Page 4 of Eternally Yours

I leaped into the air and landed on its back, stabbing it once at the base of the neck. Its pained howl died in a gurgle. Grabbing its muzzle, I pulled the dagger out of its neck, then sliced its throat for added measure. The beast fell to the side, revealing his victim. My blood iced at the sight of the mangled body lying on the ground. I didn’t need to get any closer to know she was still alive and dying a slow, painful death.

The right thing would’ve been to end her suffering, but a part of me couldn’t stand the fact she was dying because of me. Because she’d been at the wrong place at the wrong time. No. This wasn’t right. I wouldn’t let her die like this.

Fuck. I was going to raise hell for the choice I was about to make, but I didn’t have any other option. Not to mention this wasn’t my war. And I’d stopped playing by my family’s rules centuries ago. Nostrils still flaring at the scent of all her blood, I scooped up her shredded body in my arms and disappeared into the shadows of the early dawn.

My apartment was on the Upper East Side. I’d earned it myself, selling specialty weapons to other supernaturals. I’d amassed a small fortune and hadn’t needed to rely on my family’s old money, something I was damned proud of. Especially since my father had cast me out and cursed me to never survive on my own. That was centuries ago, and I’d made quite a name for myself as an antique weapons dealer. Proving them wrong had been bittersweet. There were things I missed. Irreplaceable things. Like my friends. More specifically, Catherine.

I ran as fast as I could, but even with my heightened speed, by the time I’d make it to my apartment, the woman in my arms would be dead. I needed to cut across Central Park if I was to give her any chance of making it. Problem was, Central Park was where I encountered the beast that attacked me. These animals rarely hunted alone, which meant there were at least two more prowling the park. No doubt they’d pick up my scent as soon as I stepped foot inside.

But what other choice did I have?

Another deadly enemy loomed on the horizon. If I didn’t cut through the park, I wouldn’t make it to my place before the sun turned me to ash. And I could already feel its sizzle under my skin. The blur of trees and early joggers flashed around me as the distinct scent of wild dog caught my nose. We were definitely being tracked. I raced faster, muscles burning as I used up all my stamina. Without fresh blood in my system, my body wasn’t at full strength.

Once at my building, I used my private elevator through the parking garage underneath the building. I didn’t need the doorman phoning the police after seeing me holding a dying human in my arms. It wasn’t something I could explain away.

I nearly collapsed as I pushed through the front door. Set to a timer, the automatic blackout shades were already drawn in anticipation of the morning sun. I hurried to the master bedroom and placed the woman’s mangled body on my bed, her blood-soaked clothes staining the white sheets a deep crimson.

My gut clenched. I wasn’t going to be able to do this alone, especially with my body screaming for blood and my gums throbbing with the need to feed. Reaching into my jeans pocket, I withdrew my phone and dialed Catherine.

“You have some fucking nerve,” she growled on the other end.

“Cat, I don’t have time for this. I need your help.”

“Four years, Nic—”

“I have a dying human on my bed,” I said, cutting her off. “You need to get your ass over here, or I’m gonna have to do this alone, and I’m afraid I might fuck it up.”

“I hope you don’t mean what I think you mean.”

“She’s dying because of me. One of those damn lab dogs got her.”

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she said, her voice laced with worry. “I’ll get on the road right away.”

The Guerra home was outside the city, and a good thirty minutes away, if there was no traffic and you obeyed the speed limits and road signs. Knowing Cat, she’d somehow arrive in twenty. Be that as it may, twenty minutes was still a long time, especially when you were bleeding out, and this woman didn’t have that kind of time. I had to do something to keep death from knocking, at least until Cat showed.

I ran for the kitchen, plucked a knife from the drawer, and brought it back to the bedroom. Knife gripped hard, I slashed my left wrist. The pain was quick and sharp, and blood flowed instantly. I held the wound over her mouth, tilted her head back, and let the drops cascade down her throat.

As I fed her, I listened for her heartbeat. It was faint, barely there at all.

I watched as blood dripped into her mouth, but nothing happened. She didn’t latch on. Her eyes didn’t blink, and her chest didn’t expand with the intake of a deep breath. I had to be doing something wrong. Her body remained motionless. This human was going to die on my bed if Cat didn’t arrive soon.

As I finished that thought, someone rapped on the glass door of my balcony. I hurried to open it and wasn’t too startled to find Cat standing there dressed in black leggings and an even tighter t-shirt. The furthest thing from coven-approved attire by far.

“Are you nuts? The sun’s about to rise. And I hope no one saw you scaling the side of my building,” I scolded her as I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her in. “The mortals don’t know I’m not one of them.”

She clicked her tongue, gaze stone hard. “I was careful. And you’re the one who chose to live among them.”

“I chose to live away from vampires.”

“Right. A traitor to your kind.”

I stepped closer and pinned her with a narrowed stare. “You more than anyone should understand why I did it. Now, are you going to help me or not?”

She nodded and gestured to the bed. “That her?”

“I fed her some of my blood, but I don’t know how much she actually ingested. Aside from the shallow breaths and barely there heartbeat, she’s lifeless.”

“We’re going to need some things,” Cat instructed. “If my memory serves, for the magic portion we need a black candle, a rope knotted in the middle, matches, and a knife, which I see you already have.” She gestured to the one I’d used to slit my wrist, now set on the bedside table. When I didn’t move right away, she shooed me on. “Go, Nicholas. Your human doesn’t have much time.”

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