Page 119 of Bleed

I look toward the door before I can stop myself.

If he brought me here, he must’ve somehow pulled himself away. Realized what he’d done, delivered me to safety…

Then what?

Did he stay long enough to know I was okay?

Did he try to come back?

“Wait.” I squint at Taylor. “How long have I been out?”

She winces, like she already knows I’m not going to like the answer. “About a day and a half.”

My jaw drops. “A day and a half?”

“You lost a lot of blood.”

My fingers drift to the side of my neck, brushing the edge of a bandage. “Shit.”

She nods grimly. “They gave you a transfusion.”

“Double shit.”

The water glass tilts as my grip around it falters. Taylor catches it before it spills, taking it from my hands and setting it back on the nightstand while I stare down at the comforter in disbelief.

A day and a half.

Jesus.

No wonder I feel like death microwaved.

My brain’s trying to process everything at once, but it’s too much, my tangled thoughts all jumbling together.

Elliott nearly killed me. Elliott saved me. Our blood reacted. We might be bonded. I’ve apparently been unconscious for thirty-some hours while someone else’s blood was pumped into my veins.

And through all of it, one thought keeps stubbornly circling back.

Where is he?

I hate that I want him here. After what happened, I should probably be relieved he isn’t– Taylor certainly seems to be. But even knowing I almost died at his hands, some stupid part of me wishes it was his face I’d opened my eyes to.

I want to ask him what really happened in that lab.

I want to ask him what the glowing blood means, even though I think we both already know.

Mostly, I just want to see him… which is probably a spectacularly bad survival instinct considering the last time I saw the man, he had his fangs buried in my carotid.

“You said he brought me here?” I ask quietly, flicking Taylor a glance.

She nods solemnly.

“And then he just… left?”

“Well.” She huffs out a breath, shifting her weight in the chair. “When he showed up with you half-dead, I might’ve threatened to drive a stake through his heart.”

My mouth drops open. “You didn’t.”

She arches a brow, her mouth twitching at the corner.