“Sadie, baby,” he murmured, trying to get her attention. “Let go.”
Her hands lashed out, wrapping around his forearm. The suction around his wrist increased, blood seeping past her lips. He watched, amazed, as color returned to her cheeks. Her fingers changed, filling out. To his amazement the rest of her did as well. Her face plumped, softness padding her bones. Each swallow resurrected her from death, bringing her back to life.
Lightheadedness assailed him and white speckles danced over his eyes.
Fucking shit.
He was going to pass out. If that happened, he couldn’t protect her.
No way in hell. I’ll die first.
“Enough!” Aldon yelled, breaking Trey’s attention from his mate.
Nathan flew from one side of the hallway to the other, collapsing in a heap on the ground. The Beta didn’t try to rise, still and unmoving on the floor, meaning he was out for the count. Trey hoped like hell the damage wasn’t permanent. He didn’t think it was. He felt each and every death in his pack. Nathan wasn’t done, not yet. He must’ve lost consciousness. It was the only thing that would prevent him from getting up and charging at Aldon.
There was no way Nathan would leave Leigh unprotected.
Leigh tripped over her feet when Aldon turned toward her. She backed away, kicking out with her legs, shuffling along with her hands. Her huge blue eyes were full of panic, her pale pink lips parted in horror.
Son of a bitch.
Aldon was going to take her and there was nothing Trey could do about it. Sadie had taken so much blood he wasn’t sure he could maintain a grip on the floor much less take on a vampire with immeasurable strength. Aldon advanced—one more step and he’d have Leigh in his grasp—and lifted his right arm.
Sadie disappeared—there one moment and gone the next.
The miserable burning at his wrist vanished.
Before he could react to her loss, Sadie reappeared in front of Leigh.
Her artic-blue eyes blazed in warning, her hands splayed open at her sides. She hadn’t bothered removing his blood from the corners of her mouth, the liquid making her lips appear cherry-red. In the blink of an eye she formed a fist and planted it directly in the middle of Aldon’s face. The blow carried more power than Trey would have thought Sadie capable of.
Aldon staggered back several feet, lifting a hand to his bloodied lip, narrowing his eyes.
Sadie stretched her arm behind her, reaching toward her fallen comrade. A silent communication took place between the women, a mental message from one vampire to the other. One moment Leigh was terrified and on her ass and the next she was on her knees, reaching for Sadie’s wrist. Leigh bared her fangs and lowered her mouth toward Sadie’s pale skin.
“Not so fast,” Aldon barked, moving so quickly Trey didn’t have a chance to let go of the railing or get out of the asshole’s range. The vampire’s hand wound around Trey’s throat, Aldon’s grip so tight it felt as though it crushed his windpipe.
Fuck me.
“Don’t.” Sadie didn’t sound as confident, her voice cracking. “Leave him out of this.”
“All it’ll take is a flex of my fingers.” Aldon’s hold on Trey’s neck intensified, depriving him of oxygen. “I’ll snap his neck like a twig.”
He totally could too. His fingers were locked tight.
Trey gagged, needing to draw a breath.
“His pack will avenge him.” Sadie’s words were laced with venom. “I’ll make sure Diskant Black knows what went down here. They’ll come for you. They’ll hunt you down.”
“Consider it a risk I’m willing to take.”
Trey choked, cursing his failure as an Alpha and male. He’d never felt so weak or useless in his life. Here was, just shy of losing consciousness, when his mate needed him most. Sheer willpower had him directing his gaze toward Sadie, needing to convey his failure, sorrow and shame to her.
Leave it him to fuck things up in the most monumental way possible.
It wasn’t bad enough he’d made her suffer for months. Oh no.
Now, when there was nothing left and he was going to die, he was leading her into her grave as well. He’d seen how bad she was—realized that Leigh had told him the truth about Sadie’s condition the moment he laid eyes on his female’s thin and fragile form—and knowing he was about to force her to endure the same torment…
Fuck, it tore him up inside.
Never.
His wolf rose, taking over, and he let it. His body started shifting. He didn’t fight it, deciding it was all he had left. The beast readily answered his call, eager for blood, hungry for the kill. This is what he should have done from the start.
Enter. Destroy.
Claim.
Fur sprouted from his skin as his bones contorted. The animal wanted to tear out Aldon’s throat and howl in victory as the life faded from the vampire’s eyes. It would destroy the male who dared threaten its mate, sending a warning far and wide of what would happen if anyone fucked with what belonged to the wolf and the wolf alone.
“Make your choice,” Aldon warned, maintaining his grip despite Trey’s shift from man to beast. “Three…two…”
A hand snaked around the back of Aldon’s neck, Nathan’s fingers taut as he snarled, “Remember me, motherfucker?”
Trey dropped when Aldon released him, falling rapidly toward the ground. He finished his shift midair, trying to land on his feet. Power coursed through him, brought on by the change. The effects of his recent blood loss evaporated. He hit cushiony carpet with a dull thud, covered in shredded pieces of clothing. Shaking the garments from his body, he stood on shaky legs. His sides heaved as he fought to breathe, rotating toward the stairs as he gained his balance.
He heard the fighting upstairs.
His Beta would give it all he had but Nathan could only hold Aldon off for so long.
While his second-in-command was strong, the vampire was built like a fucking Viking, not to mention Aldon had some serious mystical juju at his disposal. Trey rushed up each wooden slat, racing against the clock, determined not to fail his female this time. His wolf snarled, its jaws clenching in anticipation. Arriving at his destination, he discovered Leigh was gone and Nathan was on the ground beneath Aldon. Sadie was bent over the two, her arm wrapped snugly around the vampire’s waist.
“Let him go,” she ordered and fisted her fingers in Aldon’s hair, snapping his head back.
Aldon jerked away from Nathan and reached behind him as he rose. “You stupid little bitch.”
His nails lengthened, becoming sharp as he raked them along Sadie’s back, tearing through her shirt and skin from mid-back to shoulder. She didn’t scream but Trey heard her whimper. Fury consumed him, coating the world in a haze of red. He’d kill the stupid piece of shit. Break every bone in his goddamned body.
“Fine, we’ll do it your way,” Aldon whispered. “For now.”
A solid burst of magic sent Sadie away from Aldon and Nathan, her slim form rushing across the distance toward him. He felt hopeless in that moment, knowing he couldn’t shift fast enough to catch her, wishing that somehow he could.
For once—thank God—he wasn’t left with an enormous amount of shame as a mate.
Sadie righted herself like a cat, using momentum and speed to rotate her torso around. He moved aside, watching in awe as she landed on her feet. She rose with her fists balled, ready to face Aldon. She radiated beauty and strength, a true sight to behold.
Magic blasted from her.
It felt different. Not as dark. Almost pleasant in a way. The sensation bristled over his fur and settled comfortably against his skin. It calmed him, soothing the wolf, giving him a sense of strength he’d lost when she’d drank from him.