CHAPTER 26
WHAT WAS HE TO DO about the human called Jessica? Aubrey had had that thought before, and the answer was no more forthcoming than it had ever been.
Jessica had no idea how close she’d just come to having every drop of blood drained from her body. The feel of her pulse beneath his lips had almost broken even his self-control.
He needed to hunt, but he hesitated to leave her alone. Fala’s threat was still fresh in his mind.
The decision was made for him as he heard a faint cry coming from just outside the building. It was a distressed voice he knew well: the voice of Kaei. That girl could get herself into more scrapes in an hour than most humans could accumulate in a year.
Nodding a silent goodbye to Jessica, he quickly made his way to Kaei’s side. She could be a nuisance and worse to those who treated her badly and had caused more than her fair share of trouble, but she was unwaveringly loyal to those she considered her friends. Fala would probably not attack Jessica in a crowd, and even if she did, Jessica was intelligent enough to fend her off for a minute or two until he returned. Kaei did not have a talent for getting herself out of trouble.
Almost the instant he appeared, he found himself on the defensive. A strike meant for Kaei hit him hard, mostly because he was unprepared. The mental blow had the distinct aura of a witch to it, so he quickly turned his attention to the attacker.
He swore aloud as he recognized Dominique Vida. She had probably followed Jessica here and run into Kaei on the way Kaei had had more than her share of arguments with witches.
Dominique fell back slightly into a stance of readiness, recognizing that she suddenly had a new, far more powerful foe.
Dominique was one of two vampire hunters who had ever won a fight against anyone in Aubrey’s line. The other one he had dealt with accordingly As for Dominique, no one had managed to get inside her guard sufficiently to plant a knife.
For a moment he was grateful Fala had taken his knife from him during their fight earlier. Dominique could have used it against him; her ancestors’ magic had forged it.
Then Jessica returned to his thoughts. As much as he’d like to draw out this confrontation with such a worthy foe, he didn’t have time to dally here with Dominique.
Instead, he did the only thing he could to get her out of the place.
He changed shape into the one he favored — a black wolf — and lunged, taking Dominique to the ground. She didn’t expect him to be so reckless, which was the only reason her knife swiped across his stomach instead of plunging into his heart.
He clenched his teeth against the pain as the silver blade sliced his skin open. The wound was shallow, but the magic in the knife made it burn. He would likely have a scar.
Before the witch could recover, he used his mind to bring them both far away from New Mayhem. Then he rolled off her and sprinted, gaining as much distance as he could. Once he was far enough away that she could no longer latch on to his power and follow him, he disappeared, returning to Las Noches with a prayer that Jessica would still be there.