Page 33 of Salvation
While he hated having either of them away, Aurora was right. This wasn’t a place for Luna, and this cleanup was going to take some time. Even after they had taken care of the dead, he had no idea what was next.
Go. It makes the most sense. As soon as I have word on Ella, I’ll reach out.He debated on sending someone with them, but Aurora was a capable vampire. She had a gift none of the rest of them did and had survived in this shit hole for the past year. He trusted her.
Just take care. There is a strong possibility the rouge will be back at nightfall.
Even more reason to get her away from here. Be safe.Then he closed the link, and his head was finally silent.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
Aurora had come backto the hotel and placed Luna under the care of her friend Ella while she helped clean up the bodies. She considered it one of the worst tasks she had ever completed. It hadn’t so much been the smell, even though that had been nearly unbearable. It was the fact more people had died. The final count was fifty humans and four vampires. The weight of it all had caused Wolfe’s shoulders to sag, and it made her do the one thing she had tried to steer clear of.
“You did everything you could to help them survive.” She placed her hand on his shoulder, forcing him to turn and face her. The guilt in his eyes gutted her.
“Yet it wasn’t enough.”
“You can’t blame yourself for the rouge. Hell, none of this is any of our faults. If you drill down, Lucifer is the one who started the collapse of our world by opening the gate to Hell.”
He looked back at the fire. A mass cremation for those who had been slain. It had taken some doing to get the bodies moved from around the hotel and loaded onto trucks to move them as far away as they dared go. They had to use gasoline––a precious resource––to start the fire, but Wolfe had insisted they needed to give these people some sort of proper burial and this was all they had. Everyone had agreed, and they held a candlelight ceremony last night to honor the dead.
“We need to get Luna to Kentucky.”
“Yes. I believe everyone needs the hope of this baby being born safe and healthy,” she replied.
He turned back to her, and the world around them halted. “I can’t keep doing this. Pretending I don’t want you every fucking second I breathe.” Then he grabbed her, jerked her to his hardness, and dug his fingers into her skull as he claimed her mouth. His kiss was hard, all male and as feral as he was. This male was no longer a man. He was a vampire as his fangs scraped her tongue. She had thought to not kiss him back, but how stupid an idea that had been. Memories of everything they had been through and all they had lost flooded her. Aurora went back to a time when the world had been normal, and he had still belonged to her.
Her own fangs descended, causing him to growl, but she knew it was from his desire that coursed through him because that same desire filled her own veins.
She dug her fingers into his skull. Fangs scraped across tongues and blood mingled, giving them each a taste of the other. He tasted of mint and citrus with a hint of dark chocolate. Fucking delicious. And she wanted to both devour him and savor him forever. Yet, there was a small voice in the back of her head that screamed how wrong this was. He didn’t belong to her, no matter how right this moment felt, or how perfectly they fit together. The burning on her wrist forced her to pull away.
“We can’t do this.” She took a step back and touched her swollen lips. “Our feelings do not matter.”
He rolled his fingers into his palms and squeezed. His jaw ticked. “How can they do this to us? It’s you I love. It’s always been you.”
His words cut like shards of glass. “I love you too.” She looked at her wrist and rubbed the burning mark with the fury of a woman scorned. “I hate this fucking thing!” But it refused to be rubbed away. Instead, as if in defiance, it grew darker.
* * *
Wolfe had avoidedAurora since that day he kissed her. He tried to tell himself he had been busy this past week and, while true, it was also an excellent excuse to ease his mind. Everyone had pitched in to clean up as well as forage for even the smallest supplies, but things were not looking good. The only blessing had been the rogue had not come back. Yet. Neither Wolfe nor Xavier expected their luck to last much longer.
“What is with you?” Xavier eyed Wolfe with the intense scrutiny he had always done when his friend was certain something was bugging him. “I mean, I know a lot has happened in the past few months, but you are shut off to everyone. We’ve all noticed.”
He knew Xavier was referring to those he had sired. He had closed himself off to all of them in order to avoid Aurora.
“I’ve decided I have to take Luna to Vegas. Make the first trek to get her to Kentucky. I haven’t told her yet, but I plan to leave by the end of the week.”
The other vampire’s brow rose as he polished his daggers. “I see. When were you planning to tell me? Care to share your fucking plans?”
He scraped his fingers through his hair. “It’s now or fucking never. I’m sorry to do this, but you are going to be in charge when I leave.”
“Figured as much, but who is on your team? You can’t tell me you’re going it alone.”
“I’m not that careless. I’ll take Noah since he seems to have the ability to handle sunlight now. Speaking of––”
Xavier held up his hand. “Already had all the older vampires giving themselves burns daily. Too soon to tell yet if it’s helping.”
He nodded. “Right. So, Noah, myself and at least one of the more experienced human males.”
His friend grinned. “You mean like Adam? I imagine you plan on taking Aurora. After all, her gift comes in pretty damn handy.”
