“Maybe not right away, eventually, once his temperature goes down and the effects abate,” he tells me, and I sigh, gazing down at Kyson. My anger toward him is not worth his life; Damian is right about that. I hear the door click shut and lock as he leaves.

Readjusting myself, I sit up, untangling the sheet, my legs straddling his waist, yet his arm is dead weight and heavy as I move. Using my free hand, I turn his face to the side before feeling my mark on my neck, wondering if it matters where I mark him. I have two marks from him and can feel they overlap each other, so I figure anywhere between the neck and shoulder must be OK. My gums tingle just at the mere thought of marking him.

His bare chest is inviting, and I want to run my tongue over it.Mark him first,I try to remind myself, shaking my head. I kind of wish Damian was still here. It is easier to keep my thoughts straight and fight the urges rolling over me.

Leaning down, his chest brushes against mine, making my skin electrify, and I moan at the feeling as it races toward the apex of my legs. I sniff his neck, his scent making my mouth water, and I feel my canines elongate when I run my tongue over his marking spot. My canines buzz as they graze his flesh and prickhis skin. The moment his blood touches my tongue, I sink them into his neck. I intended to be gentle; however, my body has a mind of its own as I feel them slide through muscle and tissue before bottoming out when I bite him like a damn animal.

I briefly think I did it wrong when I am smashed with his aura and essence. I feel it roll over every inch of me, filling every atom and making every nerve come alive. My pupils dilate and expand, blowing wider and clearer. The feeling of him is bleeding into me, his life force moving through me and connecting to mine. It makes me gasp and choke on his blood as it fills my mouth.

My entire body buzzes and warms as our bond is forged and sealed. A sense of wholeness envelops me. I pull my teeth from his neck, running my tongue over his mark, and he shivers but does not wake. With a sigh, I lay down on him, burying my face in his neck and inhaling his scent.Please wake up.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

My body shut down. However, I can hear everything going on around me clearly. Everything! Damian’s frantic screams for help are loud, but my body feels foreign to me, numb. I can no longer feel the cool breeze or the hands grabbing and moving me. All feeling is completely gone. Although my mind is alert. I only know I am being moved because I can hear what is happening around me. It is like my body suddenly died, and I am just a conscious mind living inside an empty shell.

“Fuck! He’s burning up!” I hear Liam gasp somewhere off the side of me.

“I will get the doctor,” Clarice says somewhere off in the distance.

“No! Just open the doors. He needs Azalea. It’s her heat!” Damian says.

“Liam, grab the other side of him,” Damian orders.

I can hear them climbing the stairs, their feet moving on the corridor floors, and the creak and groan of the doors being ripped open.

“Dustin already brought Azalea up here?” Damian asks someone before I hear Trey’s voice.

“Yes. Gannon just escorted him back to his room,” Trey answers.

“Open the door,” Damian tells him. I can smell Azalea’s scent. It’s odd… I have a sense of her, yet not my own body.

“Out, Trey; you aren’t needed in here now.”

“Yes, Beta,” Trey answers, and I hear the door click shut.

“Help me get him on the bed and strip him down,” Damian says to Liam.

“Now what?” Liam asks.

I feel nothing and can only listen as they try to figure out what to do.

“Um, ah, he is gonna kill me! I need to strip her down, too, but if she wakes, I know she will look for Abbie,” Damian curses.

“I have some Justin’s handcuffs,” Liam says.

“Some… what?” Damian asks, and I am wondering the same thing.

“Justin’s handcuffs. Just in case you need ‘em. Here, I keep a pair on me at all times, you know, just in case I need to handcuff someone.”

“I don’t even want to know what you get up to.”

“Indeed, you don’t, Beta. Now, I am a team player. If needed, I will perform,” Liam says.

“Perform what? Give me those handcuffs,” Damian says.

“I can swing both ways. If it saves the king, I can close my eyes and stick one in him,” Liam says.

If I could move, I would have strangled him for saying that. I’ll have to remember.