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Kian makes a noise behind me. He can feel it, as well, I’d bet. I feel him standing there. Whether it’s more sensitive from the lack of contact these past few weeks or because the bond is getting stronger—which seems irrational, illogical—I don’t know. I tug at it, and he takes a step toward me.

Sonia’s gaze flicks to my neck, and I give her a tiny nod. I don’t know what I’m agreeing to, but suddenly she’s on me. Her hands dig into my upper arms, keeping me still, and her teeth latch on to my neck.

My magic flares to life.

It doesn’t hurt. Not like when she drags my magic out of me. She’s not taking that. It’s just my blood that she’s gulping down, feeding the vampire side of her. Her tongue works against my skin, and a numb euphoria travels through me.

My eyes flutter closed.

“Stop,” Kian says, but his voice is coming from a long way off.

It just feels good. For the first time since I got here, maybe even longer, bliss courses through me with every beat of my heart.

“Stop.”

Sonia staggers backward, and my knees give out. Strong hands catch me around my waist before I can hit the floor, and my body just… relaxes. Because it’s Kian, and he’s soothing some deep part of me by touching me. He sweeps my hair back, exposing the long row of overlapping bruised, open bites down my neck that never healed.

He curses and closes the most recent wound, the prick of his healing shifter magic the first sliver of warmth I’ve felt in so long. It dissipates too quickly, and I’m left frozen again.

Kian picks me up and carries me out of the house. Down the steps. I rest my head on his shoulder and try to keep my eyes open. They drift closed on their own after a while, until his steps change.

I force myself to be more alert. To wake up.

There are no streetlights on the gravel road he marches down. The moon is tucked behind clouds, and the night air has a bite all its own. I’m already so cold, I don’t know that I can even shiver at this point.

I’ve been cold since Sonia’s first demonstration of power.

But Kian is warm.

My eyes close again until he stops walking.

We’re beside his truck. Two wolves appear out of the shadows. One smaller brown one, another massive gray. They shift wordlessly into Jessamine and her mate—I only recognize him from the lodge, when he rushed to help her after I burned her face—and go to the back of the truck, finding clothes.

Kian opens the passenger door and sets me carefully on the seat.

The male tosses a pair of sweatpants to Kian. I hadn’t even realized he was naked. Didn’t care. But Kian pulls them on quickly, then turns his attention to me. His fingers ghost over my cheekbone, then down the right side of my neck.

“Tell me,” he says in a low voice. “What did he do to you?”

I wince. “There’s not much to tell that you can’t piece together.”

He presses his palm to the other bites on my neck, and healing magic seeps into me. I tip my head back and let out a low sound. Something caught between a moan and a sigh. It feels good and warm, and I really just want to climb into his lap and stay there.

He came for me.

“I felt your pain. I know he hurt you.” He brushes my hair back. “Where else?”

“I don’t know. You might feel it; I can’t feel anything.”

“Alpha,” Jessamine’s mate calls. “We should go.”

Kian nods. They climb in the backseat, and Kian gently moves my legs inside the vehicle. He meets my gaze one last time, then closes the door between us.

I can’t tell if I’m actually safe or if it’s just wishful thinking.

Chapter 26

Kian