Page 162 of Immortal Bastard

“Delilah!”

Her fingers pressed over his chest and she detected the faintest beat of a heart. A shuddered breath pulled through her nostrils and Delilah wiped her eyes.

“Oh, God, Ethan.” The mom screamed over the blaring horn. “My Ethan. Is he okay? Oh, God. Help him. Please help him,” the mother frantically cried.

“Quiet,” Delilah snapped and the woman immediately silenced. The child was dying. She needed to think.

Tilting her head, she petted the soft side of his little cherub face. “No pain,” she whispered. “No pain.”

Lifting her palm to her lips, she bit into the plump curve of her thumb.

Pintura, no! You cannot!

She slammed down an impenetrable wall on her thoughts, blocking Christian’s intrusion into her mind. She became wholly focused on little Ethan. With absolute tenderness, she scooped the child off the grass and cradled his limp little body in her arms.

She brought her palm to his pale lips, her curled fingers soothing his soft brow. “Drink, baby.”

His precious mouth was turning blue. She dabbed a drop of blood over his tongue. The child’s mouth latched on and he pulled from her. Instinct drove her actions and sweet relief broke out of her in a sob when his heart beat back to life.

The more he pulled from her blood the stronger his suckling became. Translucent little eyelids pinkened and fluttered and he was looking up at Delilah with those precious baby blues.

She laughed through her tears. “There’s a big, strong boy. There you go.”

“Delilah, drop it!”

She jumped at the snap of Christian’s voice, her hand ripping from the baby’s mouth and tucking behind her back.

He stood by the door of the van, his fury radiating like a heatwave. Ethan’s mother who silently screamed her fear, and suddenly Delilah could hear the woman’s thoughts. Please don’t hurt him. Please. Please! Why, God? Why? Help my baby!

She saw what the woman saw. The blood. The fangs. The claws.

She wasn’t going to hurt the little guy. She just saved his life.

“Put the mortal back, pintura,” Christian ordered, ice in his tone.

Adriel stood stiffly observing the situation from several feet away.

Delilah kept her eyes on Christian as she pressed a kiss onto Ethan’s soft head. “You’re okay now.”

“Delilah, now!”

Ethan’s mother whimpered as she approached the car. “He’s okay. You can talk to him.”

A sob bellowed out of the mother. “Help me down so I can hold him.”

She set the baby down where there wasn’t shattered glass—

“That’s enough, Delilah. Go back to the carriage. Now.”

“Wait!” the woman screamed. “You can’t just leave me like this!”

She glanced from the woman to the baby. Christian closed a firm hand on her shoulder. “Now.”

“We have to get her down.”

“No. You need to do as I say.” Sirens wailed in the distance. “I’ll handle the rest.”

She didn’t want to leave until she knew everyone was safe. “Don’t hurt them—”

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