Granny Wolfe stood in front of them all. Smaller than the rest of werewolves, with wide swaths of silver hair, she did not give the impression of being weak in the slightest.
Rossi and Bathin didn’t even move, nor did they break their staring contest. I wondered if the demon and vamp had sensed the Wolfe family’s approach a while ago since they didn’t seem surprised at their arrival.
“Nobody’s killing tonight,” I said. “Not here. Ben’s inside. Let’s take a break from the bloodletting.”
Bathin’s mouth curled up on one side.
“The non-voluntary bloodletting,” I added.
“You think I don’t know this thing that’s with you?” Granny said. “This demon dug a hole through you, child. You just letting that stand with you, strigoni?”
“He has no say over her,” Bathin said.
“Push me, demon,” Rossi suggested.
I stood between them, and turned my back on Rossi, because I knew him and trusted him.
“You aren’t my friend, Bathin,” I said. “You aren’t my boss, you aren’t my owner. You are an unfortunate circumstance that I have to live with. Nothing more. Like some kind of soul STD. Don’t assume you can call the shots here.”
He finally looked away from Rossi. “Maybe you need a history lesson, Delaney.”
“All I need is for you to tell me what you saw tonight.” I held up one finger. “Where was Ben?” Held up a second finger. “Where is Lavius?”
“Ben was bound and tied in a crate.”
“Where was the crate?”
“Sunk beside a trawler about a mile out.”
Well, that explained the water covering him. It also explained the cold and darkness that Yancy had seen around him. And that he was alone but also looked over and not near, but near.
I couldn’t imagine what kind of hell that had been for him.
“Who was on the boat?”
“Two mortals, and a vampire. They’re dead now. You’re welcome. I’ll put it on your tab.”
I blinked. I hadn’t told him to kill anyone, but it made sense he might have to in order to free Ben.
“She owes you nothing,” Rossi said. “Who was the vampire?”
“I don’t keep track of half-souls.”
“All demons keep track of us,” Rossi said. “Always have. Who was it?”
“Giorgio. Do you want to know how he died? Do you want me to explain how I tore him into strips?”
The weres growled.
“No,” I said. “What did you do with the boat?”
Bathin leaned back on the porch rail. “Uh…left it adrift? What was I supposed to do with the boat? Bring it into the bay? Tow it into an iceberg?”
“Shut up. We’ll deal with it later. Did they tell you where Lavius is?”
“They didn’t tell me.” From the way he said it, I knew he was being cagy about it.
“Tell me or I will let these werewolves take out their frustrations on you.”
Four of the Wolfe boys stepped forward and the other four in wolf form snarled.
Bathin watched me with keen interest sparking across his features.
That’s right, demon. I have friends and my friends have claws.
“I dug through their minds,” he said. “The mortals and the vampire. The mortals knew nothing of interest. The vampire, however, was working directly for Lavius.”
“Did he know where Lavius was?”
“No. If he once knew, it had been removed from his mind. Brutally. But Lavius left a message behind for you, Delaney.”
A chill rolled over me, and dread flickered and died.
“By now he knows what I took from him. He knows you’re the one who sent me to take it from him. He’s coming for you, Delaney Reed, and he is going to torture you for fun.”
“He will not touch her,” Rossi hissed. “This is your last warning, demon. If I find that you have colluded with him to bring Delaney, her sisters, or this town into any kind of danger, I will draw war upon you, your lands, and your people.”
“Wouldn’t that be an interesting thing,” Bathin mused.
The door opened and Myra stood there. She took in the situation, her face pale, and—even though she might be trying to hide it—one hand trembling.
“Problem?” she asked.
“Not yet,” I said. “You okay?”
She nodded. “It’s your turn. For Ben.”
“We’re not done with this, understand?” I said to Bathin. “Don’t go anywhere.”
His body language had shifted, his chin lifted and tipped so that he could better see Myra over my shoulder. The heat coming off him spiked like he either couldn’t hide his reaction to her, or didn’t want to.
“I wouldn’t dream of leaving,” he said to Myra. Then, “Ben’s waiting for you, Delaney. For your delicious, delicious blood.”
Myra rolled her eyes like she couldn’t believe his nerve and I widened my eyes in an I know sort of response. She pushed the door open the rest of the way and stood aside so I could walk past her.
Even though she was pale, I knew she could handle the demon, vamp and wolves.
Ryder sat in the extra chair, his elbows braced on his thighs, head hanging, the glass of lemonade in one hand. He seemed pale and worn out too.
Donating blood directly to a critically injured vampire was a lot more taxing than doing a regular blood drive. It’s why we didn’t handle feedings this way.
I made my way over to the recliner and Mykal gave me an encouraging nod. “Ready?”
“Absolutely. How’s he doing?”
“He’s stable, but still not conscious.” He wiped the inside of my elbow with a sterilized pad, then sat on the coffee table and leaned forward to tie off my arm.
Granny and the rest of the Wolfes streamed into the house, crowding around Ben and Jame, each of them taking a turn to touch both of them. Some of his family moved off deeper into the house, and I got the feeling they were making sure the house was secure and setting up guards at the back door. Granny settled in the other chair.
Fawn, in her beautiful sable wolf form, lowered herself and curled up at Jame’s feet.
So I didn’t have to worry about Myra dealing with the weres. Good enough.
Jame wasn’t looking much better. He hadn’t once looked away from Ben, his eyes unblinking.
His arm had healed enough that he wasn’t bleeding anymore, but he hadn’t pulled it away from Ben’s mouth.
It was like he could do no more than breathe in short, shallow pants and wait for Ben to wake up. As if he were incapable of speech, thought, action, his whole existence hanging on Ben’s survival.
The needle was a tiny pinch as Mykal guided it into place. He messed with the tubing, and made sure everything was good to go.
“Do I need to do anything?”
“His body will draw it at the rate it can absorb. Just try to relax. Let me know if you experience anything stronger than a stinging sensation.”
I leaned my head back against the recliner. I wanted to keep an eye on Bathin, Rossi, Myra, and everyone else who were now in the room.
But the stinging sensation of blood being sucked out of me was a little distracting and more than a little painful. It wasn’t more than I could bear, but it was still uncomfortable. I closed my eyes, hoping to gather my energy. Soon the mumbling of voices in the room started to fade and a warm hand, Ryder’s, linked with mine.
I soaked in his presence, his strength and warmth, and nodded off.