Bion received a call about fifteen minutes ago, asking that he be ready. Apparently, Cassius was shot and one of the women was in a really bad state. Bion, Bjarni, Brielle, and I are standing in the garage awaiting them. Aria is with Gabriela, as she’s still not feeling better, and Bjarni wanted someone with her just in case she feels worse. Jasmine took Orion to their room, taking him away from whatever is coming.

A few minutes later, we hear the bikes roaring up towards the garage, and then a truck behind them. They all come to a screeching halt, the guys jumping off their bikes and hurrying to the back of the truck to open the door and jumping in. Bjarni and Bion hurry towards the back too. “Fuck,” I hear Bjarni grunt as he jumps in. A minute later, he’s jumping back down and Brandr and Ceric are handing Cassius down towards him and Bion, who are waiting to take him.

My heart constricts when I see Cassius’s pale complexion, his eyes closed and his chest heaving with difficulty to take his next breath. I can feel tears prick my eyes, but I refuse to cry. Ceric needs me strong now, not crying. The men hand a blonde woman down into Draco’s arms, and he hurriedly makes his way after Bjarni and Bion with the woman held close against his chest.

I notice that Brielle has left my side and is running ahead of the men. I stand still waiting for Ceric to jump down from the truck and make his way towards me when he’s ready. A minute later, Brandr and he jump down, their T-shirts covered in blood. I must have made a distressed sound, because Ceric looks around hurriedly, seeing me.

“Hellcat,” he calls, and slowly makes his way towards me, his shoulders stooped as if he’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. My hand is over my heart, and I can feel it racing.

“Are you hurt?” I ask worriedly when he reaches me. He stops, looking down at his shirt, and he looks surprised, as if only noticing the blood now. He shakes his head in denial, and then he’s pulling the T-shirt off, using it to clean his chest of the blood sticking to him.

“It’s not my blood,” he murmurs when he throws the ruined T-shirt on the floor. He hangs his head, his hands low on his hips. He seems lost. I approach him. Placing my hands on his chest, I wait for him to acknowledge me.

When he finally looks up, his eyes are filled with pain. “What’s wrong, babe?” I ask quietly. He grunts. His arms come up and around me, crushing me against him. His head lowers, and he buries his face against my hair, breathing in deeply. I don’t say anything else, waiting for him to open up to me.

We stand like that for a few minutes before he lifts his head and kisses my forehead. “Let’s go see how they are doing.” His eyes are still troubled, and his voice is gruff, but I don’t push him. I simply nod as he guides me into the compound.

When we draw closer to the infirmary, I see the guys standing outside. Caelius is pacing, a scowl on his face; Draco has one hand on the window, his head bent as he stares at the floor in frustration. Brandr and Burkhart are talking quietly, with Celmund looking into the infirmary every few minutes. Wulf is leaning against the wall next to the window, staring at what Bion and Brielle are doing inside, a dark scowl on his face. Bjarni is sitting with his head bent as he leans against the wall, his knees drawn up and his arms resting on them.

“How’re they doing?” Ceric asks as we draw closer. Some of the guys look over at us, and all we get is grunts. Looking in through the window, I gasp, only now understanding why Ceric is in such a state. Cassius’s shirt has been cut away, and his chest is covered in blood, his complexion pale. Bion is mumbling to himself as he prods his chest.

The woman who was brought in is lying on the bed next to Cassius, and I see they have placed her on her stomach. She is facing the window, but I can’t see her face because of her hair. I don’t know where she’s injured, but there is so much blood matting her hair. Brielle is behind her with a worried look on her face, her shoulders tense as she dabs at the back of the woman’s head.

“Cassius,” I hear Bion rumble, “don’t you fucking dare. You hear me, asshole? Draco, get in here.” I see Draco tense, and then he’s next to Bion. He moved so fast that I didn’t even see him go.

The brothers are now all standing by the window, concerned looks on their faces. “He needs your blood, and put some sense into him. He’s giving up,” Bion says angrily as he continues to work on Cassius’s chest. Draco growls deep in his throat. I can see that Cassius being injured is affecting him deeply. He brings his wrist to his mouth and tears at it with his teeth, placing it over Cassius’s mouth, and with the other hand, he pries his jaw open.

“Don’t you even think about it, asshole. I will come after you and bring you back.” His words come out so guttural that they’re hard to understand.

“She’s losing too much blood. She needs a transfusion,” Brielle suddenly says from next to the other bed. Looking over her shoulder, she sees Bion concentrating on Cassius’s chest, and then her eyes fall on Draco, and they widen when she sees Draco’s blood dribbling into Cassius’s mouth. “What . . . what are you doing?”

“He needs blood,” Bion answers without looking up. “Wulf can give you blood for the woman.”

“But you can’t do that,” she gasps, horrified. “It’s unheard of.”

“Well, look at that . . .” Bion states, “looks as if that drew a reaction out of him.” Looking closer, I don’t see anything out of the ordinary except that maybe I see his chest moving with his breaths, when before I didn’t.

“Will you listen to me?” Brielle bellows, her blood-covered hands now on her hips as she glares at Bion. “This is unethical. You can’t give someone blood like that.” She points at Draco with his wrist still over Cassius’s mouth.

Bion stands up straight as he stretches back to get a scalpel from a tray behind him. “I don’t have time for this now; this is how we do it,” he grunts in annoyance.

“But you can’t just give them blood; they might have a different blood type,” she states angrily, as if talking to a child.

“Trust me, you can give her anyone’s blood here, and she will do better than having her own blood type,” he says. I see her throw her hands up in the air in annoyance and then look out at all of us. Wulf is already walking into the infirmary before she can call out. “There’s a transfusion kit in the drawer over there,” he calls out as he nods to his side.

Brielle huffs and then hurriedly moves towards the kit. Getting it out, she starts to prepare everything for the transfusion from Wulf to Brielle. “And you couldn’t tell me that sooner why?” she asks.

“Who’s that woman?” I ask, confused as I look up at Ceric. He’s standing behind me with his arms loosely circling my waist.

“Merdor said she’s Cassius’s mate, and she seemed to recognize him, but we don’t know,” Ceric replies quietly.

“Oh no.” I now understand everyone’s anxiety. If anything happens to the woman and she’s actually Cassius’s mate, that will be the end of any hope for him not turning Keres. That is, if he pulls through. Things aren’t looking too good for either of them.

The transfusion is set out, and Wulf is sitting next to the bed. Brielle has her eyes closed and her hands over the woman’s head when suddenly, her eyes pop open. “Her heart stopped,” she whispers as she hurriedly starts giving the woman CPR.

“Fuck,” Ceric groans from behind me, his head buried in my hair as he breathes in deeply.

“Hold this here.” Bion is holding a dressing over Cassius’s wound. “Put pressure on it,” he says as he moves towards the woman. Bion and Brielle work together, trying to bring the woman back. It feels like hours, but it can’t be more than a minute or two when Bion stops CPR. He looks over at Brielle. “Can you help her?” he asks, a worried look on his face.

Brielle looks down at her hands lying lightly on the woman’s chest. “I will try,” she murmurs, and then closes her eyes, one hand on the woman’s chest, the other behind her head. A serene look comes over her face. I see Bion lift his hand, moving it to stroke her face, but before he can touch her, Wulf grips his arm. Bion looks over at him, a startled look on his face. Wulf’s eyebrow is up in question. I see Bion’s shoulders slump in dejection, and then he nods and makes his way towards Cassius.

I notice that Cassius’s face is now turned towards the woman, and his eyes are open. I see Draco lower his head towards him and whisper something in his ear; Cassius nods slightly and then closes his eyes again. We stay outside the infirmary for hours until we are sure that Cassius is going to pull through. The woman isn’t out of danger yet, but at least she’s stable.

Brielle is now sitting next to the bed with her hands still on the woman. Her complexion is pale, and she’s looking exhausted. Bion has been hovering around her like a mother hen. Every minute, his scowl is growing darker until he finally explodes. “Enough. You need to go rest. I can’t have you sick too.”

Brielle’s eyes opened at his words and are now looking dazedly at him, as if she’s trying to understand what he said. He looks around and then asks Brandr to take her to her room to rest. Brandr immediately enters the infirmary, approaching her, but she’s shaking her head in denial.

“I can’t leave yet. She’s still not out of danger,” she says.

“Brandr,” Bion states gruffly, and then nods at her. Brandr leans down and picks her up from her chair. Brielle gasps in surprise and then starts to struggle.

“Put me down. I’m too heavy for you,” she grumbles, but Brandr just grunts and continues walking.

“Let’s go, Hellcat. You also need to rest,” Ceric states. I look at him and notice how tired he looks. His hair is rumpled from stroking his hands through it, and he’s still standing there without a shirt. I take his hand and start guiding the way towards our room. When we arrive, he just stands there, an exhausted look to him.

I place my hands on his jeans and start to pull them down over his hips and then completely off. His boxers are next, and he’s standing before me in his naked glory. “Come on, babe, let me help wash this blood away from your body.” I pull him after me until we are both in the bathroom.

“Want to have your way with my body, is it?” he teases, but his smile doesn’t reach his eyes.

Striding towards the shower, I turn it on and push him gently towards it. “Get in. I will be right behind you.” He grunts but does as I say. I hurriedly undress, and then I’m joining him under the warm spray of the water. I take hold of the soap, and then I slide it over his chest gently. I can see slight bruising on his skin and know that by tomorrow, it will be gone, but for now, I’m sure he’s in some pain.

I gently stroke his skin, making sure that all evidence of blood is gone, and then move on to his legs. As I squat in front of him with the soap, I see that he isn’t immune to my ministrations, as his erection is standing proudly at attention. I grunt as I feel my body betray my good intentions. Taking the soap, I soap him from base to tip and then down between his legs. I hear him groan in pleasure as he throws his head back. I then let the water rinse the soap off before I lean close and kiss the tip lightly.

“Turn. Let me do your back,” I whisper. His eyes open a fraction, and then he’s turning reluctantly, and I give the same attention to his back as I did to his front. When I’m happy with his body, I move my hands up to his hair. Standing up on tiptoes, my breasts pushing up against his back, I gently stroke my fingers through his hair, hearing him groan in pleasure as he pushes his body back against mine.

“I want you,” he mumbles as he suddenly turns around and has my legs off the floor and around his hips. “Are you ready for me?” His lips graze my ear. My breath catches in my throat at the anticipation. I nod, but when he doesn’t continue, I realise he’s waiting for my answer.

“Yes,” I mumble, and feel his hand between our bodies, and then he’s plunging deep into me. We both groan in pleasure as he buries himself inside me. He takes my lips in a deep kiss that leaves me mindless with want as he plunges into me energetically. His thrusts are hard and deep until I don’t know where I start and he finishes.

Suddenly, he slows. Lifting his head, he looks deep into my eyes. “I love you, Hellcat,” he states with so much emotion in his voice that I feel tears gather in my eyes. “I don’t ever want to go through a situation where I might lose you. You need to be safe. Promise me that you will be careful at all times.” He lowers his head again and drops a light kiss on my lips. “Things are starting to heat up. I need to know that you will be safe at all times.”

I lift my hand and place it against his cheek; he turns his head slightly and nuzzles it. “I love you, too, with all my heart.” He gently moves in me, and I groan, pleasure shooting through my body. “I never thought I would find someone like you.”

“You are my world, Hellcat, my inspiration, the reason I’ll fight to my last breath to protect you and the future we will have together.” With that, he starts to move, desperately thrusting into me, his grunts getting louder with each thrust.

“Give me your blood,” I whisper. His eyes open wide in surprise as he looks deep into my soul.

“You sure?” he asks hesitantly as his thrusts get more demanding, my nails digging into his back in pleasure.

“I trust you.” I see understanding dawn as he realizes that I have finally opened up completely to him, and my heart and soul are now his. He brings up his wrist to his mouth and tears at it. Placing it against my lips, he looks at me with concern, but when I lap at his wrist, he groans loudly and loses complete control, thrusting into me over and over again until I feel my body start to tremble in ecstasy, and then I don’t know anything else as he lowers his head and bites on the side of my breast. My release is like a tidal wave that overtakes my thoughts and my senses, leaving me breathless and limp but at peace with the knowledge that this man holding me so tenderly loves me.

 

 

 

THE END