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Too much blood.

“You need a hospital, Damyr. I can’t… I don’t…” Fuck. Why had this guy got me so twisted inside? I should be using the chance to run, not kneel here and hold vigil by his bedside.

Damyr’s bloody hand squeezed mine. “You should go.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “If you think I’m leaving whilst you’re dying, and the rest of these guys are injured, you’re ridiculous.”

He chuckled, well, tried too. It was more of a wet rasp which meant there was probably a load of fluid in his lungs.

Fuck, fucking, fuck.

His eyes flickered and started to lose focus.

I tapped his cheek. “No. Damyr. Stay with me.” I looked at Vlad over my shoulder. “Call an ambulance, dammit!”

The big guy just stood there, staring at me and chewing his lip. Acheron had vanished, probably to find this doctor that Aleksey was complaining about and the others all had grim expressions.

“Why aren’t you doing anything?” I yelled.

Damyr’s hand brushed my cheek, and I turned back to look at him. He was so pale. “Because the only one who can save me, is you, Benjamin.” There was a sadness in his eyes, a resignation to the fact that he was going to die, and it affected me more than I ever thought possible.

“Then let me help,” I pleaded, tears brimming in my eyes.

He shook his head then winced as another bout of pain waved over him. “No.”

And then he was gone.

What? No. That couldn’t be it. This guy couldn’t kidnap me, threaten me and torture me and then check out because he got shot.

Not today.

Adrenaline had my body kicking into action. I ripped open his shirt and peeled it carefully away from his chest. Jagged wounds littered his torso, but the biggest one was across the centre of his abdomen. I went to put pressure on the wound, but before I could, large hands wrapped around me and pulled me away.

“No. Let me go,” I said, trying to wriggle free.

“That won’t save him,” Vlad whispered softly as he hugged me tightly to his chest.

“He said I could save him. Let me try,” I begged, tears rolling quietly down my cheeks. “Please.”

Vlad’s eyes were soft when they met mine. “It’s not what he meant, Benji.”

“Then tell me!” I yelled, my heart breaking in a way I didn’t understand. I couldn’t seem to get my thoughts in order. I wanted to run and scream, but I also wanted to curl up next to Damyr just to try and save him with my touch. “Just fucking tell me.”

I was falling apart, and I couldn’t seem to catch the pieces to put them back together.

Vlad exchanged a look with Aleksey that was filled with pity and something else. Worry? Anxiety maybe?

“Just tell him,” Aleksey finally said. “We can deal with Damyr later.”

And still Vlad remained stone-faced. I wanted to the shake the guy even though he looked like he was going through some internal crisis. He sighed and the tension left his shoulders. “There’s no going back after this, Benji.”

Jesus fucking Christ. Were they trying to kill me?

“You guys are fucking idiots,” Byron said, surprisingly calm for someone who’d clearly been shot. Again. He stood from his chair with a wince, and I went towards him to help but he threw his hand out with a stern expression, bringing his eyebrows down in a sharp slant. Okay, noted. Byron didn’t like help. “They’re all vampires and you’re Damyr’s mate so he can’t feed from anyone but you to heal.”

What.

The.