Blood Magic by Laken Cane

Chapter Thirty-Five

Bastien was wrong.

The supernaturals in the biker club did notice me. When I fell through the door into their club, dragging a bloody, barely conscious—because yes, he had regained consciousness before we’d left the tunnel—human behind me, they jumped to their feet and rushed to help me.

They wore a variety of bandanas and caps, leather jackets, denim vests, and boots, and I would not have known they were nonhumans if Bastien hadn’t told me they were. I was sure some of them were human bikers, but at that moment, I really didn’t care.

“I’ve got him, honey,” a big, grizzled man said, gently taking the detective from me. “I’ve got him.”

“Take her to the back,” the bartender called. “Get her a bed and call the doctor.”

I shook my head. “I have a car waiting. I need to get him…” Where? The hospital? No, couldn’t do that. Then I knew. I’d take him to my pack. Jared would help me. He’d call in the pack’s doctor, Ben Hayes, and they would fix the detective up. He’d be okay. He had to be. “I have a place to go,” I finished.

They didn’t argue, and the man who’d taken Rick from me carried him toward the door. As we crossed the wooden floor, a small woman came running with a pair of jeans. I took them gratefully and pulled them on, not even a little shy. The jacket covered my private parts, but just barely, and the jeans were warm and soft.

“Thank you,” I said at the door. “Thank you.”

They nodded and murmured, and then I was hurrying through the parking lot after the big man who carried my detective.

“Joe,” I yelled, angry that my voice was so damn weak.

And then Joe was there, striding across the dark back parking lot, and he didn’t say a word or try to pick me up and carry me, the way my alpha would have…he simply shot me a glare, glanced at the detective and the man carrying him, then gestured abruptly.

“Car’s over here.”

The fact that he didn’t treat me like I was half dead cheered me considerably, and I hurried along behind him, feeling immediately stronger—at least in my mind. But even my body seemed to be repairing itself in a hurry. I needed food. A steak would definitely help things along.

Hunger roared over me, so huge and hurtful that I doubled over from the pain in my stomach. As Joe helped the biker place Rick in the back seat, I hurried to the front to see if I could find something to eat. Unfortunately, there wasn’t so much as a lone fry that had fallen into the floor.

The biker came to my door. “Are you okay?”

I gave him my hand. “I will be. Thank you.”

He shook my hand. “Name’s Mason. You need help, you just stop by anytime and ask for me.”

“Thanks, Mason. I’m Kait.”

He winked. “I know who you are.” He let go of my hand and shut my door as Joe climbed into the driver’s side. I watched him as he strode back to the club, smiling.

“Where are we going?” Joe asked, still angry.

“I need to get him to Shadowfield. Jared will see that he’s taken care of.”

He nodded. “Dammit, girl—”

“I know,” I interrupted, “but we’ll fight about it later. I’m okay, Joe.”

He snorted. “You are a lot of things, Kait Silver. Okay is not one of them.”

He wasn’t wrong. I shrugged. “I hate to delay things further, but I really need some food. My stomach is killing me.”

“You’re covered with blood and some horrific looking injuries, but you want to eat. Your stomach is killing you.” And finally, he laughed.

From the back seat, Rick groaned, then muttered something I couldn’t understand. I didn’t think he was awake, not really, but his semiconsciousness coming out of the tunnel meant it wouldn’t be long until whatever was going on with his mind loosened its hold.

I twisted in my seat and reached back to feel for his hand. “You’re okay, Detective. We’ve got you.”

His skin was cold, and he didn’t respond to my voice or my touch at all. He was somewhere in vampire mind-control dreamland, and it was going to take him a little bit to find his way out.

But for now, he was safe.

“Do you think he’ll remember?” Joe pulled into the first drive-thru he came to. There were three cars ahead of us, even at this time of night.

“Brenda Ferguson didn’t,” I said. Then, “I hope he doesn’t.”

“Even if he doesn’t, he’s going to need an explanation.”

I only nodded. I’d cross that worrisome bridge if we came to it. “Order me the same as earlier,” I told him.

He shook his head but did as I asked. “At least I can be sure you’re not a vampire.” Then, “What happened in there, Kait?”

“We had to fight a shit ton of vampires to get to Rick, and then there were those tunnel trolls. They nearly got the best of me.”

“What about Bastien?”

“He hung back to take their heads.” I bit into my thick burger, unable to stop a moan as hot grease shot into my mouth. Damn, that was good. “He’ll be okay.”

“And Remy?”

“He took off.”

“What did—”

“Dammit, Joe, let me eat the delicious food.”

“Sorry.”

After I’d devoured my burgers I sat back, my hand on my belly. I let my window down a little so the cool air could hit my face. “I didn’t get Axton, but I’ll hunt him down once Rick is safe.”

“Lucy and Max called,” Joe said. “I told them you were fine. Lucy said to call her when you can.”

I slapped my jacket pocket reflexively, realizing I’d lost my phone when I’d shifted. “Can I borrow your phone, Joe? I need to check in with my mother.”

She didn’t answer. When the call went to voicemail, I immediately tried again, but my hands were already shaking. My first thought wasn’t that Axton had found her—it was that Zach had gone nuts and slaughtered her and her housemates. My second thought was that Adam Thorne had gone back to try again to capture her to control me.

But Joe slammed his foot down on the gas pedal and sped toward Shadowfield. “Axton found them,” he muttered, and I knew that was the right guess. Axton wanted his human slave back. I had no idea what had happened between the two of them. I only knew Axton was obsessed with Zach and that Joe was right. Axton had gone after the man he’d enslaved.

I called Jared. “I need you to send wolves to my mother’s house,” I said, attempting to keep the wobble out of my voice. “I think Axton is there. I’m taking the detective to the pack and then I’ll join you.”

“Are you okay?” His voice curled around my brain and my heart and made me wish he would suddenly appear so he could wrap me up in his arms and protect me.

I shook my head hard, attempting to dislodge those thoughts. Shut up, wolf. But my wolf wanted her alpha, and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it. I had to take a couple of deep breaths before I could speak. “I don’t know.”

“I’ll rouse Ben and have everything ready for the detective before you get here. And I will see you at your mother’s.” He hung up.

Neither Joe nor I spoke again until the detective was safe at Shadowfield. The doctor and nurse were already there, waiting at the street with a stretcher and three aides, and Jared and his wolves were gone.

“Let us tend you, Kait,” Ben said, his mournful stare on my injuries and the blood that colored my flesh and clothes.

I shook my head. “There’s no time for that. I’ll heal, Doc.”

He grinned. “Doc.”

I smoothed Rick’s hair as I stared down at him, taking a moment to just focus on him. I hadn’t allowed myself to really see him, to think about the damage that had been done to him, to wonder if he would come out of it fully intact. No way would he come out of it unchanged, whether he remembered or not. Those memories would come out in other ways, eventually. I didn’t want to be negative, but I did not think he was going to come out of this unchanged.

His eyes were closed but he was less…comatose looking. His body twitched, his hands occasionally clenched, and maybe he was a little less pale. They’d covered him with a heated blanket, and it had hidden most of the marks the vampires had given him. I wondered if, when he awakened and saw them, he would know what they were. I wondered if he could be convinced he’d been attacked by animals.

I leaned down and put my mouth close to his ear. “Rick.” But I didn’t know what else to say. Finally, I just stood back and nodded for the aides to take him away.