Page 40 of Kidnapping Their Third

Pike didn’t know if Cora was developing a bond with Kimble despite not having shared souls yet or if she had amazing timing because he could suddenly feel the vampire in the back of his head. Before, it had been a soft presence in the background, like small waves rhythmically lapping against a tropical beach. Now it felt like storm winds pounding against a coastline.

“Kimble’s awake,” he whispered. “Something’s wrong. We need to hurry!”

Chapter 16

Kimble

Despite all the blood he’d consumed over the last few days, Kimble was still far weaker than he should be. It made fighting against the daytime induced sleep impossible. All he could do was listen as Pike whispered sweet loving words and promised he and Cora would be back before dark. Then they’d both left the safety of their new home.

He was forced to lay there helplessly as they went out into the dangerous world.

Pike’s bear was large and strong. That alone would keep him safe from most predators. However, his human was tiny and helpless, and Pike didn’t have the heart of a fighter. He would never strike first, and his hesitation could result in Cora’s death.

Kimble wanted to fight the daytime sleep but forced himself to conserve his strength. If he was lucky, he’d be able to rise just before sunset. It wasn’t much, but with the safety of his flock at risk, every second counted.

He was paying such close attention that he knew the exact moment the cursed sun had lost her grip on him.

Gripping the sheet covering him, he flung it off, or tried to. The simple blanket might as well have been made of woven steel for how heavy it seemed to his weakened state. He was shaking by the time he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

Looking up, he focused on the bedroom doorway. It was wide open and the way the house was laid out, he could see across the living room and into the kitchen. There was blood in the fridge there, making that his first priority.

His body protested and urged him to lie back down and wait for the last vestiges of the sun’s bright rays to descend past the horizon. He ignored it.

“Flock,” he whispered to the empty room. The boarded-up windows allowed him to safely make his way from room to room without worry of being burned.

His unsteady gait caused him to stumble and lose his balance shortly after he passed through the bedroom doorway. He fell forward, all his normal speed and agility were absent. He landed on the coffee table, the delicate piece of furniture splintering and breaking under his weight.

Rage and embarrassment filled him in equal parts. Why was he still so weak? He could feel the tantalizing hint of power and strength he’d once possessed. In his past, he was a vampire of distinction.

He couldn’t pull forward a single concrete memory to prove any of it, but in his heart, he knew his current state was a pitiful remnant of what he’d once been.

What was he doing, lying on broken furniture feeling sorry for himself? This was ridiculous. What if his flock walked in and saw him like this? They’d want to leave, and he wouldn’t blame them.

It took several tries, but he finally got back to his feet. Crawling would’ve been easier, but his pride wouldn’t allow it.

Once he was standing, he moved slowly to the kitchen, using furniture and the wall to keep himself steady. His human’s home was quaint and tidy, but it was still far less opulent than she deserved.

Someday, he’d give both his flock everything they could ever desire, and they’d all live a happy and secure life where they never needed to be separated from each other again.

By the time he reached the refrigerator, he was having a difficult time keeping his eyes focused. Dropping to his knees, he opened the appliance door and fumbled around until he felt the familiar smooth bag.

He drank greedily. The bag emptied quickly so he found another. He continued until his fingertips felt nothing but glass shelving. Slumping down, he looked at all the discarded bags around him. There were so many that his belly should be full and his strength returning.

Fear tightened his chest. If anything, he felt weaker. As he stared at one of the empty blood bags, his vision narrowed, the edges eaten away with gray haze. He blinked rapidly and looked up. Everything looked dim.

Was he dying?

Memories of trading power with the bruja for Cora’s necklace floated through his mind. Was that the problem? She’d pulled from his aura, but he’d been doing so much better. It should’ve healed instead of gotten thinner.

When the three of them had been making love the previous night, he’d felt powerful and complete, but his body had given out on him immediately after. That should’ve been a clue that he wasn’t healing as fast as he thought.

He didn’t have time to consider how to fix this further. A strange sensation of floating started as he lost all ability to see. He was unconscious before his head hit the kitchen tile.

***

Pike

Cora drove the top-heavy Van Guts as fast as she dared, but even as she turned corners at a speed that almost lifted the wheels, it wasn’t fast enough for him. He’d felt nothing but rage and panic for twenty minutes and then nothing. He couldn’t even feel the unconscious hum that was always there, even when Kimble slept.

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