Page 93 of Love Heals
Chapter Thirty-One
"Jared!" I hadn't expected him to faint, but my vampire-reflexes still allowed me to catch him before he could hit the ground. "What's wrong?"
"Probably the loss of blood," Crimson, laying one hand on my shoulder as if to reassure me. "He'll be fine. Same thing happened to Luke."
I glanced at Crimson, then back at Jared. "But—"
Crimson squeezed my shoulder. The sound of the sirens was drawing closer. "You're not alone in this, okay?"
I wasn't sure what he meant until he called his partner over and then Luke and Elena took Jared from me. "You guys gotta go," Elena said, stifling a cough. "We got this."
"I'll text you," Luke promised, looking first at Crimson, then at me. "I’m sure Jared just needs some blood."
It seemed like he knew what he was talking about, but still... I didn't like it. Sadly, that didn't mean I had a choice.
"Come on." Crimson squeezed my shoulder again and then Aldrich rose too.
"You text us the moment you know what hospital they're taking you," Aldrich said to Luke and then he shifted and was on his way just like that. I stared after him for a good five seconds before I could make myself move too. I allowed myself one last look at Jared—he was going to befine!—and then I forced myself to grow wings and take off, following the other vampires.
* * *
After fleeing the scene of the fire, we hid in Aldrich's apartment. Talon, Crimson, Aldrich and I. Puck was there too, but he just sat in a corner of the bedroom, muttering to himself as if he was trying to figure out a difficult math problem. Aldrich said to let him be, so we did, congregating in the kitchen instead, because the kitchen was where the blood was.
"Thank fuck I'm always stocked up," Aldrich muttered, pulling a bottle out of the fridge and taking a large swig before passing it to Talon. "Fucking fire."
"I thought the safe house couldn't be attacked by vampires," I said, trying to make sense of the events of the evening. The flames had seared themselves into my memory and would stay there for a while. "That's why it's called a safe house, right?"
"I can't even tell you what happened," Crimson said. He stood to the side, a vacant look in his eyes. I noticed only now that some of his skin was burned. The sight made me cringe because it took me back to the sunrise, earlier that day, when my own skin had burned.
"It all happened very suddenly." Talon offered the bottle of blood to me. "It's true that they can't get into the vicinity of the safe house, but they might have paid someone to act for them. All they needed was the location."
I cringed even harder at that, even as I took the bottle. "It's my fault. They must have followed us back..."
Crimson shook his head at me. "Let's not play the blame game. The fire is the fault of the people who set it." He pointed at the bottle. "Drink up. You look like you could use it."
I raised the bottle to my lips, but took only a few small sips. All things considered, I'd been pretty lucky. The fire didn't really hit me, and I still had Jared's blood flowing through my veins, lending me strength.
Considering that I should have died that morning...
With a shudder, I pushed the thought aside. The events of the morning didn't matter anymore. What mattered now was that I was safe, and that Jared was too. At least, I had to hope so. Focusing back on the present, I passed the bottle to Crimson. "I think you need this more than I do."
"Thank you." He drank. After a moment, though, he set the bottle down on the table. "It's weird. The fire shouldn't have hurt me while Luke was protecting me. When the basement went up in flames, I..." He paused, looking at me. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up."
I waved him off. "It's fine. I'm over it." Sure, he and his mate had attacked my coven, but I was starting to realize that my loyalty had been wasted on that bunch of vampires. "I have a better coven now."
Crimson's eyebrows rose. I didn't look at the others to see their reactions, but they were likely similar.
"Is that what we are now?" Aldrich asked. "Our own little coven? I think I like that."
"With only four vampires?” Talon asked.
"Four and a half if you count your kid," Aldrich pointed out. "Besides, I don't think he meant only the vampires."
I felt my cheeks heat up ever so slightly. "I didn't. I meant... all of us. Jared and his siblings too."
"It's not a bad thought." Crimson lightly clapped my back as if he could tell I needed the support.
"I think family is what you make it," I said. My real family had been total crap, but my street family... they had been great. So why shouldn't I find my own coven the same way I'd found my own family back before I'd been turned?
