The Way You Bite(51)

“I didn’t believe you, Eric. But she does have some sort of special resistance to the Dimitrov boys’ charm,” said TC. He gazed at Vee as if her worth in the world just went up a few points.

“What?” Vee looked around at the stunned and amused wolves.

Eric said, “That woman-magic thing Lexan and Ryder have going on is incredible and works on every female, except you. You level the playing field a bit, which is damned entertaining.”

Ryder wiped the stunned holy-hell off his face. He asked Eric, “My father’s thing doesn’t work on her at all?”

“Big zero. Funny as hell, too,” Eric said.

“What exactly does it mean when you say woman magic?” Vee asked, jealousy wildly firing in her brain at the thought of Lexan doing some sort of mesmerizing magic on other women.

“All he has to do is exist and any woman within a hundred feet of him would do anything for him. I do mean anything,” Ryder said in a tone tinged with jealousy.

“You have to work a little harder at it? Poor you. I’m not so sure Lexan’s magic doesn’t work on me. He’s proven several times he can manipulate me into doing what he wants.” She closed her eyes and rested, hearing a less-stressed banter pick up around her.

A wave of pain hit her mind. She sat up and looked around the room. Everyone looked fine. It hit her again, causing her to involuntarily grab her head.

Lexan. Her stomach cramped.

His battle against silver wasn’t over.

Vee pulled a superspeed move to the parlor doors, startling all in the room. She pushed them open to find Lexan and Julio speaking, sitting across from each other. At her entry Julio stood, obviously stunned. Based on his glare, this was beyond a small breach of protocol.

Lexan didn’t get up. He looked relieved when their gazes collided. Small beads of sweat dotted his forehead.

She didn’t wait for permission to check his vitals. His pulse was easy to pick up. She could practically feel it from the far side of the room. It bounded. She did another superspeed move to touch his forehead, finding it hot enough to cook an egg.

“How bad?” she asked softly as she started an exam. Gums pale pink. Respiratory rate elevated.

“There’s some burning,” he answered.

“Everywhere or just on your leg?”

“Everywhere.”

“Oh God. I’m so sorry. We shouldn’t have tried—”

“This isn’t your fault. It was already everywhere before you tried.” He held her gaze, silently demanding no guilt.

Julio demanded, “What the hell is going on?”

Eric answered, “He’s going into silver death.”

Vee clarified, “He got shot in the femoral with one of the new liquid silver bullets. I tried to flush it and remove what I could, but there was no x-ray to confirm it was all gone.”

“Can you do anything for him, Roman?” asked Ryder.

“My work with silver is in the experimental phases. I haven’t found anything that works predictably to clear it from the body. But I’m close.”

“What about complete phlebotomy and transfusion?” asked Vee.

Roman tapped a finger on his lip. “Never tried it. We don’t have time to get him to a facility.”

Vee said, “No, we don’t.”

“It might kill you. We’re not doing it,” Lexan said.

“It hasn’t so far.”

Lexan tucked errant hair behind her left ear. “Sips and cupfuls. This would be liters.”

“If it was going to kill me, it only takes a sip.” She turned to Roman. “Let me do it. I’ll get his blood out, and then you get new blood into him.”

“But our blood is toxic to vamps. Like he said, you’ll die and probably well before you got enough out to make a difference.” Roman shook his head in absolute rejection of her plan.

Vee watched Lexan, waiting for permission to reveal her genetic disaster.

He shook his head, almost imperceptibly. So, it was to secret.

Julio asked Lexan quietly, “Even if it will kill her to do it, how do you know she won’t just kill you? Drain you dry.”

Lexan looked around to all his guys. Their faces echoed that same concern.

They still didn’t trust her? She’d proven herself multiple times. Then again, he had been through hell and back with all of them. Each would probably give their life for his in a heartbeat. This was just their protective side showing. That she appreciated and understood.

“They deserve the truth.” Lexan pulled her sweater down to reveal her shoulder. His bite, the mark all would know signified her as his mate. “She won’t hurt me.”





Chapter Twenty


Silence.

Unexpected. Reveal he’d marked her as his mate and everyone lost the ability to speak. It was nice, actually. No one pressed personal agendas or gave an opinion.

Lexan hated he’d been pushed into a corner with no option but to reveal this. He’d wished it’d remained secret. She didn’t understand the significance of the mark, yet. But he might not need to broach the subject given he was on the road to death from silver toxicity.

Eric cleared his throat, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “This is…the best news all week.” He bowed to Vee, “My lady, it will be my pleasure to protect you.” Then he addressed Lexan, “I assume this means we can finally get the hell out of this country.”