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Although Julie knew what she had to do, she wasn’t sure where to start. Did she get a knife? Maybe a scalpel out of Devon’s bag? Tears came to her eyes as she sat there wasting time. Suddenly, it dawned. Julie felt her fangs elongate and she dragged her wrist along one, breaking the skin.
Blood oozed from the wound like a river of red. Before any dripped to the floor, she opened Taylor’s mouth and put the wound to his lips.
“What is she doing?” Ayden asked nervously. “She’s not trying to change him, is she?” Footsteps got closer, but her master quickly stood between them.
“No.” Channing said. “What she’s doing can only be done between mates. It’s a sort of healing remedy. Her blood will help strengthen him. That is all. To change Taylor, she would have to inject her venom into his blood. I assure you she won’t do that. She could bite him a million times. It wouldn’t mean she’d infect him. There has to be a conscious decision in her mind before the poison would come.”
“Thank God. She scared the shit out of me there for a second.” Londyn walked to the other side of Taylor’s body. “Julie, we both know that Taylor wasn’t mated to you. Not before the shot, and not after. What if you hurt him with your blood?”
“I won’t.” Julie let the blood continue to flow into his mouth. She felt herself getting lightheaded, but she wasn’t ready to stop. “He is my mate, Londyn. My vampire mate. I am yours and Aston’s.” She smiled. “Isn’t this wonderful? Now we really are all three mated.”
A huge smile came to his face. Julie lifted her wrist and ran her tongue along the incision. The act came so naturally she hadn’t realized she’d done it until afterward. As she watched Taylor, she waited for some kind of change. She’d take anything, as long as it was good.
“How long until we know something, Channing?” Julie made room for Aston and Londyn as they came to her side.
“There’s no telling. It’s usually within a minute or two, but that’s if it even works. He was hurt really bad.”
All Julie’s attention went to staring at Taylor’s body. Was his breathing becoming faster? Did his heart sound any stronger? Even with all of her heightened senses, she didn’t think she could tell. Thump-thump, thump-thump. Repeatedly she counted the beats. Out of nowhere it skipped. The pace increased rapidly, and Julie’s eyes shot to Channing. “Do you hear that?”
“Yes, let’s give it some time and see what happens.”
She started watching again nervously. Hopefully the increasing was a good sign and not an omen. If she ended up making him any worse than what he already was, Julie didn’t know what she was going to do.
Chapter 11
The color began to return to Taylor’s skin slowly. Julie sighed a breath of relief and leaned against Londyn’s arm. She was feeling pretty weak herself and for some reason her throat was on fire.
“You need to feed,” Channing whispered in her ear.” I think we’re pretty much done in here. Let’s talk to Ayden and get everyone to leave.” Julie nodded and let Channing take charge. She didn’t know the first thing about feeding.
“Ayden, what do you want to do with Julie? They obviously can’t stay here.”
Devon jumped to his feet. “You can’t move Taylor. At least not for another few hours. He’s a wolf, he’ll heal fast, but not that fast. I’d like him to stay bedridden for a least a few days.”
The long breath came from Ayden. The dark bags under his eyes worried her. He’d obviously been under a lot of stress dealing with not only keeping Corpus Christi safe, but also taking care of the pack, and her mess.
“Londyn, I need you and Aston to take Julie back to your place. Devon and Channing can stay here with Taylor. When it gets dark, if Taylor has stabilized some, we’ll have Channing do his disappearing act with him and show up at your place. Devon can lock up the apartment behind him. We’ll have Julie’s death report in the paper tomorrow.” He looked at her. “Anyone outside our circle will no longer believe you’re alive. Are you going to be okay with that?”
Everyone she held dear was within their immediate circle. The only people that weren’t were her parents, and she had a falling out with them years ago. They hadn’t bothered to get ahold of her since. “Yeah, I’m perfectly okay with that.”
“Good.” Ayden pointed to two officers with him. Julie could smell the wolf in them. “We’re out. Handle the press outside. You know the story. I want Corinne Garcia’s picture all over the local news tonight. You tell them there’s a ten-thousand-dollar reward for whoever can lead us to her arrest.”
“Got it, Chief.” The officers walked out, and Ayden stood at the door. “Julie, I need you to change into something professional looking and take this pass. If anyone asks, you’re a crime scene technician and you can’t comment on anything you saw. Walk out of here and try not to look at anyone. I’m positive you won’t be recognized, but let’s not take any chances.”
The burning was getting worse and Julie swallowed hard. She needed a shower first and foremost. Blood covered almost every part of her skin.
Channing grabbed Londyn’s arm and stepped in close. “I need Julie to feed from you. Can she do that?”
“Yeah, sure. I mean, I don’t mind at all, but isn’t she supposed to practice on you first?” Londyn’s worry almost made Julie laugh, but she held it in. He had every right to be nervous. What if she hurt him? Or worse?
A laugh did come from Channing. “You see, I would, but I think it’s better if she uses you. Feeding can be very intimate, and as much as I know Melissa wouldn’t mind, I think you two need more of that. Am I wrong?”
“Mind reader. I forgot.” Londyn winked at him. “I owe you one.”
Channing pushed Julie forward, but she stopped and rushed up to him. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Instincts, ma chérie. You’ll do great.”
“I hope you’re right.” Julie stopped to look down at Taylor. He was almost back to his normal coloring already and his breathing was good. Comfort settled over her. She gave Aston a kiss and followed Londyn into her room.
