Page 62 of Bitten By Desire

“Move and he dies,” Changeling Daphne said. “Give me the vial, Lorraine. We work for the queen. Do your job and maybe she won’t let your maker kill you.”

“I…” Lorraine glanced helplessly between us again.

“You want the vampire? That’s your thing, right?” Fake Daphne shook Julian’s head again. No more sounds escaped him, and my throat clenched with worry. “Go ahead and fuck him. I don’t care. Just give me the damn elixir.”

Lorraine reached into her pocket and pulled out a couple of tiny glowing vials. I bit my cheek as she stared at them.

“Don’t do this, Lorraine,” I said.

“Don’t.” The deep masculine voice had us all turning our heads as Binx, whole and well, sauntered across the lab in a fresh black T-shirt, dark ink swirling outside where the sleeves clung to his biceps.

“It’s morning—” I protested.

Binx shot me a grin that stirred heat between my thighs. It felt so wrong with Julian nearly ripped to shreds beside me. But I thought maybe if I felt it, he was turning up the juice for another reason.

“I had another charm at home, care of your lovely sister here. Thank you for returning me before sunrise, by the way. I certainly owe you one.” When he pointed at Zoe, she actually swooned a little, stumbling in his direction.

“This is all quite lovely, but I want that elixir now.” Daphne motioned impatiently for Lorraine to hand them over.

“You don’t have to do that, Lorraine,” Binx said. “You don’t belong with people who don’t care about you. You belong with me. With the Other sect. I learned a long time ago, the hard way, that changelings are living beings that deserve rights too. That’s who you are, one of us. An other. I’ll protect you from the queen.”

Lorraine froze, hands clasped over the tiny vials as she blinked at him, and he waited, posed like a magazine cover model, hands in his tight jean pockets. He watched only her, like no one else was in the room.

“If you aren’t going to comply, then I might as well put the vampire out of his misery.” Daphne shrugged and swung back her claw to take off his head.

I screamed as Lorraine lunged forward, blocking Julian and thrusting out her open hand with a vial in front of Daphne’s face.

The fake nymph stopped, claws barely touching Lorraine’s face as she snatched the purple vial from her hand.

“I can administer it if you need to keep your claw over him,” Lorraine offered.

“See? Cooperating with your own kind is so much better,” Daphne cooed, nodding her ascent.

Neither Binx nor Zoe moved. I held my breath as Lorraine lifted the small vial and unstoppered it. I knew it was the wrong one. But a vial causing pain wasn’t exactly something I wanted to swallow anyway.

It turned out, I didn’t have to.

Lorraine administered the vial, but it wasn’t to me. She shoved it into Daphne’s mouth, pushing her away from Julian, whose head swung down, crumpling like the rest of him into a pile on the floor. Only his arm remained raised, hooked by the silver cuff, nasty burns peeking from beneath.

The second she was away from striking distance, I opened both his handcuffs and mine, then slid over to him, through the puddle of congealing blood to pull his head into my lap.

Daphne was shrieking, curses spewing from her mouth as Lorraine attempted to pummel her with her fists. Unfortunately, while the Daphne changeling’s power appeared to be controlling nature, she also had her name sake’s expertise with combat, and despite the obvious pain, she easily countered Lorraine’s every move.

“Get Julian to safety,” I cried to Zoe above the din. Binx, please help me.”

The incubus seemed torn between intervening in the fight and assisting but hurried over with my plea and lifted Julian easily into his arms. “We’ll get him some blood,” he promised.

I nodded, my throat too swollen to respond. It would help for now, but how long could I force him to live in such pain? Evil Daphne had been speaking the truth when she told me he was living for my sake. I knew it deep down.

“Come with us,” Zoe said as Binx stepped through her portal with Julian.

“I have to be sure this is over first,” I said, standing. “Please take care of Julian for me. Go.”

Zoe pursed her lips at me but listened as I scanned the room. The two changelings were fighting a fierce battle, claws out, and Lorraine looked worse by miles. Her dress was in tatters, gashes open and bleeding runny blood on her side, thigh, and arm. Sweat glistened on Daphne’s face as she groaned and clutched her stomach, but otherwise, not a hair was out of place as Lorraine swung at her.

One arm blocked Lorraine’s assault, and a well-placed kick to her core sent the woman careening through the lab, crashing down over a collection of test tubes and hypodermic needles that snapped and scattered beneath her.

I swept out an arm and sent Daphne flying the other direction as I stalked toward her. As long as I didn’t let her close enough, I’d win this fight. She righted herself and stood with a growl, bent over and unable to stand straight. I sent her flying again, back across to the other side where Lorraine was just getting to her feet.

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