Wulf's Redemption (Borne Vampires Book 3) (4 page)

“Forget
it.” She charged past him.

Alex
grabbed her arm, stopping her. “Kai, tell me why.”

Drawing
herself to stand taller, she coldly replied, “I recognized Magdeburg bothers
you. I thought it’d be good for you to talk about it. But hey, if you’d rather we
keep on with the silent treatment then I’m all for it.”

“I—”
Alex paused, uncertain. “Kai, I am not somebody you
want
to know. I’ve spent the better part of a hundred and fifty
years in the service of the Damned. I’ve done terrible things, allowed worse to
happen to innocent people. I am no better than the monsters we hunt.”

“But
you saved me and Mom from Jarred. Watched over us.” Alex looked away. “You
still don’t believe you aren’t good enough to be a Borne, do you?”

He
released her. Digging his fingers in the thickness of his hair, he glanced
around in frustration. “It’s not a matter of who I am — it’s what I’ve done. I
will not allow the Damned to rule over the humans
or
the Borne again.”

“Alex, by taking up the mantle of Slayer, you
are
keeping them safe from the Damned. You
are not the monster you keep making yourself out to be. I should know,” she
said bitterly. “I’ve seen evil up close and
way
too personal of late.”

A short, bitter bark escaped Alex. “Honey, you are
so naïve. Never can I make up for what I’ve done. Never!”

Shocked at the self-loathing pulling his handsome
features into a mask of regret, she reached out to touch him. Startled when he
flinched and stormed away, she opened her mouth to call out to stop him,
realizing it would be of no use. He had closed himself off from her again.

Disappointed, she dropped her hand to her side and
followed after him.

✝✝✝

He could feel Kai’s eyes boring into him. Even as a
teenager, she was always watching, accessing, and evaluating situations, people
… him. As she trained to be a Slayer under his and Rathe’s tutelage, she became
perceptive
and
lethal. Yet with all
she had seen, hunted, and killed, she remained full of hope and laughter, keeping
Mina and others from turning and becoming demon vamps. Many called Kai Jordan
their friend. All he wanted was to call her his.

Every fiber of his being wanted him to grab hold
of the beautiful woman following him and crush her to him. To hold her, breathe
in the flowery scent of her perfume, and let go the anger and hurt buried deep
inside him. She was the flame, and he the moth. The closer he was to Kai, the
more he felt physically stronger and emotionally human. While the man in him
desired — no craved to be in her arms, the monster in him laughed at the
pathetic creature he’d become.

Because of Magdeburg.

How had Kai seen Lisle and him?

She said she could never read his mind. Hell, he’d
made certain she
couldn’t
enter his
mind, so she wouldn’t see the things he’d done to stay alive amongst the
Damned.
Hell, Kai
reading his mind was the least of his problems. The blood he’d taken in from
the hunter was just a fraction what he needed to completely heal his injuries.

Kai
said she hadn’t sighted any lights, which didn’t make sense. If Magdeburg was
thirty miles away, why couldn’t they locate the city or any humans? Perhaps he
and Kai should backtrack the humans they’d drained and find their truck? That’d
be dangerous. When the humans didn’t check in, their companions would come
looking for them. Outnumbered and out gunned, it’d be a dangerous. No, best
they keep going east. They should encounter a road leading to a burg or farm. Hopefully.

Lightening sharp jabs radiated down his limbs with
a vengeance. Alex shoved the terrible pain away, disconnected from it, and
searched the area for any signs of humans. Suddenly Kai was on top of him,
forcing him flat onto the ground. A sharp ‘pop’ sounded, and she was sent catapulting
over the top of him. Grabbing her, he rolled her under him, searching for the
sniper. Unable to find the human, he opened
a grave and dragged Kai into it. She bit her lower lip from
crying out. Tears glimmered in her pain-glazed eyes. He searched the cause of
her pain and found a gaping hole in her shirt below her collarbone. Blood flowed
unchecked, soaking her tee-shirt. She wasn’t healing!

“Alex,
get the hunter,” she gasped out. “We need the blood.”

“What
about you?”

“I’ll
be fine. Get him, we need his blood!”

“Dammit,
you’re right. Kai, shut down, and I’ll cover you up, then I’ll search for the
human.”

Anxious,
she placed her hand along his cheek. “Alex, please be careful!”

Flashing
her a cocky grin, he scooted out of the grave. “Dinner will be served soon.”

Shaking
her head at his joke, Kai closed her eyes and shut down as he covered her with
the loose dirt. Snarling, his fangs dropped as he leapt up into the nearest
tree, quickly climbing to the top. Searching for the son-of-a-bitch who shot
her, it took only a minute to find the human’s body heat. The hunter was
heading straight for where Kai was buried, no doubt to finish the job. Fury
rolled inside him, blinding him with the need to rip the human apart for
hurting Kai. Dropping out of the tree, he ran, silent and one with the
creatures of the night. The human skidded to a halt when he saw him coming and
took aim with his rifle, firing. Alex easily dodged the bullets and was on the
human, wrenching the rifle out of his hands.

“You
bastard!” the man shouted, reaching for his hunting knife. “You killed my
brothers!”

Circling
each other, Alex snapped back, “You, hunters, are all the same. When you kill my
kind, its cheers and giggles, I kill yours to protect mine, you want
vengeance.”

“You’re
undead! You have no right to be breathing!”

“That’s
where you’re wrong, human. The woman you shot, she’s the best of human
and
vampire. Your blood’s gonna save her!” Fainting to the left,
he switched and was on the screaming human, sinking his fangs deep into his
throat. Before the man neared death, he released him. Taking the man’s head in
his hands, he snapped his neck, ending the human’s life.

The
blood he drank was infused with adrenaline and fear, making it hard to calm
down. Ignoring the drug-like effect, he focused on searching for the other
hunters and found them two miles away, heading up the ridge. Wanting to suck
them dry of the precious blood flowing in their veins and kill them ...
Kai.

Like a balm against the raging tide, his need to
kill calmed at the sound of her name. She needed him, needed the blood coursing
in his veins. The beast retreated, giving way to his need to protect the woman
he loved. Alex sped back to her and waved back the dirt covering her. Gently,
he lifted her out of the grave and swept the dirt from her pale features. Damn,
she’d lost a lot of blood. The ground under her, where she’d laid, was saturated
with it. Eyes closed, Kai lay unresponsive in his arms.

“Kai,
wake up. Please, you need to feed and heal.” When she failed to awaken, he
pulled her to him as he fumbled to roll back his sleeve. Using his teeth, he
ripped open his wrist and pressed it to her colorless lips.

“Please,
baby, drink. Kai, you’ve got to take my blood,” he ordered hoarsely, the fear
of losing her was making him lose control of his carefully maintained façade
around her.

Relief
flooded him when he felt her lips part and she started to drink his blood.
After several minutes, she grimaced, pulling away from him. Kai licked her lips
as she glanced down at her shoulder, flinching.

“Crap,
ripped my shirt.”

Alex
pulled her onto his lap and offered her his wrist again. “Feed. Worry about the
shirt later.”

“Alex,
I can’t. You need all the blood you can get, to keep strong.”

“You
need blood to heal or you’ll die,” he countered, pushing his wrist at her.

Scowling,
she muttered as she took his hand in hers, “We are so screwed in our little
adventure, aren’t we?”

He
had to agree. “We aren’t off to the best of starts, that’s for certain. Drink up.
We need to make some tracks before the hunters circle back on us.”

“Shouldn’t
we drain them?”

“I’d
love to, except we’re two injured vamps. The odds are not in our favor.”

✝✝✝

Reluctant to take from Alex what he needed for his
own survival, Kai knew she had no choice. She fought the nauseating sickness as
her aching, pain-riddled body weakened, the life trickling from her as she bled
out. The vamp hunter had used a bullet designed to tumble, breaking apart as it
ripped through flesh. Although she wasn’t allergic to silver, like the Damned
were, the bullet had caused her maximum damage and she was unable to heal
herself. She knew it was only a matter of time before she died from the loss of
blood.

Shaking badly and cold, terribly cold, she had to
have more blood. She rolled his wrist upward to expose the soft tissue
underneath. The wound had already healed, so she sank her fangs into his skin.
Alex curled closer to her as she fed, and she felt safer, protected. As the
warm, nourishing liquid coursed down her throat, she felt him tremble. Fearing
she had drained him, she drew back and saw his eyes were closed. She licked the
wounds she’d made, smiling at the sigh he failed to suppress.

Ha! The stoic vampire wasn’t so immune to her
after all!

Alex drew down the collar of her shirt and
examined the wound. Only a puckered mark was left. Another scar, she sighed in
dismay. Another thing legends and myths got wrong about vampires. Yes, a vampire
could heal fast and yes, most wounds didn’t leave a mark. However, bullet
wounds
always
left scars and this was her
ninth one.

The risks of
hunting human killers and demon vamps
, she sighed. At least she was
still alive. Her prey was never as lucky.

“Alex, how’re you doing?” she asked, climbing unsteadily
to her feet. “Alex?” She touched his shoulder and was relieved to see him offer
her a small smile.

“I’m fine. Just thinking that at last you accept
my help without arguing about it.”

Disgruntled at his reminding her of her lack of
gratitude in London, she replied, “Let’s not make it habit, shall we. I do have
my pride, remember?” She reached for her backpack with her left hand. Still,
the stretch of torn muscle and flesh inside her right shoulder protested,
forcing her to move slower. Lightheaded and queasy, she had to admit she was in
way over her head. Last couple of days had been hell already with being
injected with dead blood, then a plane crash and now a damn bullet wound, it
just made her night so much more enjoyable now.

“Ah, yes, pride.” Alex wearily climbed to his
feet. Cocking his head, he ‘listened’ to the forest. “The hunters are a ways
off. Follow me.” He took off down the path at a brisk pace.

Worried, she glanced around her. With Harklee back
on the scene, the Borne had two serious adversaries to fight. The human vampire
hunters were beyond ruthless and enjoyed making the innocent suffer, just as
much as the demon vamps did. If they joined forces, it would be a freakin
nightmare!

Silent, she and Alex blended into the woods,
keeping their presence soothing to the wildlife, to prevent giving their
position away. Throughout the night they walked. Alex was weakening. The toll
of giving her his blood had been too much for him, and he was suffering because
of it.

They were depleted and exhausted, and she grew
scared. If they didn’t get out of the woods, they could die out here, where
only the human hunters knew they were there. Her mother would never know the
truth. It pained her to think of her mother searching, hoping against hope to
find her lost daughter.

Forcing back the panic, she kept walking.

✝✝✝

Nothing appeared familiar to him.

Since changing course because of the hunters, he
realized they were now completely lost. Stretching out his senses farther than
he’d ever done before, he felt the presence of a teenage girl. Or had he
imagined it? He decided to follow the link and changed course. He reached out
to the girl, disappointed to find her gone.

Keeping an eye on Kai, who plodded after him, her
silence worrying him. He knew she was in a bad way, but she never complained,
only kept following him. They had to get out of the woods soon!

An hour before dawn, Kai collapsed onto her knees.
He rushed to her side. “I can’t keep on, Alex. I need to go to ground.”

“Up on your feet. We need to get off the trail.” With
his help, Kai wearily got her feet under her. Finding a suitable area to make a
grave, he waved his hand, parting the rich black soil. “Kai, sleep with me.”

She smiled wearily. “Told ya you’d succumb to my
feminine wiles someday.”

“How could I resist your charm?” he replied,
smiling at her.

A derisive snort escaped her. “You’ve done pretty
well in the past.”

Wincing at her accusing tone, he sighed and took
her into his arms. She gasped, biting her lower lip as he gently pulled her
close to him as they floated down into the grave. Her soft curves fitted to him,
as if she were always meant to be there, in his embrace. The feel of her full
breasts pressed into him jolted him into a semi-erect state. The coppery scent
of her blood mingled with the flowery fragrance of her perfume wafted upward,
around him, drew him into her. God, he wanted to sink inside Kai. More than
physically, he wanted to be part of her goodness, to be the man she saw in him
and not the shadow of a Borne he had become.