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Aleks givesDominic and Everett orders to clean up the blood and the bodies, then takes my hand in his and walks me back into Muncie without a second look behind us.
We’re covered in blood. Aleks more than me, but when I ignored his order to run back into the city, I guess I got caught in the splash zone. That’s not counting the… stuff that slapped me in the face, either. We’re both a mess.
Luckily, walking around like that doesn’t get the same reaction in a Fang City as it would in a human community. Vamps scent that it’s shifter blood and are awed at their leader’s prowess. Donors are already aware that, despite most vampires appearing gentile and noble unless they’re rogues, supes are fierce creatures; it’s not unusual for our kinds to fight to the death. And the humans who live in Muncie and still manage not to discover that vampires and shifters are real? They just duck their heads and keep walking, chalking it up to something else weird about their city.
Besides, Aleks in the head of the Cadre. To humans, he’s the CEO of the Cadre building, and the most powerful male in Muncie. Rich, powerful people are different than regular folks. They’re definitely not about to call the cops on Aleksander Filan, especially since law enforcement in Muncie goes right through the Cadre.
Aleks has his arm slung around me as we walk home. Knowing how uncomfortable I am with the apartment building’s elevator, we climb the fire escape together, me in front while Aleks holds tightly to my hand as though afraid to let go.
I remember the discussion between those two vamps down below from a couple of hours ago—hours that seem like years between now and then—and am glad to see that the back entrance to the building is empty when we approach the fire escape. After that, I completely push it out of my mind until Aleks and I have both stripped, and we’re standing under the spray of water in the shower together.
He insisted. The blood had dried, sticky on our skin, and the rusty tang was becoming rotten. We needed to be cleaned, but since he was still eager to keep me close, that meant showering at the same time.
Aleks washes my hair, using the tips of his vampire claws to massage my scalp. Grabbing a washcloth, I soap up his body, washing off all the blood from him. I can’t help but notice that his cock begins to stir as I make slow swipes over his back, his chest, his ass, but since he’s intent on making sure that we’re both clean, I purposely avoid reaching for his semi just yet.
Just as I’m reaching up on my tiptoes to wash the blood from Aleks’s curls, though, I regret not distracting him by going for his cock when I had the chance. Even as the shower spray runs in pink-tinged rivulets down his sculpted face, his expression is searching as he finally turns the topic of our conversation to what happened earlier.
“Tell me, Elizabeth. Why were you so worried about starting a Claws and Fangs war?”
I nearly slip. Between my shifter reflexes and Aleks’s speed and strength, I don’t fall, but the way I jumped when he broke the silence with that question? I almost landed on my ass on the shower floor.
His hands are on my elbows, keeping me steady. He frowns. “Are you okay? I know what you saw tonight… it’s a lot. I try to keep you away from that side of me, but you’re my mate. I’ll do anything to keep you safe.”
I press my palms against his slick chest. “I love that about you,” I tell him honestly. “My wolf… we love that you’re a protector. A provider. Never apologize for that, Aleks. I fell for a vampire. If I was put off with a little blood, I never would’ve come to live in a Fang City.”
I meant it as a little tease. Tonight’s been so traumatic, and Aleks looks so solemn, I want to show him that Iama shifter. I might not be an alpha, but I’m made of sterner stuff than he gives me credit for.
Aleks, though? I should know better. When it comes to me, my safety, and our relationship… he doesn’t like to tease.
Bowing his head, he presses his forehead against mine. The water is running clear now, but neither of us make a move to leave the shower just yet as he murmurs, “It’s you. When I thought they might hurt you before I could get to you… it brings out the monster in me. Poczwara. I’ll tear a hundred throats before I let anyone harm a hair on your head.”
Normally, a confession like that would have me melting against him. But after what I overheard earlier… it’s not a confession so much as a declaration of war against my enemies.
And since my biggest enemy seems to be shifters, and Claws and Fangs wars always feature vampires and shifters on opposite sides, it sounds to me like Aleks might not mind repeating history for my sake.
I can’t let him.
“Don’t,” I tell him earnestly. “I don’t want another war. I don’t want you to start another one again.”
CHAPTER9
THE BEST DISTRACTION BEFORE DESPAIR
He pulls back just enough that he can look in my eyes. “Why would you say that?”
“Because you did it once before,” I blurt out. I didn’t mean to, but when I meet his gaze, it’s like he’s pulled the truth right out of me. “For Julia.”
That’s what makes this whole situation so fucking awful. I already look just like her. I didn’t die—only because Aleks saved me in time—but am I doomed to live her life regardless? Same beloved. Same spark for another battle in our ancient war.
His eyes flash, turning red in a heartbeat. It’s the only sign that my words got to him since he sounds almost curious, rather than angry, when he asks, “How did you know that?”
I could lie to him, but he’ll know. “I was out on the balcony,” I admit. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I heard… enough.”
If I thought that would placate my vampire, I was way wrong.
“Tell me. What exactly did you hear?”
