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Rafe smiled. “They’re both plotting against you.” He whipped his powers up, invading the remaining vampire’s mind.
He blinked and launched himself into the tangled pile of limbs and snarling. Blood squirted out from the trio and splashed across Rafe’s pants. Bert tossed off Mason, his throat torn open. The vampire gasped and sputtered, rolling onto his stomach as if he was attempting to crawl away from the fray. Blood poured down his chest and started to pool on the dark floor. Bert tried to turn his attention to Rafe, but he was shoved by his other clan member.
Rafe tore his eyes away from the scene to find that Lola had risen and was standing with Ryder in front of Gideon. They protected him from the possibility of attack, but also blocked his view of the violence. A small short sword was clutched in her right hand, her knuckles white.
“Lola,” Rafe barked and extended his open hand toward her.
She didn’t speak. Just tossed him the blade with a practiced ease. He caught it and stepped up to Mason. In a single clean swipe, he separated the vampire’s head from his neck, ending his suffering. He took a couple of steps closer to where Bert was struggling with his clanmate. Several tables and chairs had been overturned and broken in their fight. Blood was smeared over their faces and fangs were bared. Vicious snarled were accompanied by slick, wet sounds. Again and again, they inflicted wounds, bled, and healed. They were growing weaker but still had plenty of strength to keep going.
“You never should have come here, Bert,” Rafe coldly growled.
Lunging forward, Rafe plunged the blade into Bert’s chest, cutting clean through his heart. Bert gasped, his eyes going wide in shock. Before he could try to move against his attacker, Rafe jerked the blade free and sliced through his neck. The head spun like a top for a second, then hit the floor with a sickening thud.
The other vampire stumbled backward, tripping over a chair and landing on his ass. He stared up at Rafe, openmouthed, sucking in several noisy breaths.
Rafe stood over him, the tip of the sword just an inch from the vampire’s nose. “This is my domain. I am God here. Do you understand?” Rafe said with a cold finality. The vampire nodded a couple of times, his dark eyes locked on the sword. “They are mine to protect. Do you have a problem with that?”
“N-no,” the vampire breathed.
“Get out of here and spread the word. Don’t cross the Variks.”
The surviving member of the Bert Clan scrambled to his feet and ran from the club, still covered in the blood of his former clan leader.
Rafe looked at the mess created by the two dead vampires. His lips curled at the waste. The wasted night where people and vampires could have lost themselves to liquor, music, and entertaining company. Wasted time he could have spent with Philippe. Wasted time Gideon could have spent lost in dance rather than being terrified for his life.
Disgusted with the scene in front of him, Rafe turned and stalked over to Lola, handing her back her blade.
“You could have at least cleaned it first,” she muttered, earning a dark look from Rafe before she graced him with a cheeky grin. Yes, of course Lola enjoyed the display of violence. That was her passion, and too often he let her put him in that headspace.
Ignoring her, Rafe stepped around her and Ryder to draw close to Gideon. He had both hands clutching his hair and his eyes clenched shut.
“Gideon,” Rafe started gently. “I need you to look at me. You’re safe now.”
Gideon slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head to stare at Rafe. His face was too pale, and he was still trembling.
“Rafe?”
“They’re gone. Did they hurt you?”
Gideon shook his head.
“Touch you?”
“He…he grabbed my arm, but Ryder was there. He stepped in. Saved me,” Gideon said softly. His large eyes darted over Rafe’s shoulder for a second before turning to his face. “Lola and Ryder kept me safe until you could get here.”
Rafe lifted one hand to touch Gideon’s cheek but stopped when he saw that it was smeared with blood. He started to pull it away when Gideon surprised him by grabbing his hand in both of his and pressed it against his jaw. A soft sigh left Rafe, and he relaxed a little. “You’re safe. We’ll always keep you safe.”
“I’m so sorry,” Gideon murmured.
“Not your fault.” Ryder surprised them all by speaking. Ryder didn’t talk. Never said more than absolutely necessary. And from Rafe’s experience, very few words were necessary.
“He’s right,” Rafe said with a smile. “It wasn’t your fault.”
Gideon nodded, but he didn’t look as if he fully believed it.
“Would you let Ryder take you home?”
Gideon nodded again. His taut shoulders relaxed some and the shaking eased. The thought of being in his safe place helped pull him from the fears plaguing him.
