I narrowed my eyes at them both. “I don’t care what the Queen expects—or doesn’t—or anyone else for that matter. If I can save Naomi, I’m going to do it. She’s already proven herself loyal on this journey. And Danny was willing to give it to her, even in the shape he’s in.” I indicated to his bleeding body. “There’s no reason for me not to try.” I yanked up my shirtsleeve to prove my point. I stared at my brother, both of our eyes sparking, each of us growling. “You can leave if you can’t take it, but I’m not going to stand by and let her die when I have a chance to save her. And after I’m done, I’m saving Danny, even if I have to give him a blood transfusion. Do you hear me? Neither of them is going to die if I can help it.” My voice came out in a wash of power all on its own, my wolf chiming in with a ferocious snarl.
Tyler took an inadvertent step back, frustration and anger creasing his brows. “If you think I’m going to stay here and see you sacrifice yourself to save a vamp, think again.” He turned and stormed off into the forest. I knew he wouldn’t go far. He wouldn’t leave Danny for very long.
Once he was gone, I scooted next to Naomi. She was so broken. I swallowed. “Okay, what do I do?” I turned to Eamon, who seemed as stunned as Tyler that I was actually going to go through with it. “Eamon.” I snapped my fingers in front of his face. “Let’s get moving. What do I do now?’
Eamon physically shook himself. “Bring your wrist up to her mouth. I do not know if the venom has rendered her senses deadened or not, but once she has the taste of your blood on her lips, she should latch on by herself. When you feel she’s taken enough, you will need to sever the contact by ripping your wrist away. She will not let go on her own. If you do not, she will drink you dry.”
Well… hmm.
I had a throwing knife sheathed on my waist. I drew it out and positioned it above my wrist. My wolf snarled a warning, making me falter for a moment. What? You don’t want to save a life? You were behind me just a moment ago. She snapped her jaws twice, showing me a picture of wolves—only wolves—surrounding us. A life is a life, even an undead one. Naomi was forced to help us by her Queen and she doesn’t deserve to end like this—I don’t care if she’s not our kind. She lifted her head once, brought it back down, and sat, resigned.
I exhaled the breath I’d held and sliced the knife cleanly across my wrist. Blood flowed out in a rush, but I had to move quickly because it wouldn’t run for long.
I angled my wrist down toward Naomi’s mangled lips, dripping blood onto them and into her mouth. She stirred after a moment, moaning faintly.
Eamon’s breath hitched as he watched my blood flow into his sister’s mouth. Vampires didn’t need to breathe, but in order to talk they had to take in air. “I must leave now.” He rose quickly. “Thank you… for helping her. It is a debt we will repay as required by our laws, decided by our Queen.” He shot up into the air.
Right then Naomi latched on to my wrist. Her sharp teeth punctured it deeply, hitting bone. “Jesus!” I yelled, grabbing on to my forearm with my other hand to keep it in place, resisting the urge to pull back as she began sucking ravenously. My wolf let out a howl in my mind. It’s okay. We’ll pull back soon.
“Jessica,” Danny whispered, turning his head slightly. “I’d like to point out that you have always been my favorite.” He smiled grimly, obviously in pain. “You have something in spades that we wolves sorely lack. Compassion. Please don’t ever forget it.”
“Danny”—my voice full of sorrow—“I know for a fact beef jerky has always been your favorite. And I’m telling you right now, I’m going to fix this. Promise me you’ll stay with me. We’re going to find a way to make this better as soon as I’m done here.”
As Naomi sucked, I wondered how long was long enough. I peered at her body as she took my blood. Her skin looked a little better, almost like it was thinking of knitting back together.
“Ahhhhh.” Without warning her eyes shot open and her mouth detached, surprising me. She blinked twice, focusing on me as I leaned above her. “What are you doing?” she accused, my blood streaming down the side of her mouth, her eyes looking crazed and wide, oscillating from flecks of mercury to jet black, and back again.
“Um.” I sat back on my haunches and wrapped my ripped wrist tightly with my other hand to stanch the flow. The bleeding stopped almost immediately. “We thought you were dying, so I gave you my blood. I also thought you weren’t going to let go of me on your own. So that was a shocker.”
She sat up slowly, Dracula-style, bending smoothly at the waist. She was still mangled, but her face was starting to repair itself at a rapid pace. “What did you say?” she asked, her eyes still eerie and unfocused.
“I said I gave you my blood.”
“Why would you do such a thing?”
“I just covered this—you would’ve died otherwise. The venom was going to kill you. I didn’t know what else to do. Eamon said this would work and that drinking the blood of an immortal was your only hope.”
She glanced down her body, startled, her eyes easing back to their normal hazel color. “What has happened to me? I do not remember.” She spread her arms out, taking in her injuries, her lips curling in distaste—a look I was used to seeing on her brother’s face, not hers.