“You know you can’t, especially when you are like this, Thaddeus. You could kill her.”
“I don’t care,” Thaddeus says, shoving him away from me.
“That’s exactly my point. I won’t let you mark her while you’re surrounded by darkness. Ryland!” Orion yells, and I hear footsteps. Soon, I see him coming up behind Thaddeus as he runs down the stairs. Ryland grips his arm, but Thaddeus backhands him, not letting my arm go. Thaddeus pulls me towards himself, pressing me against his chest.
Orion reaches for me when I hear a menacing growl escape Thaddeus, and the lights suddenly flicker, the air around us becomes dense. I can hear the sound of static.
“Thaddeus!” Orion yells when I feel my arms burning.
My skin burns so hot that I think it is melting off. I scream, his grip sears into my flesh, and Orion tackles him, forcing him to let go, while I am thrown violently onto the floor. My head smacks the floor with so much force, I see black, and my vision turns blurry.
Sitting up, I clutch my head, feeling blood trickle down the side of my face. As I pull my hand back, I see it’s coated in blood, and I feel my eyes roll into the back of my head.
Orion’s voice reaches my ears, but I have no idea what he is saying. All I can think about is the throbbing in my head as the darkness descends. I feel weightless and cold, and then nothing.
* * *
Orion
I knew I shouldn’t have tackled him the moment I did. His grip on her was too tight, and the force threw her like a rag doll; her head smacked into the edge of the fireplace.
She sits up, swaying slightly, and then clutches her head. As she pulls her hand back, I see blood running down her face, bleeding everywhere onto the floor.
“Evelyn!” I gasp, making Thaddeus’s eyes snap to her.
I feel panic run through him. He moves so quickly I think he will attack her at first; I know he needs to feed, and she is bleeding everywhere. I could feel his bloodlust through the bond when he burnt her.
Thaddeus grabs her, pulling her onto his lap. He is quick to bite his wrist, but Evelyn is floppy and limp as her eyes roll into her head, and she slumps against him. Ryland rushes to his side, and all I can do is watch, completely paralyzed by fear at seeing her in that state.
Thaddeus bites into his wrist again, and Ryland opens her mouth, letting his blood run down her throat. Her skin is turning so pale she looks like she is dead, her skin turning blue.
Thaddeus rocks her in his arms, her head falls backward, and I can hear her heart rate getting slower. It didn’t work; she is going to die. He killed our mate.
I knew we should never have pursued her. I knew she would never survive him, and all I can feel now is anger. Her breathing becomes shallow, her heart rate slows down.
Ryland rips her from him and blows air into her lungs as his hands perform CPR.
“There’s no point. She is gone,” I tell him.
Ryland growls, his eyes snapping to mine. “She isn’t, I can feel her. We just need to keep her alive long enough for his blood to work,” Ryland snaps at me.
Thaddeus has his head in his hands, and I can feel darkness wrapping around him, consuming him like never before. I know if she dies, he will kill us all when he releases it.
When Ryland notices the darkness in him, he looks panicked, and I finally move, going to her side and trying to help. Biting into my wrist, I hold it over her mouth while Ryland keeps pumping her chest.
A minute feels like hours as we wait to see if our blood helps her. Suddenly, she chokes on our blood, and Ryland stops. He falls backward in relief. Evelyn is trying to spit out the blood as she gasps for air, the long gash on her head escaping into her hairline starts healing, and she rolls on her side, retching, spewing our blood onto the floor.
“I’m so sick of puking,” she gasps.
Thaddeus grips her, crushing her against his chest. Relief floods the bond as he cups her face, and I feel the darkness leave him, feel him relax with her in his arms.
“Get off me, asshole,” she says, smacking his chest, making me chuckle. Yep, there she is, our feisty little mate. She nearly died and doesn’t even realize it; she is pissed off because she woke up in his arms. Thaddeus loosens his grip, letting her move, and she looks around, confused. Then, her eyes snap to the floor where her blood has pooled. “What happened?” she asks, shocked, and I realize she can’t remember.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,” Thaddeus tells her, guilt flooding into me through the bond, mixed with fear of her rejecting him over what he has done to her.
“You’re fine. You will be fine, Evelyn,” I tell her.
I see her look up at Thaddeus as she realizes he has done something, yet she doesn’t understand what. I hold my hands out for her, and she moves off his lap, coming toward me warily before gripping onto me like I am her lifeline.
Ryland stands up. I watch him as he bends down, kisses her head, and turns around to walk into the kitchen. Thaddeus is staring at her like she is about to vanish in front of him, and I can feel his longing and jealousy that I am holding her, that she always seems to gravitate towards me.
Yet, he needs to understand every time she has been in his presence, he has hurt her or scared her. I have done neither. Humans tend to go where they feel safest, and at the moment, that is me.
“She is fine, Thaddeus. Go get some sleep and calm down,” I tell him, and he growls at me. Ryland touches his shoulder, making him look up. After a brief moment, he stands reluctantly and leaves me with her.
“What happened?” she asks.
“You hit your head. Ryland’s quick thinking just saved your life. You will be fine, Evelyn.”
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