Page 69 of Kiss of Blood and Sin

I swallowed hard, trying to push down the lump of fear in my throat. The realization hit me like a physical blow—even if I changed into a bat again, he could easily cut me down mid-flight. I was trapped, a butterfly pinned by a cruel collector.

Just as he took a step forward, another door slammed open somewhere in the shop, the sound like a gunshot in the tense silence.

The wolf shifter's reaction was instantaneous and primal. His head snapped towards the noise, a low, menacing growl rumbling from deep in his chest. His lips curled back, revealing a set of teeth that seemed to sharpen before my eyes.

“What are you doing? You can’t go back there!” Elena’s voice, high with alarm, carried down the hallway.

Angry footsteps thundered toward us, accompanied by a roar that shook the very walls. Hope and terror warred within me—was it friend or foe?

The wolf shifter whirled around, his sword at the ready. He swung at a blur of motion that suddenly filled the doorway. For a heartbeat, I thought he’d succeeded. Blood sprayed into the air, a crimson mist that seemed to hang suspended in time.

But then, defying all expectations, the wolf shifter went flying. His large frame crashed into the mirror, shattering it into a thousand glittering pieces. He screamed, a sound of pure agony that chilled me to my core.

I stood frozen, my back still pressed against the wall. Thescene before me was chaos—shattered glass, spatters of blood, and in the doorway...

I recognized the figure standing there, chest heaving, eyes blazing with a fury.

“Dimitri?” I whispered, hardly daring to believe it.

Blood dripped down Dimitri’s chin, a stark crimson contrast against his pale skin. His shirt, once pristine, was now a canvas of scarlet splatters. His chest heaved with unnecessary breath, each exhale carrying a low, menacing growl.

The wolf shifter, despite the devastating blow, began to stir amid the sea of shattered glass. Shards clinked and scraped as he moved, a chilling soundtrack to this macabre dance. His golden eyes, now filled with a mixture of pain and rage, locked onto Dimitri.

With a snarl that started deep in his chest and erupted from his throat, the shifter began to rise. His muscles rippled beneath his skin, the prelude to a transformation. The atmosphere became charged with the scent of blood, sweat, and impending violence.

My eyes darted frantically around the room, searching for anything I could use as a weapon. A buffet table across the room taunted me with its array of potential projectiles—ornate lamps, delicate glass knick-knacks, even a heavy-looking brush. But the shifter's massive form blocked my path, a snarling, living barrier between me and any chance of helping Dimitri.

I pressed my back against the wall, the cool surface a stark reminder of how trapped I was. My mind raced,weighing options that seemed to shrink with each passing second. Could I feint to one side, try to dodge around him? Or would that just provoke him into attacking sooner?

My fingers scraped against the wall behind me, desperately seeking some forgotten object, some miraculous tool I might have missed. But there was nothing. Just smooth, unyielding plaster that offered no escape, no salvation.

The realization hit me like a physical blow: I was cornered, weaponless, and running out of time. And somewhere beyond this room, Dimitri was fighting for his life, unaware that I was powerless to help him.

Dimitri’s stance changed, his body coiling like a spring ready to release. His fingers curled into claws, nails lengthening and sharpening before my eyes. The look on his face was one I’d never seen before—a mask of pure, primal fury that sent shivers down my spine.

In a blur of motion too fast for even my vampire eyes to fully track, Dimitri lunged. The distance between them vanished in an instant. There was a sickening crunch as Dimitri’s body collided with the shifter’s, driving him back against the fractured mirror.

Before the shifter could react, Dimitri’s head snapped forward. His fangs, fully extended and gleaming in the harsh light, sank deep into the shifter’s throat. The sound that followed was grotesque—a wet, tearing noise that seemed to fill the entire room.

With a violent jerk of his head, Dimitri ripped out the shifter’s throat. Blood sprayed in an arc, painting the wallsand what remained of the mirror. The metallic scent of it filled the air, so strong I could almost taste it on my tongue.

The shifter’s body went rigid, his eyes wide with shock. A gurgling sound escaped from the ruin of his throat, a final, futile attempt at defiance. Then, like a puppet with its strings cut, he collapsed.

Dimitri stood over him, blood dripping from his mouth, chest heaving. His eyes, wild and feral, slowly began to focus. They found mine, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of fear—not of the violence he’d just committed, but of how I might react to seeing this side of him.

The room fell silent save for the soft plink of blood dripping onto shattered glass. The air was thick with the aftermath of violence, heavy with unspoken words and the lingering scent of death.

Dimitri flicked his gaze over me, his eyes still wild with adrenaline but softening with concern. “Are you alright? Did Fido here manage to sink his teeth into you before I arrived?”

My heart still raced like a hummingbird on espresso, and I couldn’t stop shaking. It felt like my bones were vibrating beneath my skin.

I shook my head, my voice barely above a whisper. “No. Not yet.” The realization of what had almost happened—what Dimitri had prevented—hit me like a ton of bricks. He’d come here willing to sacrifice himself to protect me. I couldn’t tell if the blood splattering his shirt was my attacker’s or his own. Besides Angelo, no one had ever risked their life to save me. “You...you saved me.”

Dimitri moved across the room with vampire speed,pulling my trembling body against his. The scent of blood and violence clung to him, yet I’d never felt safer. “I’d burn the world to protect you,” he murmured into my hair. “And I’d look fabulous doing it, I might add.”

Elena and Jacques burst into the room, breathless, with a wide-eyed saleswoman who took one look at the carnage and ran out screaming. Dimitri’s demeanor changed in an instant. He released me and, faster than I could blink, had Jacques pinned against the wall.

“Where were you?” Dimitri snarled, his voice dripping with venom. “She was almost murdered while you were, what, window shopping?”

---