Part 25 (1/2)

Screw this.

Leo was worried about the threat coming from Rayce, but Rose was the one standing closest to him. And had he learned nothing from their last little episode? She shoved the angel to the ground and Rose was the one who grabbed Leo's hand. She jerked his wrist forward and her teeth sank into him. His blood pulsed into her mouth, hot and powerful, just like before.

”No!” Julian bellowed. ”Rose, please, no!”

It was too late. She'd attacked. Leo yanked back beneath her touch but she didn't let him go.

”Angel, get out of here!” Rayce yelled. ”Fly away-now!”

Now...while Leo was distracted.

Now...while Leo was weak.

But...oddly...she was the one who felt weak.

Rose and Leo both fell to the ground, their knees. .h.i.tting the sand. She still didn't let him go.

She heard the rush of wings. That would be the angel, flying to safety. Getting far enough away from Leo that he couldn't control her. And then she felt hands on her. Strong, warm hands that were tipped with claws. Those hands pulled her away from Leo. She blinked and found herself staring up at Julian. She tried to smile for him.

Fear had deepened the lines on his face. ”Oh, love, what did you do?”

She'd...helped.

”You're dead,” Leo rasped.

Julian lifted her into his arms. ”Watch your f.u.c.king mouth, b.a.s.t.a.r.d.” Julian's hold tightened on her.

Leo surged to his feet. His blood dripped into the sand. ”That vamp is dead!” He lunged for her and Julian, but Luke blocked him.

The twins faced off.

”I think you're mistaken,” Luke murmured, his voice as gentle as a breeze. ”You see...Rose is a vampire. That means she's under my dominion. A creature of the dark. You have no say about what happens to her. And if you so much as twitch in her direction...we'll finally have that battle that has been prophesized for centuries.”

The waves crashed onto the sh.o.r.e.

Fire began to burn inside of Rose's body. Just like before...just like when she'd had Leo's blood in her and it had started to burn her up, from the inside out. ”J-Julian?” Now she was the one afraid.

He stared down at her, and his bright eyes were all she could see. Everything else was getting too dark.

”She wasn't supposed to have my blood!” Leo yelled. ”It is poison! She barely survived once-it will hit her even harder this time. She's dying! I wasn't threatening her-I was telling you what's happening. She's dead-and there is nothing either of us can do for her now!”

Julian's hold tightened on her.

She wanted to smile for him.

She couldn't.

”Love...don't go,” he whispered.

”I...choose...” She had to say this. He needed to always know. ”You.”

Her fangs were gone.

”Why doesn't the vamp have fangs anymore?” Rayce muttered.

Because something was f.u.c.king wrong.

Julian lowered Rose onto his bed. She'd been drifting in and out of consciousness while he carried her to the house. He'd begged her to drink from him, pus.h.i.+ng her mouth to his throat as he hauled a.s.s to get her to a safe place but...

Her fangs hadn't come out.

”It's okay, love,” he said, hating the fact that his voice came out so rough and ragged, as if everything was very much not okay. ”I'll take care of you.” He slashed open his wrist and forced her to take his blood. It had worked before. It would work again.

The blood dripped into her mouth. Julian ma.s.saged her throat, forcing her to swallow. But...

Her body seemed to be getting warmer to the touch. Too warm. As if she were feverish.

”Drink, Rose. Drink for me.”

A hard hand closed around his shoulder. ”She can't.” Luke's voice. Sounding sad. Luke was never sad. He didn't have time for emotions.

Julian didn't look back at him. ”This happened before. She bit your a.s.shole of a brother once before, and I gave her my blood and everything was fine.” Her cheeks were flushed. Not just her cheeks. Her neck, her collarbone. Her arms.

”She's burning up, from the inside out.” Again, Luke's voice was sad. ”It won't matter how much blood you give her. My brother wasn't lying. His blood is poison to vamps. She...didn't really survive the first time.”

What? That was bulls.h.i.+t, of course she'd survived.

”The first time she had his blood, the poison got in her body.”

Julian kept his hand to her mouth. ”And I gave her my blood. I diluted that tainted c.r.a.p of his. She came back fine.”

”The poison stayed in her body, but it was dormant, waiting for another exposure. That's how it works. One bite to begin, one bite to end.”

What?

”Her heart is going to burn up. She'll burn in front of you. You should...step back. Let her go.”

Dazed, Julian couldn't move at all.

”f.u.c.k,” Rayce swore from the corner of the room. ”I'm so sorry, man.”

No, this wasn't happening.

He stared down at Rose. Her hair was spread on the pillows behind her head. It just looked as if she were sleeping. And he remembered another time...

Rose had been lying in a bed, blood on her body. She'd been so still. But she hadn't been warm to the touch. She'd been ice cold and he'd known he was losing her.

So he'd turned to Luke Thorne, and he'd made a deal. ”Bring her back, Luke. Change her. She can't die.”