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He knew Rand was wondering what was happening in his head. He could hardly blame him for wondering if Cai would abandon the girl to save his own skin. But it was better for things to seem hopeless right now. Cai kept his blue eyes as reflective and flat as mirrors under Goddard's relentless stare.
When Hector deposited Dovia practically in Cai's lap, Cai caught her before she could topple. She sucked in another breath. Pain. Since she was naked, every bruise and cut showed. She wasn't healing, which meant she was hungry. Really hungry.
"Christ, Goddard. Have you not let her feed since she got here?"
"She refused to feed from any of us, or the humans out in the yard. Said she'd rather die. Until she conceives, her life or death is of no consequence to us, and if she conceives, we will force blood into her, by injection if necessary."
She'd automatically flinched from his touch, and Cai loosened his grip enough to hopefully help her feel a little less trapped. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said gruffly. "All you have to do is be still.
He had to say it in a neutral, I-don't-really-give-a-shit tone, but he couldn't imagine she would have felt any better or more trusting if he said it in a tone as soothing and nurturing as her own mother would have used. She stared up at him. No matter how wretched and beaten down she seemed, how frightened she was, he saw the stubbornness in the chin that explained why she'd refused their blood. She was a fighter.
But she was also young, scared, in pain, and her soul was quivering, screaming at the violation to her body and mind that had been visited upon her, over and over.
"Okay," he said. "If this works, they won't touch you again. Understand?"
"What?" Goddard said. "Her cunt isn't--"
"For the first couple weeks the rooting, for lack of a better word, is fragile. No stress, no abuse, and regular infusions of blood daily. If she won't take it direct--and I can't blame her, because I wouldn't put my mouth on a single one of you filthy bastards--put it in a cup." Cai met her gaze. "You'd drink it then, wouldn't you? To stay alive."
She stared at him, so hard it was as if she was trying to see words on a blank surface. But at length she nodded.
"Yes."
She was hoarse. He didn't know if that was from screaming or other things he didn't want to think about. Fuck. She needed blood. Really good, energized blood.
He looked across the room at Rand. They were about to lose one hell of an advantage in favor of the slim possibility of another. But Cai would let it be Rand's call. Not that he doubted his decision, the noble bastard. Fuck.
Hell, Goddard already suspected. And maybe there'd be another way to deal with this where Rand being in human form would be advantageous, much as Cai despised the idea of him being made more vulnerable. He couldn't think about what they might do to Rand as human. He had to hope everything came together before that happened. Or else Cai would have incurred yet another reason to hate himself.
He gestured toward Rand. "Let him go so he can shift to human. What I'm going to do has a better chance if she's fed, and the best blood for her to drink is his."
"So he is a shifter," Goddard said, vicious satisfaction in his voice. "And your servant."
"Yeah, yeah. You're really smart. I'm so impressed. Untie him."
Malvin grunted. "Leave him tied. He can shift a portion of his body, like his arm. Right?"
Cai sent Malvin a censorious look. "Seriously? Are you in charge of the stupidest question division of this conglomeration of fuck ups?"
He swiftly curled his arm around Dovia, tucking her upper body into a ball against his chest. He took Hector's punch to the face without defending himself. Spitting blood, he glared at him, then at Goddard. "You want this to happen or not? For the next half hour, let's all work on our anger management skills so I can get this the fuck done."
"You better be able to do this, Cai, or it will go far worse for you," Goddard said, eyes glittering.
"Yeah, because right now it's all peaches and honey. Untie the wolf," he repeated. "Let him come to me. I need to keep my hands on her, monitor the changes in her temperature and temperament."
Goddard frowned, but he jerked a short nod at Brutus. "Do it. Guard the door."
Brutus bent and untied the ropes, shoving Rand back so he was off balance as they fell away. Rand leaped to his feet, hackles raised like a porcupine and feet braced. His bared teeth looked three feet long. If their situation wasn't so fucked, Cai would have gotten a serious hard-on from how dangerous the male looked. The vampires tensed.
Rand, shift to human. Remember, I need you to act reluctant toward me, like you hate me. But we need to feed her. She's starving and afraid, and I know how your blood rejuvenated me. She's not down and out, and more strength will help her keep fighting.
The wolf's head turned in his direction. Cai kept his gaze trained on Rand's, not allowing anything to interfere with the connection. The wolf's mind was a violent thicket, but Rand was in there. Suspicion emanated from those bi-colored eyes.
I'm not going to sell either of you out. But if I don't remind these assholes I'm as much of a selfish bastard as they are, they won't let up and give us any opportunities to turn the tide. You're going to have to trust me, when I know we haven't known each other long enough for that. But really, what other fabulous options are presenting themselves? Trust a soulless bastard who might be on your side or...?
Chapter Fourteen
Rand's hackles slowly lowered. Cai bit back a sigh of relief, because Goddard was already getting antsy. If they suspected a long conversation happening between them, things could get worse quickly.
Rand shifted with a reluctance that was convincing because it wasn't feigned. Cai didn't blame him. The vampires murmured, their eyes widening, the universal reaction to watching animal turn human or vice versa. Rand did it smoothly, ending up in a crouch on his heels, his gaze shifting balefully around the room. When they landed on Cai, they were filled with resentment. Hate. Cai wondered what he was channeling and decided not to look inside his mind to find out.
"Magnificent," Goddard breathed, in a way that made Cai want to rip out his lungs and pitch them into a meat grinder. Rand ignored him, which Cai found even more magnificent. But he made his tone sharp, impatient.
"Get your ass over here, or you'll be sorry."
Rand's lip curled, but he obeyed and moved to their side. The shifter dropped to a squat again next to Dovia. Whereas his expression toward Cai remained hostile, he put a hand on the girl's back. She'd stayed curled against Cai's chest after Hector hit him, her fingers dug into his shirt and chest. Cai found it difficult not to put his arms around her in a gesture of comfort. But he could do it now, under the guise of something else, and with a surrogate.
"We're going to change positions," he told Rand. "Put her in your lap, your back against the wall. I need to be where I can put one palm on her stomach, another on her lower back."
Rand held out his arms. Dovia resisted being moved at first, but then her senses took in Rand. Heat, and that special something he had. After what she'd been through, a large naked male should have been the last thing she wanted near her. Yet suddenly she was moving, reaching for him.
Rand adjusted into the position Cai had dictated, settling Dovia into his lap, holding her secure in his arms. Since both of them were naked, when her ass pressed into his lap, she tensed, but Rand murmured a reassurance to her. Fortunately, he integrated it with a hostile look toward Cai that said he held him as much to blame for their situation as the Trads, which nicely reinforced the idea that the wolf had no love for his Master. Truth was the easiest lie to pass off, right?
Yet Cai caught a fleeting thought from him, unexpected. Rand had to quell an urge to reach up and wipe the blood from Cai's mouth. Cai kept his gaze on the girl, focused on what he was doing, so he wouldn't betray any reaction to that. In this environment, an act of kindness might completely unravel him. He made his mind-voice brusque.
See if you can seem kind of thick, more animal than
human. That shouldn't be too tough.
Cai almost grinned at the colorful response to that, devoid of any unsettling tenderness from his wolf. Cai laid a palm gently on Dovia's bare stomach, his other on her lower and upper back. His hand was large, and she was a little thing, so the coverage worked. Her gaze shot to him, wary.
