Page 6 of Burn for Her

“In the library.”

Dorian walked the rest of the way, alone. Ignoring the dagger-like gazes of the vampires living in the House of Death, he set his jaw and kept moving forward. They might not like her being here, but they knew better than to get too close to her.

Vampires and Lycan weren’t mortal enemies, but they weren’t exactly on the same side either. History and curses were wedged between their species, and one blamed the other for everything they’ve been forced to suffer.

He practically raced to get to her. Each beat of his heart, pound of his step, and exhale of air fueled his speed and aggression. By the time Dorian reached the library, he nearly kicked the door down.

The library was stacked with shelves of books, mix-matched furniture, and at least ten mirrors varying in sizes. A blue Persian rug stretched across in the center of the room, faded from the sunlight pouring in through the large windows. In the center of the rug, was his girl, and a vicious vampire.

“Victoria, get away from her.” Dorian stormed inside.

Victoria was a vampire who spent her existence alternating between the thrills of tease, tempt, and take. She was older than Dorian by at least fifty years, yet her adventurous lifestyle made her seem younger. “I was only consoling her.” She stood up and brushed her dress to smooth the wrinkles. “Relax, Reaper.”

She moved out of Dorian’s way so he could see his girl wasn’t hurt by Victoria’s hands or fangs. His eyes locked on Emily, who sat on the floor with a box of tissues in her lap. The tip of her nose was red, her eyes swollen, her face gaunt.

How long had she been here crying? Why was she crying? Who made her upset?

Because Dorian was going to fucking kill them.

“Em.” He dropped to his knees and crawled over to her, even though his insides screamed to get up off the dirty floor. But his needs were secondary to Emily today. He’d suck it up and scrub clean later.

“Better not let the others see,” Victoria hissed from behind him.

“Leave,” Dorian growled, not taking his eyes off Emily. “Now, Victoria, before I rip your throat out.”

“A vampire crawling like a dog to get to a sobbing pup will ruin your reputation, Reaper.”

Growling, he turned to give Victoria her final warning. She was a hunting partner of his, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t rip her heart out and make her watch while he ate it.

“Okay, okay, I’m going.” She left in a huff and closed the door.

Dorian heard the lock click into place and finally exhaled. Now he was able to put all his attention back where it belonged. “Are you hurt?”

Emily hiccupped and grabbed another tissue from the box in her lap. “No.”

Then why was she all emotional like this? Shit. “Is someone else hurt?” His heart slammed into his ribs with worry. “Talk to me, Em. I can’t fix it if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

“They don’t see me. Not like you.” Emily dropped her tissues.

Ahh crap, not this again.

“Don’t,” he warned. “You can’t do this, Emily. It’s not fair to either of us.”

Emily was like a sister to him and that was all. He’d been raised by her pack and when he reached his final transition to full vampire, things hadn’t gone well between the House he chose, and the pack he left behind. It took the better part of two centuries for them to be friendly with each other for Dorian’s sake.

To make it worse, a year ago, one of Emily’s brothers had turned. As in shifted to his wolf form and remained an animal with no chance of ever shifting back. He was lost to his beast because he hadn’t found his mate in time.

Emily tried to reach out to cup his face, but he dodged her. “I said don’t.”

Emily bristled, half-hurt, half-pissed off. “You’re the only one for me, Dorian. You have to be.”

“Stop,” he hissed. Her words cut too deep because they were lies she kept feeding herself to avoid her fate. It was starting to poke too many holes in his heart. “I’m not the one for you, and you know it.” When she tried to grab him again, he clutched her wrists and held her still. “Stop it, Emily.”

She was too good for him. No matter how much she wished it, they weren’t soul mates. No god would be so cruel as to tie a sick fuck like Dorian to a sweetheart like Emily. This wasn’t the first time she’d gone down this hole, either. Falling in love and mating were two very different things in their worlds. Besides, crossing the line between Lycan and vampires was a huge no-no. Dorian hated that she was back to the idea of them being together because it meant she was turning desperate. Damn, just look at her sunken cheeks and her sallow skin. And the way her t-shit hung off her bony shoulders, it was obvious she’d lost weight recently.

Dorian’s brow pinched and he made sure to keep his tone softer than normal. “When was the last time you ate?”

Emily turned nasty on that note. “Screw you, Dorian.”

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