Page 23 of Fangs and Family
‘I’m glad you’re willing to stick to your side of the bargain because right after I finish my business on Leszek’s island, I’m taking you to my apartment,’ I said, wincing, the pain and guilt making me sound harsher than I intended.
‘Fine! Can’t you just… be a little nicer about it? I know I have to go, but can I at least pack some clothes and a toothbrush? Or do you want me barefoot and chained to the fridge like an easy snack,’ she retorted, and I barked out a laugh at the image, immediately regretting it as a sharp pain shot down my arm, numbing it.
‘There’s nothing easy about you, Nina, and yes, I’ll take you home to pack.’ I said, but something inside me wanted to distance myself from the men from her past and offer an explanation for some of my motives.
‘I know the bargain we struck sounds one-sided, but the situation has become dangerous, and yes, I was a dick about it, and I’m sorry for that. My need for your blood isn’t some twisted kink to make you suffer; I will need to be stronger, and for that… well, you know.’
The image of Nina chained in my kitchen, with not only her feet bared to me, flashed before my eyes, and I smiled in wicked delight. ‘Of course, I remember how adventurous you could be, so if you want to be chained up in my home, I’m sure we could arrange it.’ The words slipped out before I realised, so the punch to the shoulder wasn’t entirely unexpected.
‘Can’t you be serious for more than five seconds? Do you think they’ll try again?’ She asked, the second question more subdued than I liked.
‘They’ll likely try again, yes, but you’re with me, and I won’t let anything happen to my favourite snack.’ I teased to ease Nina’s tension. It earned me a thunderous glare that made my grin wider, especially when I noticed her lip twitch in a hesitant smile.
‘You care a lot about your diet, it seems,’ Nina said as she turned away, looking through the side window, but I could see in the reflection she was trying to hide her smile.
‘You have no idea,’ I answered, feeling happy for the first time in two years.
Chapter 8
Icalled Leszek as the traffic slowed to a crawl, letting Michal, his assistant, know we were coming. I could hear Sara’s excited voice in the background, asking if there were snacks in the pantry or if she should order pizza. It was good she was there as it helped relieve some of the tension in Nina’s shoulders. My woman needed her friend, and I intended to give them as much space as they desired before I told Nina what I’d already learned about her brother’s past.
We were barely through the door when Michal and Sara appeared in the hallway.
‘Oh fuck! What happened? Michal, we need the first aid kit and towels, lots of them. Oh, and grab Leszek’s sweats for Adam!’ Sara shouted, waiting until Michal left before embracing Nina and guiding us into the living room. Leszek must have heard the commotion because he emerged from his office, his eyebrows lowered as soon as he saw me, then grabbed my shoulder, pushing me toward the wet room. I cursed when his fingers dug into the still-bleeding knife wound, sending me to my knees, trying to catch my breath and fighting against the excruciating pain.
‘Adam!’ Nina was instantly by my side, wrapping her arm around my waist and pulling me upright.
‘You are still injured? How?’ Leszek looked positively bewildered, and I would have laughed at the Forest Lord’s confusion if not for the pouring blood from the wound his friendly grasp had reopened.
‘You told me you would heal! You moron! I can’t believe I let you drive in this state. Why do I keep trusting you?’ Nina was frantically shouting at me while I tried to support my own weight.
My woman baffled me. Nina had kept her cool when her brother called and seemed calm after I fought with the other vampires, but now she completely lost it. She grabbed one of the knives strapped to my belt and used it to rip off the remains of my jacket and the shirt beneath it. I should have stopped her and simply shifted to the shadow, but… I didn’t want to, enjoying the dramatic expression of her worry for me, so I sank back to my knees, letting her do as she pleased with my clothes.
‘Sara, do you have a suture kit?’ She called over her shoulder, and the doctor gave a mocking salute and trotted to the bathroom.
‘On it, Matron,’ she replied, rushing at Nina’s impatient glare.
‘I thought you’d heal like shifters do when you banished your wings. Why did you have to pull this macho, silent bullshit in front of me? You know, we could’ve gone to the clinic and had it fixed, but, no, you had to come back and talk to your boss about the fight. Gods, I could strangle you right now.’ Nina kept talking while cleaning the wound.
I occasionally hissed as the pain grew too much, but I loved every second. I could deal with much more just to know she cared. Nina was worried because I was injured, and that felt good. I had to admit, despite berating me like a stray dog that had stolen a sausage, her ministrations were gentle, efficient and much less painful than I expected.
‘Wings? Did I hear something about wings?’ Sara asked, returning with gloves and unpacking a suture kit.
Nina grinned, and for some reason, I began to worry.
‘Oh, tall, dark, and sparkly here, has two massive fluffy angel wings, though I think his halo might have fallen off a while ago, as he thought lying to me about his injury was perfectly acceptable. He assured me that this would heal, but it’s still bleeding.’ She said, stepping away to show my back to Sara.
‘Sparkly?’ I asked, my lips twitching in barely restrained laughter, especially when Nina nodded eagerly.
My gaze met Leszek’s, and my boss, the all-powerful god of wild places, raised his hand in a gesture of surrender and, with an all-knowing smirk, he quietly withdrew to the office. ‘When they are done with you… Sparkles, I will come back with some medicinal whisky and a clean set of clothes. Your mess, you deal with it.’
‘Coward.’ I mouthed silently, feeling the sting of a needle piercing my skin, having second thoughts. I should have locked myself in the bathroom and shifted to the void instead of allowing the ladies to practise embroidery on my skin with their human healing techniques while my friend abandoned me to my fate.
Half an hour later, my back no longer felt like one massive gaping hole, and I finally started relaxing. Nina and Sara went to the bathroom to, in their words, deal with the gory aftermath and discard my shredded clothes while I sat there half-naked in my briefs with a skilfully bandaged shoulder. Leszek emerged from his office holding two tumblers of light amber whiskey and a pair of sweatpants thrown over his forearm.
‘Here, put these on before I go blind and tell me how big a problem we’re facing,’ he commanded, and I shrugged.
‘Enormous and not helped by the fact you ran away and hid, leaving me alone with those two witches. You should’ve told them I would heal if they’d leave me to focus for five minutes.’ I said, saturating my voice with sarcasm.
