Gaslight (Crossbreed #4)(106)

I grabbed impalement wood from inside my coat, raised my arm, and drove it deep into Temple’s chest. A split second later the struggling ceased, and Christian threw him to the ground like trash. Temple looked like one of those glass-eyed dolls, forced to watch the world around him but unable to move.

“Viktor,” I whispered. Without a second thought, I ran toward the edge of the boat and jumped off. When I crashed into the icy water, I clawed at the edge of the boat and kicked for the surface. My heart racing, I use that Vampire strength to stay afloat and survive.

My heart nearly stopped when something floated by.

I clumsily swam toward Viktor, and as soon as I grabbed hold, my head went under. The only way to survive was to ignore my fear of drowning and do what came natural. We were right by the shore, so after a gulp of air, I swam hard. Water went up my nose, and just when I thought we’d go under, my boot touched the ground below.

I dragged Viktor ashore. “Hang on!” He wasn’t breathing that I could see, so I pushed at his lungs to force the water out. “Christian! I don’t know how to give a dog CPR!” My hands rubbed his chest forcefully. “Shift, Viktor. Wake up and shift!”

I threw off my coat and crawled behind him, wrapping my arms around his body and then thrusting my hands inward. How the hell do you get water out of a wolf’s lungs?

I heard a hacking sound and then another. Water gushed from his mouth, but was any air getting in?

The rocks beat up my knees as I crawled to the other side and lifted his snout.

Christian leapt off the pier and came running. When he reached us, he dropped to his knees. “Is he alive?”

“I don’t know.”

Christian bit into his wrist, rivulets of blood spilling onto the rocks.

“Will that work?” I asked.

“Feck if I know.” He shoved his wrist over Viktor’s mouth and held the underside to prevent it from dripping out.

When he finished, I closed Viktor’s jaws and turned his snout upward to let the blood flow to the back of his throat. Then I cupped my hands around his nostrils and blew a breath.

Christian pushed at his stomach. “Did you get all the water out?”

“I think so.”

More water expelled from his mouth, and the wolf snarled and gasped in a violent fight for survival. Christian and I backed away before he blindsided us with an attack. I heaved a sigh of relief. If Viktor wanted to gnaw on my arm, that was okay. At least he was alive.

I’d seen Viktor shift before, but never this slowly. His fur appeared to melt away, limbs elongating and his muzzle transforming into a recognizable face. It was almost dreamlike. I’d once asked Blue what it felt like to shift, and she compared it to sliding down a dark waterslide. Viktor’s slide must have been broken, but it was reassuring to know the process didn’t hurt.

Christian threw his coat over him. “Jaysus wept. You scared the holy ghost out of us.”

I glared at my partner. “Where the hell were you?”

“Knitting a pair of knickers for your next birthday. I had work to do.”

I swung my attention toward the ship. “Did you kill him?”

“If I’d left him as he was, those sailors would have removed the stake, and we’d have to deal with that shitebag again. But no. I charmed the men to guard the ship and leave him alone. I let them know that if they remove that stake, I’ll bury them alive in their mother’s coffins.”

“That’s a little dramatic.”

“Nothing scares the living like the dead. And nothing scares a man more than his own mother.”

The taste of dark blood lingered in my mouth, so I scooped up water from the shore and rinsed my mouth out. The foul taste of Temple’s blood was like rotting meat on my tongue, and his sins worked their way through my body like a virus.

Christian walked over and crouched down. “Are you hurt?”

I wiped my mouth. “Why didn’t you kill him?” I asked quietly.

Christian peered over his shoulder at Viktor, who was still coughing up water. “He didn’t give the order.”

“Viktor was dead in the water because of that Vamp. We had every right.” Incensed, I stood up and stalked toward the boat. “We have every right.”

“Raven!” Christian yelled, but I was beyond listening. That fanghole almost killed my leader, and he was going to pay.

I shoved past the small crowd and boarded the ship. Christian must have charmed the men to specifically keep their shipmates off, because they ignored my presence. When I reached Temple, I stood astride him. Most of my weapons were strapped in the lining of my coat, which was back on the shore, but I had a small push dagger affixed to my belt. I freed it from its sheath and straddled him, pushing the blade into his neck all the way to the hilt. Blood seeped through the wound, and Temple’s droopy little eyes flickered with anger and the thought of all the things he wanted to do to me.

“Raven, don’t do it.” Christian crouched beside me, his hand resting on my shoulder. “The higher authority didn’t declare him an outlaw. Unless it’s life or death, we follow the rules and turn him in alive. They’ll squeeze the little arseface for information and take his head when they’re done. Think of what they can get from him—all his contacts.”

I bared my fangs at Temple when I saw laughter behind his glassy eyes. My grip tightened around the dagger. “He doesn’t deserve it.”