CARLYLE

I was adrift on a raft of numbness in an ocean of pain. Any movement dipped me back into the abyss of agony.

Something pressed up and down on my chest, trying to force the muscles to work again. A vaguely familiar voice yelled at me, but I could barely understand the words through the fogginess of my brain.

I wished they would just leave me the fuck alone. Everything hurt, and I wanted to die. Or maybe just kill whoever was beating on my body.

“Breathe, goddamn it!”

The words finally forced their way inside my brain enough to make sense, and something in their raw command made my muscles remember what they should have already known how to do.

Stale, cold air pushed from my lungs, finally opening the way for new, oxygen-filled air.

I gasped again and again until my throat was raw, trying to refuel the blood in my body. Slowly, my vision cleared, and I realized not only had I made it back to the safe house in Florida, but I had guided myself straight to the very man I’d desperately cried out for.

Killian glowered down at me in horror, but as soon as he realized I was breathing, his expression softened for a split second before morphing into pure rage. I flinched away and paid the price with shooting pain up both sides.

“What the fuck did ya do?” he demanded. “Sol! Jai!” he roared, hovering over me like he was terrified to both leave me and to stay.

I moaned through the pulsing pain. I couldn’t move my arms - it felt like I was trapped beneath a heavy blanket made of sharp spines.

My fingers uncurled, and his keys slipped from my grip, clanking onto the floor.

“An’ why the fuck do ya have my car keys?” he asked, his voice lethal.

I didn’t have a chance to try forming words in return, though, because Jai shot into the room, followed only a few seconds later by Kana and Sol. They all gaped at me on the bed, and I squeezed my eyes shut against their judgment.

Whatever they thought, it could wait.

“Hurts,” I whispered, warning them as best I could that I was about to pass out.

Darkness closed over my eyes again, and I slipped into an exhausted state.

––––––––

SOL

Frantic was too kind a fucking word for what we were feeling.

Carlyle had appeared in Killian’s bed out of nowhere, and she’d made a goddamn mess of her body trying to siphon. At least, that’s what we assumed had put her in this position. It looked like something out of a horror movie - her skin was meshed with the threads of the mattress.

The top half of her body was above the mattress, and the bottom half was fucking inside it.

Jai slammed his phone across the room as he tried again to reach Dair and failed. Kana cursed at him but retrieved the phone and slipped out of the room to continue to call the mage.

The fucking mage - he had to have given Carlyle this power. I would kill him if Jai didn’t get to him first. Or Killian.

Fuck, she was in trouble.

Our girl was in so much trouble.

“Even if I cut this shit away, she’ll bleed out in minutes,” Killian yelled, bringing me back from the edge of panic I was teetering on. I tried to look at her limp form on the bed again, but my stomach rebelled. So much blood.

“Give her your strength, Solomon,” Jai commanded, using his vampire alpha compulsion shit.

I swallowed back the bile in my throat as I obeyed, bending over Carlyle and kissing her as gently as I could manage. She moaned against my lips. Would she even get anything, if I was more sick than turned on?

“She needs more than Sol, boss,” Killian said, his voice hovering on the edge of insubordination.

“I fucking can’t, you goddamn bastard son fairy-fucking fae,” Jai snarled, startling me away from Carlyle. It was rare for Jai to lose his cool like this, but it shut Killian the hell up. “Lion! Finish,” Jai roared.

I ran my fingers through Carlyle’s hair and down her jaw - thankfully, her head wasn’t trapped by the fibers. Trying not to look at the blood, I kissed her like her life depended on it, because it fucking well did.

“Her color’s coming back,” Killian murmured beside me. “Good on you, Sol.”

My heart stuttered at his compliment - that was as rare as Jai’s outburst. “Come on, shortcake,” I whispered, sliding my hand down her neck and collarbone. I traced the firm outline of her breast, rubbing a thumb across her nipple until it pebbled beneath my touch.

A tiny moan escaped her lips, and relief flooded through me. It really was helping. I focused on the feel of my power flowing into her - now that we’d been physical several times, I could pinpoint the transfer fairly well. I forced my intent on the feeling, the way I’d heard Dair describe to her.

She whimpered, and her eyes fluttered open again.

Kana slipped back into the room. “Dair’s still not answering. Jai... you have to,” she added gently, but I saw the harsh grip she placed on her brother’s arm. Their strengths were evenly matched, and I took a self-preserving step back, just as Killian did the same.

A fight between the vampire siblings could very well tear the house apart.

On the bed, Carlyle tossed her head and grimaced. “Why does it hurt so fucking much?” she muttered.

“Kana?” Jai turned to his sister, a look of pure desperation in his face.

“My magic can’t reach her, and you know it,” Kana said, her voice like steel. “It has to be you.”

"Sol, she needs more of your strength," Jai tried.

“No, she needs your healing," I countered, taking one more step toward the door. I was in no mood to have my throat ripped out, but I’d risk it for that beautiful girl, dying on the bed.

Her lavender eyes grew wide, pinning Jai in her gaze. “Please,” she whispered. My damn heart about exploded. How could he deny her anything? "Please, Jai," she repeated. "Whatever it is, you can do it."

He made a strangled sort of noise, but slowly, Jai forced himself forward. His movements were more hesitant than I'd ever seen him make. Then, like a flash of dark lightning, he bent and pressed his lips to hers. She tipped her head back, opening her mouth to him, her tongue darting out to taste him.

As inappropriate as it could be, my cock swelled just watching them kiss. I’d never shared a girl with anyone besides Killian, but holy fuck. I could watch Carlyle with damn near anyone. Her cheeks began to flush, and I knew Jai’s healing magic was seeping into her body.

She moaned, low and throaty, and I cursed under my breath. Glancing to Killian, I saw him watching, too - a familiar hunger plain on his face.

“Jai,” Carlyle whispered, and the vampire startled away from her, a single bead of blood glistening on his lip. My heart pounded when I realized he’d tasted her - his control had slipped, and he’d bitten her.

His eyes connected with mine, pools of blackness replacing every bit of white. “Go,” I whispered, letting our leader off the hook.

In less than a heartbeat, he was gone.