Page 90 of Blood of Vengeance

“Thank you all for sticking around to watch over our humans,” Cutter continued, shooting a small, sad smile Zella’s way. “They’re on the mend and going home, and I want to give every one of you that same chance. Head home. Get some rest. Heal up. Tomorrow, we start hunting vamps.”

The howls that came after that sentence rose into the night sky like a song, serenading the moon above. I didn’t howl. I couldn’t. My entire world rested on the shoulders of a tiny human who looked so damn lost, and I had no way to reach her.

“Come,” I finally said, directing her with a hand on her back toward the truck. “Let’s get you two home.”

I did not receive an answer. Instead, Locklyn pushed Zella’s wheelchair to the passenger side of the truck then stepped back as Cutter lifted the frail human into the front seat. My mate followed, climbing into the back seat to be close to her friend.

Heartbroken but on task, I hurried around and hopped into the driver’s spot, immediately starting the engine. Cutter jumped back into the truck bed, giving me two slaps to the roof when he was ready to go.

“You good?” I asked, my words directed to Zella but my eyes stuck on Locklyn in the rearview.

It was Zella who chose to answer. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

I pulled out of the parking lot with at least twenty motorcycles behind me, all following us home. Making sure we would be safe on the drive as they had been the entire evening. From the house to the hospital and now the drive home, the Desert Hellions had protected the two humans in our midst as if they were family because of the women’s connections to Chiggy, Cutter, and me. No questions asked, no other option than to step into the protective role. True brothers in every sense of the word.

And yet, my mind could only focus on my mate.

We arrived to my house without issue, though once in the driveway, I realized my mistake. The house looked as if a war had happened there, likely because it had. Deep grooves were carved into the ground in front, and my favorite cactus looked about ready to fall over. I had no idea what the backyard would look like or even the inside, but I knew there was no way we would be staying there.

“We’ll get you two inside to pack, and then I’ll take us to a hotel or something.” I sighed and climbed out of the truck, ending up beside Cutter, who was already opening the door for Zella.

“They can stay at my place,” he said before reaching up to carefully lift his girl out of the truck. “I’ve got a spare room they can share.”

I glanced at Locklyn to see if she liked that idea, but she was once again not looking at me. Fuck.

“Yeah, that might work.” We got the girls inside and headed through the absolute mess of my house to the bedroom. The black goo left over where a vampire had once stood had me halting everything and redirecting the girls to the living room to set up shop. I even grabbed their bags and set them on the couch to get them started. The girls immediately started packing, both bringing clothes and toiletries to the living room and filling their bags with a speed that surprised me. As did the amount of stuff Locklyn loaded into hers. That wasn’t for an overnight trip.

“What’s happening here?” I asked, watching as my mate emptied the dresser that had housed her clothes completely.

Locklyn didn’t look at me, so her words hit even harder as she said, “Zella needs to go home.”

Home. As in Detroit. As in not here with me.

I nodded, my stomach turning and my brain spinning as I tried to work out the logistics of a trip to Detroit. Tried to figure out how I could handle that without leaving my brothers unprotected during a vampire invasion. “Okay, so we’ll need a few hours to get the brothers at the club aligned on what to do before we leave. I’ll get Cutter and?—”

“No. Zella needs to go home for medical care.” Locklyn finally stopped and stared right at me, eyes dead. Anger leading the charge. “And I’m going with her. Just us.”

The world stood still, the heavy brick of Locklyn’s declaration shattering my mind and heart straight into a million fucking pieces. My mate was leaving. Ending everything. Walking away from me. From us.

“Lock, you have to?—”

“I have to nothing.” She turned away from me, back straight and head up. Hardened. “I’m not happy right now. With you, with this…with finding out from a goddamned demon that when you bit my neck, you tied us together for life. Without you ever saying a word to me.”

Fuck. Fucking fuckety fuck. I wanted to kill Adam, and yet I couldn’t because her anger was more than justified. I had bitten her without explaining what it meant. I had chosen not to tell her about the link I had created.

I had fucked everything up.

“Lock, baby?—”

“No. Don’t baby me, especially not right now.” She inched closer, looking fierce and ready for battle. “You bit me but didn’t bother to tell me what that meant. You tied us together—forever—without my consent, and left me to find out from a demon on what just might have been the most terrifying night of my life. It’s all too much to deal with, so I’m leaving. I’m taking Zella home. End of story.”

I had no idea what to do or how to argue with her. How to apologize enough for failing her and letting the vampires claw their way into our world. How to beg enough for her to stay. No clue how to convince her to give me another chance to make things right with her. I had failed my mate, and she was letting me know that by walking away from our bond. There was no instruction manual on how to fix that. No way to put pieces of a puzzle never finished in the first place back together.

End of story…end of our story.

In her mind.

“That’s fine,” I said, backing away. Wanting so badly to grab her and shake her, to make her stay with me. Knowing that would only make things worse. “You need a break, you take one. I’ll buy you the fucking ticket to leave me. But there is no fucking end to this story. Not today, not tomorrow. You’ll always be mine.”

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