Page 51 of Beyond Fate

“How was I supposed to know what size we needed?” Jax thrust the cup at Jaytee. “You go first. That way, if Damon attacks when he smells your blood, we can pin him against the building.”

Damon could not believe he was going through this. He’d started taking precautions ever since the day he’d tried to attack that hiker. Casimir also made sure Damon fed when he was supposed to.

He needed his mate, not a freaking cup of blood. But it would have to do in a pinch.

Jaytee extended a claw and sliced his arm, causing blood to instantly surface. As soon as the mouthwatering scent filled the air, Damon hissed.

Jax and Kalen pinned Damon against the building, preventing him from reaching Jaytee’s wound. Damon struggled to break free and get to the source of the blood.

Jaytee shoved the rim of the cup against Damon’s lips. “Drink or I’ll make you drink it.”

Panting, Damon sucked down the small amount but was still thirsty.

“Give me the cup.” Kalen snatched it from Jaytee.

Damon breathed heavily as his dad used his claw to slice his arm open. He held it over the cup longer than he should have, but Damon was too thirsty to yell at him to close his damn wound.

“That’s enough,” Jax argued as he and Jaytee held Damon in place. “Are you trying to go into hypovolemic shock?”

Kalen blinked his eyes a few times while handing the cup to Jax. “I’m okay.”

“The hell you are,” Jaytee snarled. “Sit down, Dad. I don’t need you falling and cracking your skull. You’ve already lost too much blood.”

There was worry in his twin’s voice, but when it came to their father being hurt, they were all concerned.

Jax shoved the cup at Damon’s lips, and he drank greedily until his thirst was finally quenched. His breathing slowed as his fangs receded.

“You good?” Jaytee asked, still holding on to Damon.

“Yes.” Damon closed his eyes. “Check on Dad.”

“I got Damon,” Jax said to Jaytee as he jerked his chin at Kalen. “Help Dad.” He looked Damon in his eyes. “Are you sure you’re good, bro? If you need more, I can give you some.”

He cupped Jax around his neck and rested his forehead against his brother’s. “I’m good. I just don’t know what happened. I swear I fed this morning.”

“I believe you, Damon.” Jax rested his hands on Damon’s shoulders. “I’m willing to bet this has something to do with my niece or nephew.”

Damon closed his eyes when Jax used the term, making his pregnancy feel more real. “How’s Dad? Please don’t tell me he donated too much. I already feel shitty for cutting our time short.”

As badly as Damon wanted to go to Kalen, he was dizzy and hung on to Jax just to stay upright. He felt horrible about needing his family’s blood but even worse that his dad had given more than he should have.

“He just needs to shift to replace the blood,” Jaytee said from where he knelt next to Kalen. He gripped their dad’s shoulder. “Don’t you dare do anything like that again.”

“My boy needed to feed.” Kalen rubbed the heel of his hand against his eye. “Don’t ever stop me from taking care of any of you.”

Jax cursed under his breath, his frustration evident in the way he clenched his jaw. “I swear he’s the most stubborn man I have ever met.”

Damon gave a weak smile. “We’ll take him in the backyard if he does it again.” He took a deep inhale and released it slowly, trying to steady himself.

“Dude, no offense, but your breath stinks like blood.” Jax lifted his forehead away from Damon’s, wrinkling his nose. “You might want to start carrying some gum or breath mints in your pocket.”

As soon as Jax released him, Damon collapsed to the ground. His head was spinning uncontrollably, and he could no longer focus on anything else.

“Damon!” Jax knelt next to him. “What’s going on, hon?”

“I-I don’t know.” Damon clenched his eyes shut, trying to regain control of his senses. “I feel like I took one too many shots of Red Spanking.” A potent preternatural drink that knocked them on their asses.

“What do we do?” Jax asked Jaytee. “We need Dad to shift, but I don’t know what’s going on with Damon.”

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