Gypsy Freak (All The Pretty Monsters #2)(74)

“I’m supposed to have his protection. I’m Violet Car—”

A whisper of wind is all the warning I get before I feel the familiar presence at my back. A possessive, firm hand comes around my waist in the next instant.

The man in front of me drops to the ground with a whimper that is so sad it hurts my chest.

“Arion, I really need to see Emit,” I say on a quiet, hopeful breath, shutting my eyes as he leans over to sniff my skin.

“Why does it smell like you’ve lost a lot of blood if there was barely a scratch on you?” he asks instead of answering.

Barely a scratch on me? That means Emit hasn’t said anything yet.

“Why are you so cold?” he goes on, bringing my hands up to his mouth as he steps in front of me.

The guy on the ground remains in fetal position, but I can only see a portion of him now.

“Are you doing something to him?” I ask instead.

“I’m too close. He’s too young to be in such close proximity to an alpha vampire. It’s terrifying his crippling instincts,” Arion says with a casual shrug. “Now answer me. Why are—”

I tug at his hand, but he lifts me, walking in the wrong direction…or maybe it’s the right direction.

“Sorry,” I say to the guy over Arion’s shoulder, even as he continues to tremble.

“You were attacked by wolves tonight,” Arion grinds out.

“Not that wolf,” I say distractedly when I see a candle light somewhere ahead.

“Let me see your neck,” he tells me just before he puts me down.

My head is tilted back before I can argue, and his finger runs over the mark as his brow furrows. “I thought there was a scratch here.”

“Healing potions,” I state without missing a beat.

“Works that well on mortal skin?” he asks.

“I have to find Emit,” I say again. “I need to see that he’s alright and tell him something important.”

“I’m afraid this is as close as we get, love,” he says, easily holding me to him as I struggle in vain.

“The hell is she doing here?” I hear Damien snap. “She was in bed when I left.”

Arion releases me when Damien glares at him, but before I can even attempt to go find Emit, Damien becomes the new man holding me still.

Several bursts of fire all explode in unison, and Vance narrows his eyes on us as he approaches.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he tells Arion, and then gestures to me. “And she really shouldn’t be here.”

“I didn’t bring her here,” Arion tells him, eyes cold and assessing. “And I’m sticking around to see what happens to Ian. Try to stop me, Van Helsing. Let’s see how it goes this time around.”

The trees out here are so thick, despite the cold, that the slight canopy they provide the forest has blocked a large portion of the snowfall. Still, the few inches of it are burning against my bare feet.

It’s now that I realize I’m just wearing one of Damien’s shirts that hits me mid-thigh, and nothing else at all. That means the blood flow has finally restarted and I’m feeling more and more.

Awesome timing.

I just need to get to Emit, convince him not to tell anyone else about me, and then prove to him I’m not a real threat. Maybe he’ll be understanding, and then it’ll all be worth it.

A sinking sensation fills in my chest as the impossible task becomes all the more impossible when I hear it play out in my mind.

Movement to the right draws my attention and brings me out of my tragic reverie. Three men are dragging a gagged Ian toward a very familiar barn that becomes visible when more fires light all around the clearing just below.

Arion moves closer, putting his jacket over me, and Damien’s grip tightens on me as I move to stand on top of his shoes, hissing out a breath of pain when the cold starts to finally sting my feet.

“Do not do anything stupid,” Vance says threateningly to Arion, as he moves his body to cut off his view from Ian.

Arion’s dark grin spreads. “Careful, Van Helsing. Tonight’s not the night to push me more than I’ve already been pushed.”

Damien removes his longer coat that looks refined and elegant, but feels like a small oven when he puts it on me and takes Arion’s jacket for himself.

I don’t argue. The trade is much better, since my legs get a lot of wind blockage.

Vance glares at Arion, and I get worried they’re about to fight, but that’s when the wolves start pacing restlessly, both in fur and in flesh.

“Calm your fucking selves. You’re stirring them,” Damien says quietly.

“That’s not because of us,” Vance says, eyebrows furrowing as the salt around the barn starts flitting away in the wind, and all three of them sniff the air.

No one says anything as those barn doors push open, two wolves using their heads to do so.

“He’s going to say he killed enough and spared Ian if he’s bringing us here to see that,” Arion states with a very chilling tone.

But I lose interest in their words when I have to lock my knees in place to stay upright, my eyes glued to the gory scene ahead of me.

“Would you kill Shera or Isiah?” Damien asks.

“For this level of betrayal? Yes, I would. And I wouldn’t hesitate,” Arion grinds out somewhere over my head as I continue to gape at all the blood and death caused by me.