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When one vampire took a human life for an annual kill, the amount of visible blood was very little, of course Anwyn had been attacked by a vicious pack that wanted only to play The purpose here hadn’t been nourishe to hi tried to run, for his azelle flushed by a cheetah, the predator was on hihtened hiss One strangled protest, and then Gideon’s ghostlike vampire had taken his head with a blade he hadn’t even seen A sih force that the decapitated portion spun off and hit the pave across the alley The body sank to its knees in a parody of hoould have moved with a brain to direct it, then collapsed, alone His executioner was already gone
No, not gone The tall, swift vamp was back in a half kneel next to the body Gideon didn’t want to face it, didn’t want to know they were too late, but he forced his feet to move As he did, he kept a watchful eye on the shadows in the alley, covering their backs instinctively, even though it was obvious the va threat than he was
As Gideon approached, he saw that her chest and neck had been torn open, exposing glistening own had been ripped down to her navel Blood gathered in the crease beneath one breast He saw puncture marks in the nipple, around it
He reence in her eyes, the foolishly brave way she’d held her ground against the three vampires How she’d seeoas hiked up They had bitten her everywhere, everywhere they could find tender, sensitive flesh The va, such that they reached the juncture of her splayed thighs at the sa flesh there as well, un
The va away the blood that had obscured the bite scar to which Gideon had reacted so strongly earlier in the evening A scar he was now certain this vaan Rei
Those dark, glittering eyes rose, and though the vampire’s face remained unreadable, Gideon sensed the monster beneath the opaque surface Barely leashed violence e to fight a si inside of him, it was an unexpected moment to feel a click of solidarity, a shared purpose, with the creature that was his ene back over Anwyn
Gideon couldn’t bring hi eyes But the vampire touched her forehead, and suddenly Gideon’s heart jump-started, so abruptly it was al to let out a soft lance, Gideon lunged forward, dropping to one knee on her other side
"What,cher ?" Even with his exceptional hearing, the va his ear to her e hand cradling her face with undeniable tenderness "It’s all right," he murmured
"What is it?" Gideon demanded in a low voice "What does she need?" The va, ‘Stop’ Over and over She is in shock" Gideon closed his own hand over her other one It was sticky with blood, the fingers twitching He was afraid to hold it too tightly, for fear it would distress her further Instead, his heart broke when she clasped his hand like a lifeline, her dilated pupils going to hian Rei in an eerie rhyth to watch, the rock of it seemed to soothe her
She had some abrasions around her mouth, the corners of her lips torn Bruises where she’d been struck in the face She would have fought; he was sure of it They’d had to knock her down While her hair was disheveled, he could tell it had in fact been braided, held with that ribbon still snarled in the thick strands
He wanted to fix it for her, co that he could fix what had happened
What the hell are you doing?She was in pain She needed help
Laura had died when he went for help, though She’d died alone He hadn’t even done that right He couldn’t let go of Anwyn’s hand, not when she was clasping it so weakly He wouldn’t
"Do you have a cell phone?" he asked Dimly, he realized his voice sounded hoarse, stricken "We need to call an ambulance"
"No They cannot help her"
Gideon jerked his attention to the vaan Rei turned an expressionless face toward him "They turned her They raped her, drank froun the transition Without his blood to help her through it, she will go completelybody