana said, resolute. “To Estes Park. Our pack.”
Shock made Riaz’s vision narrow. Blinking at her with confusion, his mouth opened, but no words formed on his tongue. Remmus recovered far more quickly, donning a one-sided smile before reaching out his hand.
Riaz’s concern for her overshadowed his own need to decompress alongside his people. “But Cortana, your people—they’re hurt.”
“And so are you. My people will wait until tomorrow.” She shook her head, her hand tightening on his. “What you need now is your own bed, your own pack. We’re going to Estes. And Remmus, once you’ve dropped us off, come back here immediately.” Then, after a pause, she added, “Please.”
A nod before Remmus gripped his shoulder and they were all traveling through the ether once more. They landed on solid ground in the middle of the great hall. With a mock salute, the Raeth teleported away before he even had a chance to thank him.
Turning, he fixated on the vampire. “Why didn’t you want to be with your people?”
“Because you’re more important to me than they are.”
His face screwed up in disbelief, but she seemed undaunted by it. In a world where she’d lashed out at him so many times, he had come to expect the push right about now.
“Don’t toy with me, Cortana. Why are we here?”
“I’m not toying, Riaz.”
