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“You need a shower before you can sleep, I’ll help. Do you think you’re up for it?” Nic asks.
“Yes, of course,” I respond around a yawn.
He picks me back up and heads off to the shower while I try to keep my eyes open.
Two
Nic
Carrying my weak and bloody mate while trying not to show how enraged and terrified I am, is a struggle.
Watching Anna rip into Aly’s neck was one of the worst moments of my life, all of them involving someone hurting or taking Aly. I know Anna has no control over what’s happening, she would never hurt her best friend. But knowing something doesn’t stop the fury pulsing through my veins.
Someone hurt my mate and if she wasn’t alive in my arms right now, I would lose complete control. I feel like Jeremy but everything has been too much lately. Too many things are happening to my Aly while I stand idly by. No more. I make a vow to protect her better, no matter what it takes.
Stepping into the bathroom, I set Aly down gently on the counter and quickly strip my own clothes, also covered in her blood, before starting the shower. As soon as the water is warm, I step in with Aly in my arms.
“Nic?” Her voice is weak and it kills me to hear. I hate that I couldn’t heal her fully from the blood loss she suffered.
“Yes Princess?” I respond, my own voice rough.
“Get out of your head and be with me. I’m here and I’m safe in your arms, okay?”
I want so badly for that to be enough, to give her what she wants but I can’t. The image of her on the ground, bloody with a vampire on top of her, is trapped in my mind.
She rests her head on my chest, not pushing me further. I try to be in this moment with her, noticing her soft skin under my hands and the way our mating bond pulses when she’s close. It does calm me down, especially when she starts humming under her breath.
“I am supposed to be taking care of you,” I point out.
“You need it more,” she responds and I can’t hold back my scoff.
“You’re the one who almost died tonight.”
“And you had to watch,” she volleys back.
I grab some shampoo and start scrubbing it into her hair, rinsing away any trace of tonight.
She sighs, leans against me more and her eyes flutter, she’s falling asleep. I hurry through the rest of the shower, shampooing her hair and cleaning her body before promptly washing myself.
While I carry her to bed, she’s fast asleep in my arms, completely exhausted. Grabbing a brush, I comb through her hair before laying her down in bed.
Taking care of her was calming after everything that happened and I really appreciate seeing her without blood. It calms something in me. Slowly, all the guys trickle in and gather around her, needing reassurance too.
“Today was crazy,” Kiran breaks the silence.
“Let’s go out in the kitchen to talk, we don’t want to wake her up,” I say but no one moves.
“She’s out cold, we can talk quiet. I don’t want to leave her right now,” Jay argues.
I agree, so I make my way back to the bed and sit next to Aly again.
“We can’t keep letting things happen to her,” I say, anger leaking through my voice.
When I glance up, each of them have guilty expressions looking back at me. They feel as horrible as I do. But I don’t blame them, I blame myself.
“We know,” Jeremy grits out.
“We got to her in time, she’s here in front of us healing,” Jax reasons.
