The question is, "Did you hear that?" Lucian enquired.
"Heard what?" Declan asked.
After shutting the van's doors, Lucian's hand slipped from them. He had heard something, but the alley remained still. blocking out the distant pounding of the music from the club, the sound of the approaching sirens, and the buzz of the adjacent traffic. He focused all of his senses on the alley in an effort to detect another presence.
He then detected her vanilla aroma as well as her During the fight with the vampires that followed, he thought Kara had fled when he instructed her to, and now all he could smell is her fragrance.
Saxon, get out of here, he yelled.
The red taillights of the van swept over them and Saxon drew forward, startling Declan, Killean, and Lucien.
The walls surrounding Lucian were a blur because he was moving so quickly down the alley. As he rounded the corner and saw her, his eyesight was obscured by a crimson haze. Spotted
In less than a heartbeat, Lucian drew closer to Joseph by moving quicker than he had ever imagined he could. Joseph was torn away from her and launched thirty feet into the air before landing on top of a garbage.
Lucian had never been so hell-bent on killing in his whole life. Even if Joseph's touching her was horrible enough, the fact that he also injured her was unacceptable. He would rip Joseph apart for this.
Joseph leaped from the garbage while turning around to face him. He prepared to attack, but instead, he turned and ran down the alley. The muscles in Lucian's legs tightened as he prepared to pursue the Savage vampire, but the airborne blood of Kara stopped him in his tracks.
He said, "Follow him!" When Lucian gave the order, Lucien and Killean sped out in search of Joseph.
He focused on Kara's slouched position against the wall. Declan bent down by her side and looked at her wounds. Joseph's teeth tore across the right side of her neck, leaving two sharp wounds on her skin. Her blood was a vibrant scarlet that contrasted sharply with her fair skin. Her cheeks were smeared with tears from the agony of having her blood forcibly stolen from her. Behind her, her right arm was twisted in an uncomfortable manner. Over the years, he had enough shoulder dislocations to understand the harm done to her.
Declan said, "She's alive," and moved his fingers to poke at the cuts on her neck.
Declan's hand was pulled away by Lucian as he advanced. I said, "Don't touch her."
He received a puzzled glance from Declan but moved away from her. In an effort to get her to wake up, Lucian knelt by her side and massaged her smooth skin. She didn't move, and her heart beat slowly in her chest. Lucian moved closer and gathered her into his arms as he struggled to contain the wrath that threatened to engulf him over what Joseph had done to her.
She slouched down and rested her head on his chest. Her eerily pale cheek was curled up against her silver-tipped eyelashes. Her sigh was hissed beyond her lips as her blonde eyebrows furrowed.
She was stunning, with her large lips, round cheeks, and thin nose. Despite all he knew about her, he wanted to protect her from the tragedy of their cruel society by holding her close. He was alerted by footsteps in the alley as Lucien and Killean emerged from the shadows. Killean's lips curled into a flat line as his gaze focused on Kara.
The question "Did you get him?" Lucian enquired.
With his hands, Lucien stroked his sandy blond hair. No, before we reached the end of the alley, he had left.
Lucian's upper lip curled in a sneer, but he couldn't be angry with them. He ought to have pursued Joseph directly. If Kara hadn't intervened, Joseph would not have managed to elude him once again.
The question "What are you going to do with her?" Killean urged.
As red, amber, and white lights blazed across the surrounding walls, Lucian cast a quick look toward Kara. The human ambulances had shown up. He had no idea when he would reach a decision, but he was certain of his course of action with regard to her. She is traveling with us.
"What?"
Killean's query went unanswered as Lucian stormed passed him. He took Kara away from the people and toward the other end of the alley. Killean, make sure Saxon takes care of the corpses by calling him. Where is your car, Lucien?" he said.
Killean gave him a long, intense look before pulling his phone from his pocket and pressing a button. As he talked into it, he moved away.
"There." Arriving at Lucian's side, Lucien indicated a black SUV in the lot next to the club. She is not yours to take. The hunters...
He yelled, "What would you have me do, leave her on the street?"
"Lucian—"
"Human employees are present. She is unable to remain given her injuries.
Killean answered the phone and replied, "Saxon is taking care of it." His attention was on Kara. "We'll cover up her wounds,"
One is caressing her once again," hissed Lucian.
The hunters will return to capture her, said Lucien.
We don't know where the hunters are, so they may not discover her before humans do. She is traveling with us, he said. I don't want to hear anything more about it, either.
Lucien quickly nodded. Killean started to respond but quickly shut his lips. Declan followed Lucien without saying a word. Lucian felt queasy in the pit of his stomach as a result of the way Declan was watching Kara. He struggled to shake the idea that there was no going back from this choice with each step he made.
***
Careful to avoid jarring Kara's wounds, Lucian placed her on his bed. Since they had left the alley, she had not moved, but her breathing and pulse had stayed constant. He said, "Bring me some bandages, towels, and water."
Declan quickly left the room. Killean and Lucien were standing near the doorway, their hard expressions expressing their disgust. "When the hunters find out we have one of theirs, they're going to be furious. a lady at that. They'll search all over this city for her, said Lucien.
Lucian said, "So they shouldn't have left her in the alley."
Killean exhaled. She was still there, and we all knew it. We all believed she had withdrawn to a secure place.