Page 84 of Queen of Vampire Hearts

“Take me to him, now,” I ordered, the wolf within me roused. The vampires hurried to obey when I felt my eyes turning.

Our drive into the mountains was silent except for harsh directions from the injured vampire. When we could go no further by car, I yanked them out and forced them to lead us to the abandoned network of tunnels hidden beneath an oil refinery.

I beheaded the two vampires without mercy. Nobody threatened my siblings. The wolf ripped through my skin, bones popping and breaking as the beast emerged. The pain was so familiar I barely felt it anymore.

Fully turned, I entered the cave and struggled to comprehend what I was seeing. Ten vampires circled an altar, my brother’s broken and bloodied body atop it. They were bowing and chanting in a language even I didn’t recognize. A vampire stepped forward and bit his own wrist, forcing the blood into Alaric’s mouth.No!

I slammed into that vampire first, taking him to the ground and allowing my wolf to wreak havoc. My snarl was loud as I ripped the vampire’s head from his shoulders before turning to tear at the followers. Viggo fought at my side, the other wolf relishing the bloodshed as we killed them all.

Must protect pack and Alaric is pack.My wolf and I were in agreement on that. No one touched my brother and lived, no one.

When there was nothing left to kill, I shifted back into human form to assess Alaric. My brother was in awful shape, covered in injuries. He had cuts that were seeping black foul blood and burns that hurt to see. It shocked me when he opened his eyes and gazed up at me. His lips twitched into a relieved smile but died when he saw the horror I was helpless to conceal.

My brother’s eyes were glowing lycan amber, but blood-red encircled his irises. What had the vampires done to him?

“Erik…” Alaric moaned, blood bubbling from his mouth.

I slung my brother’s arm over my shoulder and lugged his heavy frame toward the entrance of the cave. Viggo shifted back and retrieved my pants, handing them over to me. I stabbed my legs into them while Viggo supported Alaric. My wolf paced close to the surface, rippling under my skin, demanding more blood. The other lycan noticed Alaric’s otherworldly, haunting eyes and sent a distressed look my way. I shook my head subtly, silently ordering Viggo not to say anything.

The other wolf nodded, finding his cellphone in the pocket of his jeans, dialing Leif to bring the car. Alaric passed out from the pain while we waited, his new eyes hidden behind his lids. Viggo and I stood in silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts and worry. When Leif and Thurston arrived, they helped us carry Alaric’s gigantic frame to the car. Leif looked at me in a silent question as he settled behind the wheel.

“We have to take him to Phoebe and Lucien. They’ll know what to do.” They would help us. Heal him and then figure out what he is.

Our drive to Întuneric was disturbingly silent, only punctuated by Alaric’s labored breathing. I counted each inhale and exhale, praying to whatever god was listening to save him. Once the lights of Întuneric were close enough, I didn’t wait for the car to stop. I leaped from the vehicle and stormed into the throne room, begging, “Please help us!”

Phoebe reacted before Lucien. She waved her hands in the air, removing Alaric’s weight from my shoulder and buoying my brother with magic. Alaric lay suspended in the air, and I could barely look at the injuries he’d sustained. I was supposed to protect him. What kind of king was I?

Lucien sniffed the air, his eyes turning red at the smell. “Erik…” he began.

“He cannot die, Lucien! He cannot,” I snapped, knowing what Lucien scented. Death clung to my brother like a second skin. I couldn’t fail my brother, not again.Failure, just like always, boy.My father’s phantom voice rang in my skull. A thousand years and still, it plagued me.

Phoebe bit her lower lip, and her eyebrows came down over her vibrant eyes. “Get me the Margaux Grimoire.” Lucien flashed to the throne and back, handing the tome to her. She frantically flipped through the pages, something like dread and indecision crossing her face.

“What is it?” I breathed, my voice cracking.

“I can save him—”

“Then do it!”

“But I can’t reverse what was done. He’ll be like this forever.” Her words were devastating, and I gulped at the implications. Alaric would be the first and only lycan-vampire hybrid. What would he become?

Still, this wasAlaric. “Do it.” My voice was little more than a growl.

Lucien glanced at his queen nervously, placing his hands on her shoulders. My men finally caught up to me, Gunnar hard on their heels. He must have heard the commotion and come immediately to Phoebe’s side. I couldn’t blame the man. I knew the scars and burdens Gunnar carried.

My hair stood on end as Phoebe chanted, and potent magic filled the room. Her hands roamed over Alaric’s injuries, healing the skin. The process was painful, making my brother whimper even while unconscious. I bit my tongue until it bled to keep from howling in response. He was my brother, my responsibility, and my failure.

The space was eerily silent except for my Alaric’s pained growls. When those tapered off, I glanced at Phoebe, trying to force down the hope that boiled. “Is it done?”

“I healed his body, but his mind…” she whispered. “Erik, they did horrific things to him there. I wish I could take the memories from him.” She likely felt every wound, even the ones I couldn’t see or smell.

“I’ll take care of him.”Always.

“He should stay here, just in case,” Lucien said, his tone surprisingly gentle.

In case he needs to be put down.Lucien didn’t speak the words, but I could tell he thought them. I shook my head, not wanting Alaric to wake up in some unfamiliar room, not after he’d been trapped in that cave for a week. I wanted familiar sights, smells, and our family surrounding him, supporting him.

“I’m taking him home to Völsung,” I ordered. My lycans moved forward to support Alaric as Phoebe gently lowered him into their hands. As they escorted him out, I could still smell the putrid scent of the caves on him, and his scent was different. It wasn’t the one I grew up with, the one I knew as well as my own. What was this going to do to him and our people?Despite the friendship between Lucien and me, lycans and vampires remained enemies. I didn’t know how they were going to react to Alaric, but he was alive, and that was all that mattered. A sigh of relief slipped from my lips.

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