Page 56 of Wanted

Pushing all that shit out of my head, I smile at Asher, my adopted father. Warmth flows through the connection we share in return. A warmth full of family and hope.

When I was turned by my real sire, he abandoned me and left it up to the fates if I survived or not.

Asher took me in and gave me the safety I needed.

“Sire, Mother, this is…”

Fuck.

I don’t even know my intended’s name.

Chloe chuckles and shakes her head at me like I’m some troublesome child.

“Raphy,” Andrei says from behind me. “That’s probably the first thing you should have asked.”

“Alena,” my beloved murmurs. “My name is Alena.”

It’s beautiful, sensual, and as perfect as she is.

Gasping loudly, Caden says, “She speaks!”

Maddox elbows him in the side and Caden frowns. “We can’t roughhouse with our little sister yet. She’s still human. We’d break her.”

Ignoring the ‘twins’ antics, Andrei moves closer to me and points at Alena’s waist. “When did she get that cut on her hip?”

Cut?

My soulmarked iswounded?

Clutching her tightly to my chest, I move with a speed only a vampire can. Racing past my family and straight into the house through the open front door, I rush her up to my bedroom.

I’m moving on instinct again.

Protect.

Keep her safe.

The door to my room shuts, and I sense Andrei moving slowly to stand beside me.

If it was anyone else…

But I know he’s here to help her.

Alena is shaking like a leaf in my arms. My speed terrifying and confusing her.

I should have felt it as I was moving.

But, dammit, the bond between us is still weak.

Bending forward carefully, I gently set her on my bed.

Her slender legs dangle over the edge and she’s still shaking, but I can see her trying to fight her fear.

“This is my brother,” I say quickly before squatting down to look at her hip. “You will come to no harm here. I swear it on my life.”

Black medical bag in hand, Andrei squats down beside me.

Examining her injury with my eyes, it’s a not as bad as I first feared. Only a splinter of wood as big as my finger is sticking out of her pants.

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