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Warmth and light seeped through him when she cupped his face. Her calming presence flooded down their mating bond until it reached the part he’d buried so deep no one else could ever find it.
It shied away from her touch.
Felix blinked, his sanity returning out of self-preservation. No, he couldn’t let her see it. Not that part of him.
He realized he’d almost attacked Nikolas in his blind rage. Three vampires struggled in silver chains; two lay dead at his feet. Nikolas and Gabby hadn’t been fast enough to stop him from killing. His nose twitched in disgust at the scent of burning, decaying flesh filling the air.
His world tilted as fiery agony lashed into him with renewed force. Everything he’d ignored during his loss of control hit him with ten times the strength.
Gabby caught him before he fell. “You need to feed.” In an accusing tone, she said, “What you did was unnecessary. I could have fought him off.”
His brain was sluggish, his body shutting down to preserve the energy to heal him. Blood gushed in a warm river down his right arm, the damage so extensive even his vampire healing couldn’t stop its flow.
With Gabby’s help, he took two steps before he collapsed and the world turned black.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Gabby’slungsseizedwhenFelix’s presence vanished, blinking out like a light. She caught him out of reflex even as her vision wavered. Emptiness and despair crowded into her, threatening to overwhelm her.
I hate you.She would’ve shaken him if she thought it would do any good. Her arms trembled, not from his weight but from despair; she bit her lips to stop a sob from escaping. It took her brain an interminable second to win the fight against the instinctive emotions, to process that he’d passed out, his body shutting down from the sheer damage.
His absence shouldn’t impact her like this. There’d been plenty of days where she’d stayed awake after he’d gone to sleep, even in the past few days while in Vegas. It’d never felt as if her entire world had dimmed as a black hole expanded and ate her from the inside.
It was because he’d fed from her earlier, strengthening their mating bond. That’d been a mistake. At least she had stopped herself in time and hadn’t fed from him, though it didn’t stop her heart from squeezing at his mangled body. His shoulder and back were a mess of exposed muscle and bone. Blood flowed freely from his wounds to the ground, soaking the sand dark red.
He wouldn’t die from his injuries, she reminded herself, trying to wrangle back her emotions, but there had been so many close moments. One of the deranged vampires could’ve decapitated him or destroyed his heart, both sure ways to kill their kind.
If only he’d trusted her. Believed in her abilities. He’d done exactly what she’d feared and resented, protecting her even though she could’ve handled it.
He’d never treat her as an equal.
Now, because of him, two vampires were dead, whom they could’ve saved. Yes, she’d cling to her rage. Better than wallowing in grief.
“He needs to feed.” Nikolas’ stoic voice brought her back to the present.
“I know.” Gabby carried Felix to the car. Nikolas and Ahmed had dragged the three struggling, snapping vampires next to one another and tied them together with a long chain.
The jeep’s back was open. She laid Felix next to the case of blood. She’d long turned off her smell so the scent of blood didn’t distract her during the fight. Yet, she couldn’t take her eyes off his mutilated body or ignore the slick feel of his warm blood covering him.
His fault.
“He’ll require more than what we have.” Nikolas handed her a bottle from their supply. “We have a base in the town thirty minutes away. Ahmed can take you. I’ll call ahead so the feeders are ready for you.”
“What about the ones that attacked us?” Gabby had no appetite while Felix was gone. Stupid, like when she’d been human. Her body throbbed from her injuries and yearned for sustenance. She uncapped the bottle and took a sip, not wanting to repeat old patterns.
“I’ll ask the team to send a van to transport them. In the meantime, I’ll stay here.”
This time she glanced at him, annoyed. “I’m not leaving you alone with them.”
“Someone has to stay here. You don’t know how to drive or where you’re going, and I’m stronger than Ahmed, so I’m staying.”
“I’m staying with you. Ask them to send the feeders here.”
“No, it’s too risky. We don’t know if there are only five of them. If more show up and I’m alone, I can run for it. But with Felix in this state, it’s better if you leave now. And don’t say you’ll stay with me. When Felix wakes and you’re not there, there’s no telling what he might do. You need to stay with him.”
He was right. Again, all Felix’s fault. If he hadn’t gone berserk to protect her, he wouldn’t have passed out, and she wouldn’t have to leave Nikolas alone. He’d allowed the vampire, an unthinking monster who followed its basest instincts for violence and blood, to take the reins. Only the human’s rationality and control kept the primitive beast in check.
Gabby recalled the primal savagery on Felix’s face while he’d fought off their attackers and shivered. The brutal way he’d torn through those vampires despite his injuries. Her vampire had responded, had strained to join her mate in the bloodlust, and it had taken all her willpower to keep it under control.
