Bitter Blood (Blood and Moonlight Book 3)(24)

His eyes narrowed.

“We got her out of there. She’ll wake up with him. He’s got a new lab that he’s using and he took her there.”

Right. Because his last lab had been destroyed—Aidan remembered that destruction all too well.

“He’ll check her out and then I’m sure Jane will be rushing back to your side.” Vivian gave a hard nod. “So rest, alpha. Your mate is safe.”

For the moment. “The place was wired to explode. The minute Garrison opened that back bedroom, he triggered a bomb. I heard the snick of the detonator. I only had seconds to get Paris out—” He gave a rough laugh. “He’s going to be pissed at me for throwing him through the window.”

“No.” She turned away. Yanked open the door. “I’m sure he won’t be pissed at all.” Moments later, the door closed behind her with a soft click. He heard the pad of her footsteps as they faded away.

And…

Aidan heard her crying.

Strange. Vivian never cried. She never showed any weakness at all.

She was lying to me.

He slipped from the bed and pushed to his feet once more. Dizziness swept through him. Dizziness and a dark, twisting hunger.

A hunger for…

Blood.

He staggered toward his bathroom. His hands gripped the granite countertop and he stared at his reflection. His skin was a light pink, but there were no deep blisters. No blood. He could remember the horrible agony of his flesh burning. The smell had made him wretch. He’d been trying to think of a way to get Garrison out of there, but the fire had been out of control.

He’d been about to collapse, in so much agony, hurting beyond measure. Desperate and…

Hungry.

He leaned toward the mirror and saw that his canines had lengthened. Sharpened. Sure, that happened sometimes—his teeth got sharper when he shifted into the form of a wolf.

Only he wasn’t shifting right then.

She’s changing you. Paris’s voice whispered through his mind.

There was a soft knock on his bedroom door. He inhaled and recognized his visitor’s scent. “Come in!” Aidan called, his hands still gripping the countertop.

The door opened. Footsteps shuffled inside.

“Vivian said…she said you were okay.”

Aidan shoved away from the sink. He stalked back into his bedroom. Garrison was there, pale, blistered, and…

Garrison ran his hand through his shaggy red hair. The tips of his hair seemed a bit singed. Maybe more than a bit. “I don’t remember much…The flames were everywhere. You—you were yelling at me to stay down…”

Aidan froze a few feet from him.

“I thought we were both dead,” Garrison whispered.

Aidan turned his back on the other man. He didn’t want Garrison to see his fangs. Vampire fangs. “Not yet,” he said.

But Aidan didn’t know if those words were true. Had he just healed from the fire?

Or had he f*cking died?

And he’d come back…as something else?

“I need Jane,” Aidan rasped. She was the one who could help him. The one who could let him know just what in the hell was happening.

His anchor, in the f*cking storm of his life.

He. Needed. Her.

“Vivian…she gave me your blood when we got here.” Garrison swallowed and offered a weak smile. “Good thing we keep some of that powerful alpha blood on ice, isn’t it?”

Aidan just stared at him. It was standard procedure to keep his blood stored on the premises so that any injured wolves would have access to it. An alpha werewolf’s blood had amazing healing properties.

If I hadn’t been an alpha, I’d be dead now.

Garrison’s weak smile faded. “You saved my life again.”

“Forget it.” Aidan brushed past him and started grabbing clothes from his closet. Jane should be here. The fear he felt, the terrible tightness in his chest, wouldn’t ease until he had her close again.

“I remember…when you saved me before.”

Aidan glanced over at the guy. Garrison was staring at the floor.

“My parents were bleeding in front of me. No, they were already dead, and their blood soaked our wooden floor. I thought I would die then, too.” His shoulders hunched forward.

“You didn’t die,” Aidan said.

Garrison gave a rough nod. “Because of you. Then…and now.” His hands fisted at his sides. “I owe you more than I can ever repay, alpha.”

“I don’t want payback.” He grabbed for his clothes.

“One day, you might.” Garrison’s voice was soft. “And when you do, I’ll be there.”

Aidan started jerking on his shirt. He didn’t handle emotional shit well—not with anyone but Jane. Garrison, hell, he’d always felt protective of the guy, even though the younger wolf was a pain in the ass most days.

Isn’t that why I burned for him?

Garrison’s steps were shuffling toward the bedroom door. “I’m so sorry,” Garrison whispered. “About Paris. He was…one of the good ones.”

Aidan stilled.

The bedroom door began to crack open.

In a flash, Aidan was at that door, slamming it shut again. He’d moved even faster than he normally did and his fangs—they’re out again.