On the Prowl (Bad Things #2)(63)

The blood dripped into her mouth. Julian massaged her throat, forcing her to swallow. But…

Her body seemed to be getting warmer to the touch. Too warm. As if she were feverish.

“Drink, Rose. Drink for me.”

A hard hand closed around his shoulder. “She can’t.” Luke’s voice. Sounding sad. Luke was never sad. He didn’t have time for emotions.

Julian didn’t look back at him. “This happened before. She bit your * of a brother once before, and I gave her my blood and everything was fine.” Her cheeks were flushed. Not just her cheeks. Her neck, her collarbone. Her arms.

“She’s burning up, from the inside out.” Again, Luke’s voice was sad. “It won’t matter how much blood you give her. My brother wasn’t lying. His blood is poison to vamps. She…didn’t really survive the first time.”

What? That was bullshit, of course she’d survived.

“The first time she had his blood, the poison got in her body.”

Julian kept his hand to her mouth. “And I gave her my blood. I diluted that tainted crap of his. She came back fine.”

“The poison stayed in her body, but it was dormant, waiting for another exposure. That’s how it works. One bite to begin, one bite to end.”

What?

“Her heart is going to burn up. She’ll burn in front of you. You should…step back. Let her go.”

Dazed, Julian couldn’t move at all.

“Fuck,” Rayce swore from the corner of the room. “I’m so sorry, man.”

No, this wasn’t happening.

He stared down at Rose. Her hair was spread on the pillows behind her head. It just looked as if she were sleeping. And he remembered another time…

Rose had been lying in a bed, blood on her body. She’d been so still. But she hadn’t been warm to the touch. She’d been ice cold and he’d known he was losing her.

So he’d turned to Luke Thorne, and he’d made a deal. “Bring her back, Luke. Change her. She can’t die.”

The memories swirled through his mind.

“She’s already gone.” Luke had stared at him with no expression on his hard face. “Mourn the dead, and move on.”

He’d hit Luke then. Punched him. Clawed at him. And Luke had just taken the blows. “I can’t lose her! She’s the first thing in my life that matters—don’t take her! Don’t let anyone take her!” And he’d been lost—lost to a fury and pain that had sent him out of control. He’d destroyed that room. Slashing the walls. Breaking the furniture. Turning his claws on himself…

My fault. I did this to her. My fault. Mine…

Luke had grabbed his hands. Julian’s claws had been buried in his own chest.

“Why are you doing this?” Luke asked him.

“Because I should die. She should live.” Simple. So simple…And if she didn’t live…then he was ready to die.

“You…love her? You fell in love with a human, knowing it was forbidden?”

One of Luke’s laws. “I fell in love with her…” He stared unflinchingly at the most powerful dark paranormal being in the world. “Because I couldn’t stop myself. She owns me. Owns me. And I can’t just let her die!”

Luke stared back at him. “Too late, my friend. She’s gone.”

He’d grabbed Luke by the shirt-front, his claws tearing into him. “Make me a deal. You make deals with everyone else. Give her life back. Help me.”

“I can’t,” Luke gritted in response. “To bring someone back from the dead? That would deplete my power. My enemies would close in. I would be done. The dark would fall.”

“I will take care of your enemies.”

Luke’s gaze had hardened. “Be careful what you say.”

Rose was still and cold on the bed. “I will hunt your enemies down. You know I’m the best hunter out there. You keep her in this world—”

“It’s not keeping her here. It’s bringing her back. And believe me, there would be a heavy price for that. Both for me…and for you.”

“I don’t care about the price. I care about her. Only her. And I’ll do anything…”

Then the deal had been set. Rose had come back.

“I tried to do the right thing,” Julian rasped. His hand slowly lowered from her mouth. His blood had dripped down her chin. Steam seemed to rise from her body. “I was sending her away, trying to make her leave because I knew I was bad for her. I hurt the ones close to me, and no one has ever been closer than her.”

Rayce cleared his throat. “Buddy, um, I think we should walk out now. There are some memories that you don’t want to have. And your lady burning? You don’t want to carry that memory.”

His head turned so that he was staring at the wolf. “Do you think I would ever let her die alone?”

Rayce’s jaw hardened.

No, dying alone wouldn’t happen.

He used his claws to cut his wrist even deeper. “I just have to give her more blood. It worked before. It will work again.”

“No,” Luke told him. “I’m so f*cking sorry, but it won’t. My brother was made to be my opposite. His blood can destroy dark paranormals just as mine…mine destroys the light. We’ve both always known we were poison.”