Grizz
I PULL up just as a black car with dark tinted windows pulls away. Tires squeal around the corner and hideous laughter rings in my ears. Before I can give chase, a flash of red catches my eye. Down the walkway, leading from the house are red footprints, soaked with the scent of blood.
Not a good sign.
I'm off the bike and in the house in seconds. The flask burns a hole in my pocket, but instead of reaching for it, I clench my fist. I'll need every drop for the confrontation with the vampires, and something tells me that they're already gone.
Augustine's house is silent, but the scent of vampire is everywhere. My bear is out and wild. This place is silent as a fucking tomb, and something tells me this hunt won't end well.
I follow the bloody footprints backwards from the front door to the hall. They end in front of a half-open door leading to a bedroom. I push open the door. It sticks on the wet carpet, pushing through a tide of red. Blood and more blood, and just in view, a spill of red hair.
Oh no.
I stop pushing the door and enter the dark bedroom.
Jordy lies on the carpet, limbs askew. A broken, bloodstained doll for me to find. The vampires had their fun and left her.
This is my fault.
I fall to my knees and grab her hand and she whimpers. Her wrist is broken. Her eyes scan my face, wide with pain and frightened. "Grizz."
"It's okay, Kit. I'm here."
I don't bother checking her wounds. She's covered in blood. The worst tearing is over her heart, her blood leaking out with every pump. The vampires ripped her open. I want to roar and tear this place apart.
Instead I crouch beside her.
"You're here," she rasps, her fingers fumbling over my face.
"Of course I'm here." Did she think I'd stay away? Leave her to die? I shake my head. "I fucked up."
"You gotta go." She tries to raise her head and I soothe her back.
"I'm not leaving you, Jordy."
"You have to. The one eyed vampire was here. You can find him. You can track him. You can go. Have your revenge." She squeezes my fingers and lets them drop. "Go."
"Jordy."
"Go kill him, Grizz. Then you can be free." Her head lolls on her neck. Fuck, she's lost too much blood. Her fox is trying, but the shifter healing isn't happening fast enough.
"Don't leave me, Kit."
Her breath rattles in her lungs. "Wanted to give my life to someone," she rasps. "I'm glad it was you."
Fuck, no. It can't end this way. It can't.
I pull the flask from my pocket and fumble with the cap. Gotta be quick, there's not much time.
"Here." I put the flask to her lips. "You need to drink this." Vampire blood-the most healing substance on earth.
Her lips move as if to protest. I shove the bottle into her mouth and tip it. Blood pours into her mouth. Dark, rich red.
She sputters, shaking her head.
"You will," I order. "Drink it all."
I wait until she drains it and race out, return with the cooler. The blood of the vampire king-the most potent there is. If anything can heal her, this can.
"Drink," I command with all the dominance in me. I force bag after bag into her, and pour the rest over her broken body. All of the blood meant to give me revenge. Every drop.
Finally, it's done. She lies in a red pool, her eyes closed. I wait for a long time, listening to her breath. Slow, but steady. Not much, but it's something.
I rush to find all the blankets I can and put them around her. Fates, is her chest still moving? The wounds still look bad, but there's no fresh blood leaking out of her. With any luck, the healing's begun.
"Fight through it, Kit. You can do it, little fox." I lay beside her and smooth her hair from her face. Her skin is chilled. Fuck. "You can't leave me, Jordy. You just can't. Not now. Not when I'm finally coming to my senses." Fuck, my eyes hurt. I blink a few times. Must be the strain. I haven't cried since my mother died.
But there's wet on my face when I put an arm around Jordy and press my face into her blood soaked hair. "Live, Kit. Live for me. Because, from now on, I live for you."
A slight noise and her mouth parts, her chest rising and falling. "That's it. That's right," I murmur, pressing closer. The healing has begun. "When you wake up, I'll be here. Because I choose you."
A WHIMPER WAKES ME. I open my eyes and the sun hits me in the face. It's high in the sky. Shit, I fell asleep? Jordy lies still beside me. For a horrible second I think that-but no, her chest is still moving. Her face and body are matted with dried blood, but underneath her wounds have healed.
I head to the bathroom, grab a fancy towel, and spend a few minutes washing the blood off her face and chest. About halfway through, her eyes slowly open.
"Hey." I stroke back her hair.
"Grizz? What-" her eyes flash around frantically. "What happened? Augustine-"
"He's gone. The vampires are all gone." For now. But I gotta move her soon, in case they come back.
"But, I thought-"
"I couldn't leave you, Kit. I made a mistake, but I'm not going to leave you again."
Her forehead wrinkles and I smooth the lines away. She relaxes into my touch. It's scary, how much she trusts me.
"How you feeling?"
She tries to shrug and gives a little groan.
"Easy. You're okay."
"I don't know what happened. The vampires..."
"Beat you and left you for dead."
Her hand falls, her eyes round with pain. "I remember."
"Kit, I'm so sorry."
"It's all right." She starts to struggle upright, then sits up quickly, casting a wondering glance around her. "I feel…fine." She tests the word, raising a hand in front of her face and staring at it. "Better than fine actually."