Page 9 of Blood Lust

Mine.

Her heart takes one last fluttering beat and then stops, lips releasing my wrist. I lay on the shore with her for a moment. Studying her, imagining what is to come. I pray to any being that could be listening that she will understand why it had to be this way.

That she won’t hate me forever.

Now that she is no longer drinking from me, I can take her home to complete the turning. Scooping her limp body in my arms and grasping the bag she had left behind, I rise to leave. Annoyance flashes through me as I remember her male, “Spencer,” on the shore behind me.

He did this to her.

He killed her.

Maybe not directly, but his irresponsible driving put her in this position, and then he left her to die. I could easily do the same and forget he exists.

My eyes dart to my little bird. I don’t think she would like that very much. I resolve to call for emergency assistance once I have her safe and secure at my home. If he dies before they get here, then that isn’t my concern.

I climb back up the mountainside, taking her directly to the home I share with my coven, my family.

Our home is technically a cabin, but it is a large and modernized one with eight bedrooms, a modest kitchen, a wide open living space, and even a private study. Most people assume it is a timeshare or vacation home, but I and several of my coven members have lived here for the last five years.

Most of them are out doing whatever they care to do, but Rolando, the first vampire I ever turned, is here doing whatever it is he does with our archives. He explained it to me once.

Something, something, digitize.

He raises a brow when he sees I have a woman in my arms but says nothing as I carry her upstairs. “Send an ambulance to Goose Lake. There’s been an accident.” That is all I tell him. Without wasting a second, I hear him on the phone with dispatchers. We have a full house with as many coven members as there are staying here. My room will have to do for my little bird.

Laying Wren down on my bed, I inspect her injuries. They are already mending as the turn from human to vampire takes place. Her nose appears to be no longer broken. The cuts and scrapes are healing before my eyes. I inspect her arm, setting it to ease the healing process. If mended incorrectly, we’d have to re-break it to set it right. Satisfied that the change is normal, I search my drawers for something that might fit her.

I am not going to leave my mate in those wet clothes. Glass clings to her sweater, with bloodstains on it and her pants.

Settling on drawstring sweatpants and a t-shirt, I quickly change Wren out of her grimy clothes and into something dry. I don’t pay attention to her body while I take care of her. There will be time for that later when she is awake and inviting me to look.

Until then, I will be a perfect gentleman.

It may have been some seven hundred years since I was a knight, but that did not change the fact that I pride myself on displays of chivalry.

Happy that my beloved is in clean and dry clothing, I comb through her hair, braiding it loosely. I finally cover her with a quilt and tuck her in. I am satisfied that Wren is as comfortable as I can make her.

Turning might take a day, maybe two. I will wait and watch over her until she opens her eyes again.

Until she comes back to me.

My sweet little bird.

CHAPTER 3

THE SONGBIRD

Spinning like a top, my body is going wobbly and sideways.

Sounds of glass crunching mix with my screams.

I am cold.

I am burning.

Arms are around me, pulling me.

Tugging.

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