Page 150 of Almost Midnight

“Yes,” he growled. “Feeding a newborn hybrid blood is like feeding someone heroin when they asked for a goddamned aspirin.”

However Rose Walker took that, she chose not to answer.

“Did I kill him?” Jordan stammered.

“No,” Wynter said, sounding annoyed. “And honestly, it would be his own fucking fault if you did. Nick’s right. I don’t know what Forrest was thinking.”

Nick silently agreed, but decided it would sound less convincing coming from him.

Anyway, he’d said it once already.

He kept his eyes locked with the young vampire’s.

“Damon,” he growled. His friend’s eyes were still wild and overly wide.“Calm the fuck down.It’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong. Not on purpose. It’s natural. You don’t have any control yet… and both of us nearly died.”

“He’snot dead, though?” Jordan asked again. His voice still sounded horrified, like he couldn’t believe what he’d done. “Are you sure? Why isn’t he talking?”

“He’s all right,” Nick began, annoyed. “I’m sure they’d tell us if he wasn’t.”

“I’m all right,” Walker gasped, his voice weak.

“He’ll be fine,” Wynter added, still sounding annoyed herself. “He’s weak, and he will be until we get him some sleep and real food, but he’s okay.”

Nick felt his shoulder’s sag in relief.

He knew his venom should have sealed the cut, and at least kept Forrest from bleeding out all over the floor of the cave. But, despite what he’d told Jordan, he hadn’t been totally sure he hadn’t gotten there too late.

Thank Christ for small favors, at least.

Nick assessed Jordan’s eyes a last time, decided he would be okay, too, and looked around the chamber where they now found themselves.

He could feel his vampire flesh starting to knit itself back together even now.

He glanced at Jordan, and saw that the sunken look of the newborn’s face had lessened, and his skin looked more substantial again.

He could feel his own body roaring back to life thanks to Wynter’s blood, and when he clenched his hand into a fist, it felt almost like vampire flesh again.

At the thought, he began taking off the suit.

He knew, somehow, that it was truly decontaminated, but he still wanted it away from his skin and flesh. He looked around at the others, and saw that they were all wearing only their civilian clothes again, too.

Wynter looked like she might even be cold. With the protective suit gone, she wore nothing but dark pants, a long-sleeved top, and low boots. Like all of them, she still wore the same clothes she had on when they broke into the Archangel facility.

She pulled a small pack off her shoulders as he watched.

He realized in surprise that she must have been wearing it under the suit. She unfastened the top, yanked a cloak out, and wrapped it around her shoulders. Then she reached into the bottom, pulled out what looked like a protein bar, and handed it to Forrest Walker.

Nick could have kissed her.

She glanced at him and quirked an eyebrow.

He saw the faint humor in her eyes and smiled.

You’re forgetting two things, love of mine,she thought at him quietly, her thoughts steel.One, I live with a vampire, one with a notable tendency to half-kill himself on occasion, and when he does, he needs blood, and I’m the one who gives it to him.

She pursed her lips, lifting her chin a little.

Two,she went on haughtily.I have been, for the past several years, the principal over human and hybrid high school students. As such, I have supervised more field trips than you can possibly imagine, and I’ve learned to come prepared. Because, believe it or not, young humans and hybrids are almost as accident-prone and emergency-provisions-free as my husband.

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