Lover Revealed (53 page)

Marissa watched as the pool of Butch's brilliant red blood grew bigger and bigger around the drain until she was standing in some of it. Oh, God… all his color had left him, his skin going paper white. He didn't seem to be breathing anymore.

V came forward with a stethoscope and put it on Butch's chest. "He's close now. Beth, get over here. I need you." He handed the stethoscope to the queen. "You listen to that heart of his. I want you to tell me when you don't hear anything for ten seconds or more." He pointed at the clock on the wall. "Track it by that third hand up there. Marissa, you come hold your boy's ankles, true? Wrath is about to get busy."

When she hesitated, V shook his head. "We need someone to keep him on the table and Wrath and I have to go to work. You're still going to be with him, you can talk to him from there."

She leaned down, kissed Butch's lips and told him she loved him. Then she replaced Wrath, taking over the job of keeping Butch's heavy body from sliding off the gurney onto the floor.

"Butch?" she said. "I'm right here,
nallum
. Can you feel me?" She squeezed the cold skin of his ankles. "I'm right here."

She kept talking to him calmly, though she was terrified about what was going to happen next. Especially when Vishous brought over the cardiac crash cart.

"You ready, Wrath?" the Brother asked.

"Where you want me?"

"Right here next to his chest." Vishous picked up a long, thin, sterile pack and ripped it open. The needle inside was about six inches in length and seemed thick as a pen. "How we doing with that heart rate, Beth?"

"Slowing down. God, it's so faint."

"Marissa? I'm going to ask you to get quiet so she can hear better, okay?"

Marissa shut her mouth and resumed praying in her head.

In the minutes that passed, they became a frozen tableau around Butch. The only thing that moved in the room was his blood as it dripped out of those deep wounds in his wrists and flowed down the drain. The soft
glug, glug, glug
in the floor made Marissa want to scream.

"It's still beating," Beth whispered.

"Here's what's going to happen," Vishous said, looking back and forth across Butch's body. "When Beth gives me the signal, I'm going to pop the table upright. While I work on Wrath, I want you two to seal up Butch's wrists. Seconds count. You need to close those wounds quick, we clear?"

They both nodded.

"Slower," Beth said. Her dark blue eyes narrowed on the clock and she lifted a hand to press one of the stethoscope's earpieces in tighter. "Slower…"

Seconds suddenly stretched out into infinity, and Marissa flipped into some kind of autopilot, her fear and panic buried under a powerful focus that came out of nowhere.

Beth frowned. Bent down closer, as if that would help. "Now!"

V set the table to level and Marissa ran around to one of Butch's wrists as Beth dropped to the other one. While they sucked the wounds closed, V shoved that thick needle right into the crook of Wrath's arm.

"Everyone back away," V barked when he withdrew it from the king's vein.

He shifted his grip on the syringe so he was holding it in his fist and leaned over Butch. With hurried movements, he felt around the sternum with his fingertips. Then he slammed that needle right into Butch's heart.

Marissa stumbled back as the plunger was depressed. Someone caught her. Wrath.

V extracted the syringe and tossed it on the table. Then he picked up the paddles of the crash cart and there was a juicing-up noise from the machine.

"Clear!" V shouted. And slapped the metal pads on Butch's chest.

Butch's torso jerked and V put his fingers to the male's jugular.

"Clear!" He hit Butch again.

Marissa sagged in Wrath's arms as Vishous threw the paddles onto the crash cart, pinched Butch's nostrils, and blew into his mouth twice. Then the Brother started chest compressions. As he performed CPR, he growled, his fangs bared as if he were pissed off at Butch.

Whose skin was now turning gray.

"… three… four… five…"

As V continued to count, Marissa struggled free. "Butch? Butch… don't leave… stay with us. Stay with me."

"… nine… ten." V pulled back, blew two breaths into Butch's mouth, then put his finger to the male's throat.

"Please, Butch," she begged.

V went for the stethoscope. Moved the disk around, searching. "Nothing.
Fuck
."

Chapter Thirty-eight

Two minutes later, Marissa grabbed V's shoulder when the Brother stopped CPR. "You can't give up!"

"I'm not. Give me your arm." When she did, Vishous cut through the skin of her wrist. "Over his mouth.
Now
."

Marissa rushed to Butch's head, pushed his lips and teeth apart and put the slice right to him as Vishous resumed chest compressions. She held her breath, praying that Butch would start to drink, hoping that some of her was getting into him and helping.

But, no… he was dead… Butch was dead…
Butch was dead
—

Someone was moaning. Her. Yes, she was making that noise.

Vishous paused and felt Butch's neck. Then fumbled for the stethoscope. He was putting the disk down when Marissa thought she saw Butch's chest move. Or maybe not.

"Butch?" she said.

"I got something." Vishous repositioned the disk. "Yeah… I got something—"

Butch's ribs expanded as he sucked a breath in through his nose. Then his mouth moved against her wrist.

She repositioned her arm so the wound fit better over his lips. "Butch?"

His chest inflated more deeply, his mouth backing off her vein as he drew air down into his lungs. There was a pause and then another breath. Deeper still…

"Butch? Can you—"

Butch's eyes popped open. And she went cold to the core.

The male she loved was not in that stare. There was nothing in it. Just blank hunger.

With a roar, he grabbed her arm, his grip so powerful she gasped. And there was no escape as he latched on with his mouth and started drinking in ferocious pulls. Twisting on the table, he savaged her wrist, his eyes fixated, animalistic as he breathed through his nose and swallowed in great yanks.

Through the pain, she felt total, abject fear.

Tell me you're still in there
, she thought.
Tell me you are still with us
...

It wasn't long before she became light-headed.

"He's taking too much," Vishous said, all urgent.

Before she could respond, she became aware of a scent in the room, a dark… yes, a bonding scent. Wrath's. Except why would he feel the need to establish his mating territory here and now?

She swayed and Vishous's hard fingers grabbed her upper arm. "Marissa, you're done."

But Butch was starving, mad from hunger. "No! No—"

"Let me take over."

Marissa's eyes shot to Beth… then focused on Wrath. Standing at his
shellan's
side, Wrath's face was set in violent lines, his body coiled as if he were about to fight something.

"Marissa? Will you let me feed him?" Beth said.

Marissa looked at the queen. God, those words, those same words that had been spoken back in July… when Wrath's body had balanced on the edge of life and Marissa's vein had been what was needed.

"Will you, Marissa?"

As she nodded her head numbly, Wrath started to growl, his lips peeling off fangs that had elongated into white knives.

Oh, Lord, this was a very dangerous situation. Fully bonded males did not share.
Ever
. In fact, they would fight to the death before they let another male anywhere near their females when it came to feeding.

Beth looked up at her
hellren
. Before she said anything, Wrath bit out, "V, get your ass over here and hold me back."

As Vishous approached the king, he wished Rhage was with him.

Shit… this was a bad idea. A pure-blooded, bonded male vampire about to watch his
shellan
feed someone else. Holy hell, when the Scribe Virgin had suggested Beth come down, V had assumed it was for ceremonial purposes, not so she could be a vein. But what was the choice? Butch was going to suck Marissa dry and not have enough and there wasn't another female in the house who could do the job: Mary was still human and Bella was pregnant.

Besides, like dealing with Rhage or Z would be any easier? For the beast, they'd need a tranq gun the size of a cannon and Z… well,
shit
.

Beth reached up and stroked her
hellren's
face. "Maybe you shouldn't watch."

Wrath grabbed her by the throat and kissed her hard. Then he brought up her wrist and scored her flesh, opening her vein.

"Go to him. Now." He pushed her away, then slammed his body back against the wall. "Vishous, you better fucking hold me. Or this is going to get ugly."

Wrath's awesome body was trembling, his muscles tensed up, his skin breaking out in a sweat. From behind his wraparounds, his eyes glowed with a light so fierce you could see it plainly.

V hurled himself at his king and met instant, straining resistance. Dear God, this was going to be like holding back a bull.

"Why don't… you leave?" V grunted as he worked to keep Wrath's body in place.

"Would have to… get past them… to get to the door. No… way."

V twisted his head and looked at the table.

Man, Marissa was going to be on the floor if she didn't get free of Butch. And the cop was going to fight like hell if that source of blood left his mouth.

"Beth!" V shouted as he and Wrath struggled. "Pinch the cop's nostrils. Pinch them hard and hold his forehead down. That's the only way you'll get him to release her."

When Beth grabbed Butch's nose, the cop made an inhuman noise, as if he knew what was coming. And his body jackknifed on the table like he was prepared to fight whoever was going to take his food away.

Oh, Christ, please don't let him attack Beth
, V thought. Wrath was so lit he was liable to break free and kill the guy.
Please
—

The females handled it beautifully. Marissa yanked her wrist away and nailed Butch in the shoulders, punching into him, holding him down as Beth brought her wrist to his mouth. As that fresh vein came to him, Butch took to the new blood like a babe and moaned at the taste.

Which naturally caused Wrath to go apeshit.

The king's body lurched toward the table, Vishous getting dragged along.

"Marissa!" V shifted his grip so he was around Wrath's waist like a sash. "I need help over here!"

She looked over at Wrath… and she was good—damn, the female was good.

She undoubtedly wanted to be by Butch's side. Instead, she flashed over and rammed her body against the Wrath tangle that was about to unravel. The king stumbled back under the force of impact and V repositioned himself, his head torqued at a bad angle but his arms right where they needed to be, one up Wrath's back and locked on his neck, one around the waist. For kicks and giggles, V wrapped a leg through Wrath's thighs so if the male lunged forward again he would trip first.

As if on cue, Marissa did the same, entwining one of her legs with Wrath's and running an arm up the front of his chest.