Fortunately, no one cared about the nude man striding down the sidewalk with a woman hoisted in his arms. They were too concerned about the blazing building that was slowly collapsing and the broken and burned bodies strewn around the front. When Diskant made it to the car he climbed into the back and left Nathan to drive. As the Beta settled in the front seat, Diskant saw the oozing holes in his back, two on the left shoulder and one on the right where the bulletproof vest didn’t protect.
Diskant made a silent vow that as soon as he’d bloodbonded Ava entirely and knew she would be safe, he would properly thank Trey’s second for saving her life and locate the vampire in order to do the same.
Nathan started the car. “Where do you want to go?”
Although wary of returning to his residence, it was the safest place. The security system would prevent anyone from getting inside, and with the recent activity the police would be all over the city.
“Home.”
He cradled Ava is his arms as Trey pulled the car on the road and tried not to think about what was yet to come.
Chapter Nineteen
Trey was waiting outside the firehouse, his face dark and unreadable, when Nathan pulled in front of Diskant’s home. The remaining pack members were there as well, and Diskant was certain that the lone Shepherd and tattooed asshole who’d managed to survive were on lockdown in the basement.
Diskant climbed from the back of the car, walked past the somber faces that stared at the bundle in his arms, and strode to his room. Now wasn’t the time to talk about strategy, revenge or the inevitable rebuilding that would occur as a consequence of the Shepherds. He couldn’t take a moment to console Trey or the rest of the pack and express that he, too, felt the substantial emptiness of their loss.
Ava couldn’t wait any longer.
She was stable but had yet to regain consciousness. That alone terrified him more than he cared to admit. He had to complete the bloodbond—now.
More shifters stood just inside, Kinsley amongst them. He was on the phone, likely contacting the prides to reveal everything that had transpired. He glanced up when Diskant moved past the entranceway and his emerald gaze rested on Ava. His eyes narrowed and he snarled something into the phone as he turned away.
The stairs were empty and Diskant took them two at a time. When he made it to the bedroom he closed the door and carried Ava to the bed. She needed a shower, to have her skin cleansed of the smoke, blood and filth. Slowly he stripped away her clothing, revealing her bruised and battered body.
He wanted to tear something apart when he saw the thin sliver of hollowed flesh missing from her thigh, recognizing the grazing of a bullet. Fear assailed him, tightening his chest. She could have died tonight, killed for nothing more than an association with him and his kind.
Once she was nude he left her on the bed and rushed into the bathroom to start the shower. The water would be harsh against her skin, but it would only be one discomfort among many.
Steeling himself to remain calm and levelheaded, he returned for his mate and remembered that no matter how this occurred, he was the fortunate one. Once done, it was done. He would never leave her again, never entrust her care to another. She would always be safe, always be close. Many of the pack had lost mates tonight. Some would survive the loss, others wouldn’t. The full extent of the damage wouldn’t be known for a couple of months.
Cradling Ava in his arms, he walked into the bathroom, opened the stall and stepped into the warm stream. He used his free hand to wipe the blood away from her face, taking blackened portions of soot along with it. The ache in his chest grew heavier, nearly suffocating in its intensity. No matter how bad the situation, he had been spared the greatest loss a shifter could ever experience.
His lips trembled as kissed her, opened his heart and soul to her completely, and started the final stage of the bloodbond. The first two stages were physical, requiring his seed and blood, but the final one was something that couldn’t explained under any normal context.
He reclined against the wall of the shower to remain upright as he willed his bestial halves forward and the process started. He buried his face in the softness of her shoulder and throat, breathing her in, wishing like hell this could have happened at a different time, under different circumstances.
She whimpered when the first and most powerful animal he possessed slid from his body and entered hers, leaving a portion of itself behind so that they were connected, two halves of one whole. The wolf rubbed against her skin before delving beneath, brushing against soft flesh and solid bone. She cried out as the mark was initiated, forced through her and finally settled. She shivered in his arms, her breathing shallow.
He was overwhelmed by anger, regret and despair as the second beast arose and started the process over. Ava started thrashing, stronger from the wolf that was a part of her now. The cat quickly squelched the canine—leopard becoming cheetah, then cougar, then lion. By the time all of the feline breeds left part of their essence she was no longer unconscious but fighting him, her eyes opened, lips pulled back. The pain and confusion she was experiencing were also enhanced by lust, something that was entirely expected. This was why he was the dominant of the two, and he quickly took control, enforcing his will, ensuring the primal urges within his female answered to one man and one man only—him.
He ran his fingers along the back of her head. The wound was closed and nearly healed. When the grizzly arose, he swung her around, pressed her against the wall, moved between her thighs and thrust his rock-hard cock into her. The bonding had brought his urge to mate to the surface as well as hers. There was no need for preparation. She was drenched with cream, slick and pooling. As he buried his length into her cunt, she welcomed him—hot, wet flesh hugging every inch.
“Diskant.” There was agony and fear in her voice, and when he lifted his head he saw it mirrored in her eyes.
“Feel me, Ava.” He withdrew and thrust back into her harshly, keeping his gaze on her face. “Only me.”
The pain in her expression was laced with pleasure, her eyes becoming dark. She brought her hands up, clutched his arms until her fingernails broke skin, and ground her pussy against him. They began to move together and the remaining beasts took their turns claiming her as their own, leaving behind a piece of themselves so that she would always share a bond with them, would always be able to reach out to, comfort, nurture and soothe them.
Her soft, muted cries tore at his heart, the pain of the bond lessened only by the violence of their union. In order to keep her mind off the misery, he forced her to focus on the feel of him pumping in and out of her. He pinched and teased her clit, nipped and suckled at her breasts. When he felt her quicken he increased the pace, pounding into her hard and fast until she climaxed.
The sound of her release was one he never wanted to hear again.
She screamed in agony yet wailed in relief, her soft vaginal walls tightening around him as she shattered in his arms.
“Can’t…take…more,” she sobbed, clinging to his shoulders, her face buried in his neck.
“It’s almost over,” he whispered, voice clogged with tears as he witnessed the pain he was forcing on her. “Stay with me, Pinkie. Please, stay with me.”
When he felt her slight nod he started thrusting again, gently this time. Her skin would be so sensitive his touch would burn, leaving behind impressions even as he let her go, but not for long. A portion of his soul took root in hers, and he felt the final connection being established. The moment it was completed a window opened between them, more powerful than he had ever anticipated. As it occurred he slid to the floor, shouting as his own orgasm thundered through him.