Page 46 of Vampire Bite

We led them through the narrow streets, sticking to the shadows. My heart pounded every time I thought I saw movement, every time a distant snarl reached my ears. But we kept going, collecting more as we went, a vampire with a broken arm, another human bleeding from his side. I didn’t even have time to think about what I was doing. I just acted, pulling them along, whispering words of encouragement that I wasn’t sure I believed.

By the time we made it back to the headquarters, the group had grown to nearly a dozen. Lena met us at the entrance, her sharp eyes scanning the ragged crowd.

“Get them inside,” she said briskly, already directing others to help. “We’ll need to sort injuries and figure out who’s who.”

As we moved into the relative safety of the building, I finally let myself breathe. The tension in my chest loosened just a fraction, enough to let exhaustion creep in. But there was no time to rest. Some of them were still hurt, and I couldn’t ignore the pull I felt toward them.

In one corner of the common room, a young vampire sat clutching his side. Blood seeped between his fingers, staining his pale skin. I hesitated, glancing around to see if anyone else had noticed. They hadn’t.

I knelt beside him, my heart pounding. “Let me see,” I said.

He flinched away at first, his eyes wide and wary, but then he relented, his hand falling to his side. The wound was deep, the edges jagged. I felt the familiar tingling in my palms, that strange pull that both scared and compelled me. Without thinking, I pressed my hands to the wound.

The glow came almost immediately, soft and warm, and the vampire gasped. I could feel the wound closing beneath my touch, feel the torn flesh mending itself. When I pulled my hands back, the only sign of the injury was the blood that remained on his skin.

“T-thank you,” he whispered incredulously, his voice trembling.

I nodded, unable to speak. Around us, the others were settling in, some of them already asleep on makeshift beds. Lucas was across the room, talking to Lena, his face set in that determined expression he always wore during moments like this.

I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but for now, we had saved these people. For now, it was enough.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Lucas

I closed the door behind us, leaving the chaos and the others on the other side. Annika stood in the center of my quarters, arms wrapped around herself, her eyes heavy with exhaustion but still glimmering with something unspoken.

I walked past her to the small table, pouring water into two glasses. My hands lingered on the rough edge of the cup as I turned back to her. She looked so small, so breakable in this moment, like all the weight she’d been carrying had finally taken its toll. I handed her a glass, our fingers brushing briefly, sending a current through me that I couldn’t ignore.

“Drink,” I said softly. “You need it.”

She gave me a faint smile, one that didn’t quite reach her eyes, and took a sip. I watched her throat work as she swallowed, and something in me clenched. She was here, safe… for now. But for how long?

“You did good tonight,” I said, breaking the silence. “Better than good.”

She let out a soft laugh, shaking her head. “I didn’t do anything. You and the others saved them. I just—” She hesitated, her voice catching. “I just tried not to fall apart.”

“You didn’t,” I said, stepping closer. “You held your ground. You kept people together. Don’t dismiss that.”

She set the glass down and met my eyes, her expression open in a way that made my chest ache. “I don’t know how you do it,” she whispered. “Keep going, keep fighting, even when it feels like it’ll never be enough.”

I wanted to tell her the truth—that sometimes I didn’t know either. That every step forward felt like dragging my feet through quicksand. But instead, I closed the space between us, reaching out to touch her arm.

“You find something worth fighting for,” I said, my voice low. “And you don’t let it go.”

Her gaze flicked to mine, wide and searching, and for a moment, it felt like the entire world had narrowed to just the two of us. The air between us was heavy, thick with everything we weren’t saying.

She reached up, her hand brushing against my chest, hesitant but warm. “Lucas…” she began, but whatever words she was about to say faded into the space between us.

I leaned down, letting my forehead rest lightly against hers. Her breath hitched, her hands coming up to rest against my sides. For a moment, we just stood there, breathing each other in, letting the silence fill the gaps words couldn’t.

“You’re stronger than you think,” I murmured, my voice barely audible. “You’ve been stronger than any of us had a right to expect.”

She closed her eyes, a single tear slipping down her cheek. I wiped it away with my thumb, lingering on the softness of her skin. She didn’t pull back, and neither did I. Instead, she leaned into me, resting her head against my chest, her weight a gentle pressure that grounded me more than anything else had in years.

“I’m tired,” she whispered. “Of fighting, of running… of not knowing what’s going to happen next.”

I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer. “You don’t have to do it alone,” I said. “Not here. Not with me.”

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