Page 43 of Bonded Through Bite

“Not anymore.” I want to bite him but pull back, willing the calm detachment around me. I’m not going to let him bait me. “Well, you got a problem now, angel, since the bitch is in the wind.”

His eyes turn darker and now his fangs are showing. “Oh. Just me?”

I motion at Samantha. “I don’t have a new changeling in my arms.” But even as I say the words, they taste like ash in my mouth. The problem is that even if every bone in my body wants to protect the blue-haired, sassy creature, I can’t. Not against Patricia.

And neither can he.

“I’ll think of something,” he mutters. “Keep her hidden. Safe.”

“How, Rafael?”

“I don’t know,” he hisses. “But I couldn’t let her die. Don’t push me on this, Santiago. I will keep her safe.”

“Fine. But you’d better come up with a fucking master plan and soon. What are you going to do about the wolves?”

“Nothing.”

“Rafael, for fuck’s sake!”

“There’s nothing to do, San. They stay on their side of the border. I stay on mine. We haven’t had an incident in decades. The wolves are the one thing I’m not worried about.”

“Fine. I still don’t get how you can tolerate having those furballs as neighbors.”

“They are shifters, not the blood-thirsty monsters you grew up hunting,” he shoots back. Since he might have a point that I’m not willing to acknowledge, we fall silent for a long time. Eventually, I break.

“I’ll help where I can.”

“Thank you.”

“Not for you. For her.”

“I gathered.” He nods solemnly and kisses her temple. “There’s something about her…”

“Temperamental and sexy as fuck. Just your type,” I say and he chuckles before sobering up again.

“The blood… How can she only drink mine? With the way she reacts, I’m not willing to test it.”

Samantha mumbles in her sleep and both of us fall silent immediately. It takes a moment for her to settle down and when she does, I see that her fangs have lowered again.

“She’ll need to feed soon,” I whisper and Rafael nods. “You need to feed too.”

“I’ve got some blood bags in the fridge,” he finally replies and I scoff.

“That diluted stuff is not going to do shit for you.”

“I—”

“And it certainly is not going to help her. You need to stock up and fast, angel.” This time, I use the name on purpose to needle him and his eyes flash.

“Are you offering to be my blood bank then?” There’s a tightness in his voice that I’m willing to bet is masking desire. And probably anger.

My blood is considered high octane because of my age, but having the same sire allows the effects to transform even better between us. It also forges a bond and we’ve been trying to ease ours away for a very long time. Giving Rafael blood on a regular basis is the height of stupidity in that regard.

I look at Samantha and again feel the tug and the need to care for her. If she won’t be able to drink directly from me, I’m willing to use Rafael as a filter. That settles it. She’ll need to be well fed and strong and this is a way I can help her to achieve that. A stronger bond with Rafe is going to be an annoyance, but I’ll manage.

I’ve done it before.

“I won’t drink from you,” I say, and surprise flares in his face. Bah! I’m willing to feed Samantha through him, but both of us feeding from each other is a recipe for disaster. He must know that. Doesn’t he?