Page 26 of Salvation
“When I met up with Adam and his group, I froze the four men in time while I drank from Adam.”
This time his eyes widened so much she thought they might pop from his head. “Holy fuck. Can you do that on anyone? Is there any effect on them afterwords? What about a vampire, or better yet, a demon?”
She shrugged. “I’ve never tried it on a vampire, as you guys are the only ones I’ve ever met. It works on low-level demons and, as far as I can tell, they simply step back into their reality like nothing ever happened. I’ve never held anyone long enough for them to really miss any time.” She turned completely and leaned against the wall. “Lilith seems to think it will grow stronger as time goes by.”
“That’s a real handy weapon you wield. I’d like to see it in action.”
“Sure. I suppose. Ashley told me I have special abilities that have yet to reach their potential and that I was destined to help Luna get to Kentucky.”
“Speaking of Kentucky, I heard from my brother they finally made it to Vegas. He said they ran into some blocked roads but nothing they couldn’t handle. Of course, the city is full of demons like any other, but they’ve not had any trouble. Yet.”
“Then when do we leave? Luna needs to get to the others to have this baby.”
He scrubbed his fingers through short brown hair. “We really need to test your skills, and Wolfe needs to know. I’m assuming he does not?”
She shook her head. “You are the first one I’ve told.”
“You know, he talked about you all the time. When we were on missions and had free time. I remember how excited he was to get back home and ask you to marry him. After the change, he only spoke of hope that you were alive someplace and safe.”
“I know this wasn’t his fault no more than it was mine. But, we are different now. Maybe if he wasn’t about to become a father, we might be able to pick back up where we left off.”
He nodded. “I just got word that Adam and his team got back a little while ago.”
“Did they have any luck?”
“No. As we suspected, the marina was empty of any working boat. People tried to escape any way they could.”
“Can’t say I blame them. To be honest, before I knew you guys were here, leaving never occurred to me. I mean, where was I going to go? Lilith was here. Not that she wouldn’t go anywhere I did, but I figured the city was the best place to rebuild. That was until Lilith started telling me how many had really died. I started to wonder if this city would ever be rebuilt.”
“I honestly believe Kentucky is our best bet. The issue is getting everyone there. Especially the vampires who are still struck down by the sun.”
“What’s with that, anyway? I have never had any issues.”
He shrugged. “Part of the plague is all we can figure.”
“I have heard it has done strange things to people. Like turn some into shifters.”
“Yeah, we heard the same too before our communications were cut off.”
By now, the two of them were back inside the hotel walking through the lobby when Wolfe approached and, keeping pace beside him, was Adam. Aurora waited for some kind of sign. Was her skin supposed to tingle? Shouldn’t her fangs throb? Well, actually they did because she was hungry, and Adam had tasted really fucking good. Her gaze flicked to Wolfe, and she wondered what he tasted like. Not that she didn’t already know because they had spent so much time together, but she bet he tasted even better now that she was a vampire.
“Aurora, Xavier. How does the training go?” Wolfe asked.
“She catches on quickly.”We need to talk to you about Aurora’s special talents.Xavier’s voice came through her head, and she could only imagine this was now a three-way conversation.
Wolfe gave a slight tilt of his head.Then we shall go some place private as soon as I tend to this mating thing between these two.
He smiled, but it never reached his eyes. There was definitely pain in their depths. Pain she knew only too well.
* * *
If Wolfe had thoughtthe Red Death and its aftermath were enough to deal with, he had been dead wrong. Handing the woman he loved over to another man was far worse. He had never been more tempted to tell fate to go fuck herself, or himself. Whichever the case may be.
“Aurora, I believe you already know Adam. I’ve explained the situation to him.” Adam had been pissed to learn he had been bitten without his permission, but even more so when he was told she had a mating mark.
“Let’s get something straight right here and now,” Adam said as he stared Aurora down. “I don’t trust you. That is something you are going to have to earn from me and if I find out that you bite me again without my consent, then we are done.”
“I’m sorry. I had no idea what I was dealing with and yes, I used you to gain information about the others. I vow to never do that again.” She stuck her hand out. “Start over?”
