Eighteen
Niko clutched Rylee to his chest, needing the closeness as much—if not more—than she did. Her sweet scent had reached him only moments before she’d stepped out from the bushes. Seeing her standing behind the powerful vampire had all but brought him to his knees. The only thing that had kept him upright and his reaction in check was the fact the vampire hadn’t clued in that she was there. Though, for the life of him, he had no idea how he couldn’t have. She hadn’t gone crashing through the bushes, but she hadn’t been as quiet as she’d thought, either.
One misstep. That’s all it would have taken for that vampire to spin around and catch her unaware. He could have snapped her neck in a second, and there would have been nothing Niko could have done to stop it. Or worse, he could have drained her dry in front of him. A shudder rushed through him, and her arms tightened around his neck.
The little sobs she tried to muffle as he carried her to the front of the church where the streetlight illuminated the night shattered him. He’d be willing to bet she’d never killed a thing in her life. She might be tough, and she’d seen a lot of the world’s horrors on the streets, but the trembling in her body didn’t lie. She wasn’t made for the life of savagery, death, and destruction.
Part of him wanted to rage at her for putting herself in such danger, but he couldn’t deny that she’d saved Bonnie’s life. And in the process, Emmet’s, as well. Did that mean he was happy about what she’d done? Hell, no. But he could respect it. The fact that his heart had yet to settle and his need to claim her intensified with every step he took was on him, not her. He yanked on the mental leash barely keeping his wolf contained, and the fur bristling beneath his skin sank deeper.
The instant he opened the passenger door, the lingering scent of her fear inside the cab assailed him. She’d been scared shitless, yet she’d still gone after the vampire. He shook his head and gently sat her on the seat.
“You’re going to be the death of me,” he whispered before kissing her nose. Her eyes shone bright, but she wiped away her tears with shaky fingers.
“Please don’t be mad,” she said, her voice wobbling. “I had to help.”
He leaned his forehead against hers. “I know. I’m not angry, but I’ll need some time to calm down. You could have been killed, Rylee. My wolf is going crazy right now.”
She worried her bottom lip between her teeth and glanced at something over his shoulder. “I can give you time. Should I get a hotel room?”
“Fuck, no. I may not let you out of my sight ever again.” It might be an exaggeration, but right then, it sounded true, at least to his own ears.
A throat cleared behind him, making his muscles tense even though his brother’s scent told him exactly who was standing there.
“She okay?” Luca asked, his voice rough with his wolf near the surface.
“She’s fine.” He hadn’t asked her, but the second the vampire had been pulled off her, he’d scented the air and it had come back clean. Well, as much as it could with a vampire dying a few feet away. None of her blood had spilled. That was all he’d cared about.
“Jaxon says to take her home. He’s bringing Bonnie to his place so she’ll be protected overnight. The cougar’s gone. Cole and Cam followed the scent for a couple of blocks, but then it disappeared. Probably found a car with the keys on the visor and drove off with it. I’ll stay with Emmet and keep him out of trouble until he comes back to himself,” Luca said from behind him, then huffed out a breath. “You gonna let me see her?”
“Wasn’t planning on it, no.”
The truth was, he hadn’t realized he was shielding her with his body. As if that would erase the danger she’d put herself in. Grudgingly, he straightened and turned a little so his brother could peek inside.
“You did good, little sister. Don’t let my brother give you too much of a hard time over it,” he told her with a smile and then winked at her.
Niko could have choked on his own spit. His brother didn’t wink. Hell, he seldom smiled. And when he did, it was usually forced and meant to soothe a frightened human or cajole Maple into giving up her sweets. Not that she ever put up much of a fuss, but when Luca smiled, she handed them over, no questions asked.
“Thanks. I won’t,” she said, her voice stronger than it had been.
Luca clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll be home bright and early. We’ll head to The Narrows in the morning,” he said before turning on his heels and heading back to where Jaxon was dealing with the fallout of what had happened.
***
Nothing in her life had prepared Rylee for the horrendous feeling that engulfed her when that stake had stabbed into the vampire. It hadn’t gone in easy. The wood had scraped against bone as it had torn through flesh, seeking its target. Had it not been for the fact that Bonnie’s life hung on the balance, she would have let go of the stake. Heaven help her, she would have. In that moment, it hadn’t mattered that the monster would have turned on her and snuffed her life. A fresh wave of nausea rolled over her at the memory that was still too fresh to shove into a box in her head and lock away.
The burning in her left hand intensified with each new breath she drew into her lungs. She’d felt the pinch when she’d forced the stake into the vampire’s body, but the adrenalin had kept it from bothering her too much. A shudder rushed through her again. It’s over. Everyone is okay, she reminded herself as she breathed in and then out. The taut muscles in her shoulders eased a little, but the ache in them remained.
Niko cast her another worried glance. A muscle ticked in his jaw, and she could see the whiteness of his knuckles in the pale green light of the dashboard. “You all right?” he asked her for the third time since they’d left the church.
“Yeah.” She didn’t mention her hand. If she did, he’d stop the truck and want to examine it, and she had to get back to the house. She needed to be out of her clothes and wash the nastiness of the evening from her skin. Maybe then the taint inside her would vanish.
The last thing she’d seen when they pulled away from the curb had been Jaxon carrying a still limp Bonnie to his vehicle. “Why didn’t Bonnie shift to help her healing?”
Niko pursed his lips, and his grip on the wheel tightened. “She lost a lot of blood. In her weakened state, she might not have been able to. Jaxon will force the shift once he gets her settled—if he needs to.”
“That sounds horrible,” she said more to herself than to him. “How does that work? How can he force her to do it?”
“It’s not pleasant. I’m not exactly sure, but it has to do with his Alpha power. Even if she’s weak, or resisting, he can basically make it happen by pushing his will on her.”
This was it. Her earlier fear had come to pass. Already, in such a short time, she’d brought the enemy down on the Wassookeag pack. Their members had been harmed. Now they’d want her to leave. How could they not? She hadn’t been with them long enough for them to care about her and want her to stay.
An invisible band constricted around her chest, making it hard to suck in a breath. Maybe one tomorrow was all she and Niko were meant to have.