His fangs elongated into sharp tips that pressed against his lower lip, ready to bite into his wrist. He ignored the way his dick twitched, certain he’d burn in hell for being turned-on by the concept of her lips on his skin, taking any part of his body inside herself, when she may be dying.

She whimpered when he freed the covering from her face and upper body.

The wound at her throat sent pure rage coursing inside him. The Vampire had bitten her, tearing tender flesh. It no longer bled, which meant the water had stopped the bleeding. It was an affront that she’d been savaged; a forced bite was akin to rape. It would probably scar, marking her for the rest of her life. It was tempting to lick it closed, but she couldn’t take his blood if he ended up swallowing some of hers.

A new thought struck and he bit his tongue, making it bleed. He coated his thumb and gently rubbed blood over the worst of the savage bite on her throat. He switched hands and did it again so none of her blood entered his mouth.

The Vampire bite began to heal. It might not leave a scar after all.

It took considerable control to stifle the snarl that nearly choked his throat. His gaze lifted from the horrific sight of the bite, up to her face. There were no obvious marks on it, no sign of more trauma. He studied her head and his fingers tenderly dug into her wet hair, feeling for anything to indicate skull damage. It felt perfectly shaped, no dents or bumps.

She kept her eyes closed, her face slightly turned away. She resisted when he attempted to turn her head. Another whimper nearly shredded his control.

“Let me see what he did, sunshine.”

Her eyes opened and tears slid out, rolling down the sides of her face.

He barely noticed them, too engrossed by what else he saw.

Her irises glowed a luminous blue.

The sudden way his stomach clenched, as if he’d been punched, rapidly expelled his breath in a gasp when the meaning hit.

He knew her well—and she didn’t have that ability. She had lovely blue eyes but they never took on a supernatural quality. Those weren’t human eyes peering back at him.

Her mouth parted and he was in for another unpleasant shock. Her incisors were more pronounced, longer than the rest of her upper teeth.

“Please don’t kill me,” she pleaded.

His chest tightened until he couldn’t draw air into his lungs. His mind didn’t want to accept the truth but it couldn’t be denied.

He suddenly wished he’d gone after the bastard who had attacked her. He wanted to rip him apart a piece at a time, starting at the limbs. Crush bones. Make him suffer before tying him up in the shade to wait for dawn. It would be a slow, agonizing death that would last for a few hours without direct sunlight to speed the process of him burning to ash.

Her expression twisted in pain and she jerked in his arms, her back arching as she cried out in distress. Her breasts pressed flush against his chest. He cupped the back of her head to protect it when she convulsed. He shifted his position enough to get his other arm under her, taking her with him when he rolled onto his back. Her slight frame sprawled over his larger one while he cushioned her from the ground. The shaking went on for what seemed like forever before she stilled.

Soft pants were the only sound from her while Lorn stared up into the hard-packed dirt and rock above them. Greif became a blade in his heart.

The Vampire hadn’t killed her. He’d done far worse.

Something thumped from above and every instinct inside Lorn burst to life. He snarled, ready to push her out of the way to safety. He’d fight to keep anyone from reaching Kira.

It didn’t matter who was up there at this point. Most of his clan would attempt to end her life once they realized the truth.

Lavos appeared, his face at the entrance. “Is she alive? The Vampire is toast.”

“Go away,” Lorn growled.

“Fuck. It’s that bad? Hand her out and we’ll run like hell to our doctor. Maybe he can do something. I hear her breathing.”

No one could fix what had been done to Kira. There would be no undoing it. To take blood from a half-breed would heal her, but blood from a full Vampire would attack her mostly human system. The signs couldn’t be denied. She didn’t have enough Lycan immunity to combat the infection. It had already taken hold, giving her fangs and shimmering eyes.

Lorn struggled to find calm and rationality but it wasn’t within his grasp.

The first time Kira had really come to his attention had been when she was four years old. His father had forbidden him to even speak to the mostly human child living amongst their kind. Davis had brought her to the clan, but Decker had been clear she wasn’t welcome. The adults whispered one word when it came to the child.

Abomination.

He’d known it meant something bad but she hadn’t seemed dangerous to Lorn. Her light brown hair had fallen in a messy tangle down her back and big blue eyes had given her a fragile look, with her diminutive bone structure and size. He’d been surprised she wasn’t younger, since VampLycans tended to grow fast. A four-year-old from his clan would have been thirty pounds heavier and at least half a foot taller before reaching that age.

His mother had left him in the care of Brista. Seven other children were there that day and six of them had surrounded the mostly human child. Nabby was much older but he’d gotten into trouble, his punishment to be babysat at the age of twelve by the village caregiver. It was a form of humiliation. Lorn always avoided the bully but it angered him to see the jerk shove Kira. She was a fourth of Nabby’s size, with no chance of fighting back.

She didn’t cry out when she slammed into the ground but instead climbed back to her feet. Her tiny hands had brushed off the dirt from her jeans and shirt, then cleared the hair that had blocked her view of the one tormenting her. Her chin jutted out as she glared at him.

“I’ll get back up,” she promised. “You’re not allowed to make me bleed or hurt me real bad.”

The girl had courage, and a warm admiration sparked inside Lorn.

Nabby growled a threat as he opened his hands, partially shifting forms. It was apparent he didn’t plan to play by the rules.

Lorn had reacted, prepared to go to her defense if need be. He wasn’t really a match for the older boy yet but he refused to watch claws tear into her. She didn’t have any of her own.

Brista suddenly arrived and frowned. “Nabby, leave it alone. It’s no fun to toy with useless things.”