Page 65 of Bound By Love
He sensed more as she seemed sad and withdrawn, but being trapped beneath thousands of pounds of rubble and unable to escape had to take a toll on someone. “Good.”
A rattling clang came from the cavern, and another shout of joy went through the crowd. He didn’t have to see them to know they’d found another!
It had taken so many days to find the two of them; now, they’d already uncovered another. Maybe it would get easier from here on out.
Simone turned and ran toward the commotion in the cavern beyond. He almost leapt to his feet and chased after her, but he couldn’t leave Kadence.
Elyse knelt at his side and took the blood from him. “Go.”
“But—”
“Go, I have this.”
He looked to Kadence again, but he had to know who they’d found. If it was Ronan, then the best thing for Kadence was to reunite them.
Saxon rested his hand against Elyse’s cheek and kissed her before rising. He ran back down the tunnel as the beeps from the Bobcats stopped. Rocks rattled and clanged as they were tossed away from where a dozen members of the Alliance knelt. The rest of the survivors pressed close to them.
Saxon leapt up the pile of rubble. His ankle twisted a couple of times, but he didn’t let it slow him as he rushed to see who it was.
He was almost to the top when Vicky let out a cry of sorrow and joy. She pulled away from her sister as she rushed forward.
“Nathan,” he whispered.
It made sense. If they didn’t find Ronan near Kadence, then they would find her brother.
By the time he made it to them, Vicky was already holding her wrist to Nathan’s lips as the others worked to free him from the remaining debris. Nathan was so broken and battered by the crushing pile he appeared more like a pancake than a vampire.
But if Vicky was trying to feed him, then he was still alive… or at least Saxon hoped he was.
It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to have a mate completely lose it and try to bring the other half of their soul back to life by giving them blood, even if it was hopeless. His eyes darted around the rest of the crowd as he sought some answer from one of them.
Did they see something from Nathan before I got here?
He didn’t see any answers on their faces, but no one was trying to stop Vicky, so that had to be a good sign, didn’t it?
Saxon’s gaze settled on Lucien as he rested his hand on Callie’s shoulder and pulled his mate closer to his side. Then, Lucien’s eyes flicked up to meet his.
Holding his breath, Saxon waited for some sign from Lucien that everything would be okay here. Lucien must have seen the question he wanted to ask written all over his face as he nodded.
Saxon smiled before turning and heading back to Kadence and Elyse. Vicky would need blood to keep supplying Nathan, which meant the twins would be reunited soon.
CHAPTERFIFTY-FIVE
Everything hurt.There was no avoiding the pain, darkness, or hunger clawing at Caro’s insides. It tore at her throat and burned through her veins; her body was beyond parched and broken.
Her mouth was so dry she couldn’t swallow; her lips were chapped and split open. They bled in the beginning, and she eagerly licked away the blood though it did nothing to sate her increasingly ravenous appetite.
But the bleeding had stopped. She was too starved to bleed and too dehydrated to shed the tears that fell in the beginning.
Is this it? Am I going to remain trapped in this prison forever?
She was a vampire; eventually, her body would shut down from lack of blood. She’d heard of it happening before. Her father told her about it once, but she’d half figured it was a story he told her to scare her one night.
Now, she knew the truth. She would become one of those dried-up husks if she remained here. She would be too weak to move, too weak to feed, and broken in more ways than the bones smashed beneath the impact of the cave-in.
Despite her lack of blood, the wounds she sustained during the battle had healed, but having them do so had taken a toll on her and depleted her further. Pushing her closer to starvation and… and… and she didn’t know the answer to what would become of her.
And if she didn’t become a withered, dried-up husk, would she die from the insanity sure to come if she remained entombed here, alone and starving for centuries?
