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I push away from Orym and stomp toward James as he stands up. “You almost bled to death in that chair!” I point at the chair for emphasis. “If I hadn’t found you when I did, you would have died. So, obviously, your wound was worse than you thought. Or you lied to me. Which is it?” I can’t stop the fury from rolling over me.
As happy as I am that he’s alive, I want to punch him in the face. And I just might, if he doesn’t stop being a dick.
“I can’t deal with this right now. I have to go,” he says and starts for the door. Dec blocks his path.
“If you need some space, you’ll have to come home with me. There’s no other option. I can’t turn you and let you run off. It’s too dangerous,” he explains.
“I’m sorry, James, but if you leave, I’m following you. Where you go, I go.” When he shakes his head, I take a step closer. “You are one of my fated mates. I’m not about to let you run away again. It was stupid of me to let it happen the first time.”
“I don’t want to break our bond. I just need some time to adjust. This isn’t an easy transition.” He looks at me and licks his lips. “And honestly, Garnet, you smell delicious.” I know that I should be scared, since he is a vampire now, and could easily kill me. But I’m not. Instead, I’m so turned on that I know my panties are soaked.
Luca and Orym’s groans through the bond tell me that they noticed too. I won’t apologize for the things that get me going, but I do realize that now is not the time. “Fine, I’ll let you have some space. If you stay with Dec, and if he brings you back as soon as possible. And you have to keep our bond open so I know that you’re okay.”
He sighs. “Yes, mother.” Before I can close the distance between us and slug him, Dec slaps him in the back of the head.
“Show your woman some respect, little brother. She was willing to do anything to save you. The least you can do is let her stay connected so she knows you’re safe.” Dec turns to me. “I won’t let anything happen to him. And I’ll make sure he’s back after the sun goes down. Eli will need time to get him an implant and make sure it’s working properly before he can go out in the sun.”
“Then you two need to leave now. The sun will be up soon,” I insist, practically shoving them out the door. I can’t take the idea that they could get stuck outside while James isn’t protected.
“I can’t let him get close enough to hug or kiss you. I hope you understand. It’s not safe yet. But I’ll take good care of him,” Dec explains, dragging James out the door with him.
LUCA
I take a step forward and block Red from James’ reach. He doesn’t seem to be trying to get to her, but until Dec can get him out the door, I have to make sure she’s safe. “Should we get them an escort?” Orym asks.
Dec turns back to us, still holding his brother’s arm. “I’ve got him. It’ll be quicker if I just take him without endangering anyone else. You have my word, he’ll be fine.”
When the door closes, I turn and wrap my arms around Red. She drops her head to my shoulder and lets me hold onto her for a while. Orym walks over and sandwiches her between us. The three of us stay like that until Red hears Ryland starting to stir.
“I need to check on him. Hopefully he’s okay. I don’t know how much more I can take today,” she whispers. Orym and I follow her back to the bedroom where Ryland is trying to sit up.
“What hit me?” he asks, dropping back onto the pillow.
“One of the witches, apparently. James said they attacked you because he wasn’t as much of a threat,” I explain, helping Ryland sit up against the headboard.
“Where is James?” he asks, looking around. “He got stabbed. Did you get him patched up?” Red, Orym, and I exchange a glance.
“That would have been nice info to have before everything went south,” Orym responds.
Red sits on the bed next to Ryland. “He’s okay now, but we had to call Dec to turn him. James almost died.”
“He’s a vamp now? Wow, I didn’t think he’d actually do it,” Ryland says, wiping his hands down his face.
“It wasn’t his choice. By the time Red found him, he was too far gone for her magic to help. Orym got Dec to come, and Red talked him into turning James. When he woke up, he wasn’t very happy about it,” I explain.
“He went back to Midnight with Dec for the day. He needs a UV implant so he can go into the sunlight, and Dec will help him with his cravings. We will probably need another fridge for blood storage, though,” Red insists.
Ryland nods, agreeing with her. I know that he’ll do whatever she wants, the same as the rest of us. Red is our top priority, keeping her happy makes us happy.
“Do we know when he’ll be back?” Ryland asks. “I feel like I got hit by a truck. I don’t know if I can deal with everything right now.”
“He should be back tonight, after the sun sets. You don’t have to deal with anything. I’ve got the wolves handled. I can arrange for a small fridge to be brought in if that’s what you want. Let me help while you recover,” Orym says, stepping forward to lay a hand on Ryland’s shoulder.
Our alpha nods at him. “Thank you. I’m going to need more rest.”
RYLAND
Waking up to learn that James didn’t tell anyone about his injury and now he’s a vamp is definitely going to take a minute to process. “I don’t understand why he would lie about being hurt,” I say.
