Page 65 of Blood Day (Blood Alliance #7)

Cedric

My grip tightened around the handle of my gun.

“Khalid.” His name left my mouth with just the right amount of nonchalance, but he would understand the threat underlining that welcome.

Damien had been able to give me enough of a warning to bring me to my feet, his words about the camera feeds going dark telling me that I was about to have company. I’d quickly zipped myself up before taking aim at the doorway, my trigger pointed at Viper’s head in the next instant.

His presence hadn’t necessarily surprised me—I’d suspected something was off about him from the moment I’d met him.

However, I hadn’t expected Khalid to appear behind the lycan.

“C-Cedri-ic?” Damien’s voice came through on a crackle of sound, the communication between us failing.

“You can remove the earpiece,” Khalid said conversationally, his focus returning to me. “It’s no longer functional.”

“And Damien?” I asked, not bothering to hide the identity of the other man, as it was clear Khalid already knew about him.

Khalid slipped his hands into the pockets of his dark slacks. “Ryder isn’t someone I have any intention of infuriating. Therefore, Damien remains off-limits where my activities are concerned.”

I arched a brow as I used my free hand to remove the earpiece—the static was starting to buzz through my skull. “You’re afraid of Ryder?” He was a sadistic recluse with a penchant for shooting first and asking questions later, but I found that to be more endearing than fear-inducing.

“I don’t fear anyone. However, I know when respect is earned.” His lips curled a fraction. “You infiltrated a lycan compound to retrieve your human.”

“My Erosita ,” I corrected. “Because you didn’t follow through on our agreement.”

“And what agreement was that, exactly?” His turquoise irises flared as he glanced at Lily again. “She seems healthy and unharmed. She’s also now in your custody with your bond intact. Isn’t that what I promised?”

“None of those things have anything to do with you.”

“Quite true,” he agreed. “They have everything to do with you.” His gaze returned to mine. “And my certainty that you would ensure her safety on your own without my assistance.”

Word games , I thought, suppressing a growl. He’d vowed to keep Lily safe… because he’d known it was a vow I would fulfill on my own.

And in exchange, I’d helped him bury Emine.

He… he killed Emine? Lily whispered, her mind still fully connected with mine. That’s why you cut me off initially, she realized in the next instant. Oh, Goddess…

Lily—

“Which brings me back to my comments about respect,” Khalid continued, interrupting my mental comment to Lily. “You’ve earned mine.”

“Interesting.” I traced the trigger of my gun as I considered him. “You haven’t earned mine in return.”

Challenge flickered in his eyes, darkening his turquoise irises to resemble twin whirlpools of clear and evident danger. “No, I have not,” he conceded. “But I’m about to.”

I stared at him. “I’m listening.”

“Not here.” He glanced at the lycan. “Viper has cleared a path for our exit. We’ll use it and then we’ll talk.” His tone didn’t leave any room for negotiation, the royal vampire asserting his dominance via his commands.

Except he wasn’t my royal. “I accepted your offer to join Khalid Region on the terms that you would help me in protecting Lily. As I’m the only one currently fulfilling that part of the agreement, I think I’ll reconsider my acceptance.

Unless you have something worthwhile to say here that may change my mind? ”

He considered me for a long moment before saying, “One howl from Viper will have the lycans running. As he works for me, it won’t take much for me to convince him to sound the alarm. Is that your preference? Or would you prefer accepting the escape route he’s already crafted for us?”

My jaw ticked. “I see.”

“I imagine you do.” He gestured for the hallway. “Shall we?”

“Maybe I’m craving a bloodbath,” I told him, irritated by his confidence.

No. Fuck that. I was irritated by his damn existence.

And because I knew he was right.

“I have no doubt that you’re craving blood, Cedric. But you have a mate to consider.” He looked at Lily for the third fucking time. “A very naked, somewhat irate mate.”

I gave in to the urge to follow his gaze to my Erosita. She was glowering at Khalid with barely contained rage, her mind still rioting over the reveal that he’d killed Emine. It seemed my darling flower had grown emotional roots, ones she was now relying on to ground her in reality.

“She’s quite upset about Emine,” I informed him as I slid my gun back into my holster. There was no point in holding the weapon. If Khalid wanted to fight, we’d do so with our hands. But I doubted it would come to that—he’d simply have his wolf howl .

“Hmm,” Khalid hummed, saying nothing else.

I pulled my shirt over my head and handed it to Lily. Put this on, little flower.

She didn’t immediately agree, her mind seeming to caress mine as she listened to me reason through our options. He killed Emine.

Yes, I replied. He turned her into a vampire. Which was something I’d helped him hide from Silvano by burying the body and distracting my maker when Khalid had left to tend to his little mirage .

In exchange, he’d promised to keep Lily safe. I’d thought he’d meant to take her as part of his harem.

But no.

He’d simply played me with a proverbial riddle.

“Would it make you feel better if I let you hit me?” Khalid offered. But the words were for Lily—who was now gaping up at him—not me. “That usually improves Emine’s mood. Will it improve yours?”

Put on my shirt, Lily , I snapped at her before looking at the royal vampire. “Stop talking to her.”

His eyebrows rose. “Would you issue that demand to Silvano? ”

“You’re not Silvano.”

“No, I’m not.” He fixed his tie as he added, “Which is something you should consider very carefully, Cedric. Because my offer is about to expire. And without me, you will be returning to your maker. And he will learn of Lily’s existence.”

A threat.

One echoed in Viper’s expression.

All I need to do is howl , his dark eyes promised.

I nodded, conceding that they’d won this round. However, they might not be as lucky in the next one, something I told Khalid with my eyes.

Which only earned me a slight grin of amusement.

Underestimating me would be his downfall more than mine.

We’d been playing a game for months whereby I hadn’t felt like I had a lot to lose. But I was more dangerous now than ever before because I finally understood the depths of my feelings for Lily.

I’d just illegally crossed into Clemente Clan and broke into a lycan compound to save her. That alone said everything. Six months ago, I would have resigned myself to her fate and not once looked back.

And I would have been forced to live an eternity without feeling. Without truly living . All because I hadn’t really considered the sensations of love and devotion worthwhile before. I hadn’t known how powerful and enlightening they could be.

But now that I knew how intense this passion could burn between us, how much Lily made me feel alive , I would do anything and everything in my power to protect the source of my renewed life.

I’d kill for her.

And I would die for her .

There were no limits, no second guesses, no hesitations or exceptions. Because Lily was my heart. My everything.

And that was what made me undeniably lethal.

Savage.

A force to be reckoned with.

Because I finally had someone to live for. Someone who meant a hell of a lot more to me than anything else in this world, including following rules and respecting proprieties.

If Khalid pushed me, I would react.

I’d come here with the intention of saving my heart and putting her somewhere safe, somewhere Silvano and the others couldn’t find her, somewhere I might not even be able to locate.

No one would be altering my mission. Including Khalid.

All that mattered was Lily and protecting my heart. My love .

Her warmth at my side drew my gaze to hers. She was staring up at me as though she’d never seen me before, her blue-green eyes wide with wonder.

Love, she repeated, her voice soft and filled with awe. You… you love me. Not a question, but a statement. One filled with the reminders of our month together, of the things I’d said to her about possibly loving her, about feeling alive with her.

But this wasn’t just love.

This was so much more than that.

This was a new existence, a foreign state of being, a cosmic event undefined by mere mortal terms.

I cupped her cheek, my thumb drawing a path along her lower lip. Love is too weak a word to describe my feelings for you, Lily. It barely skims the surface of my soul-deep need to worship and adore you for the rest of my existence .

I stepped closer, my other palm settling against her jaw until I had her face framed by my hands. She smelled like me, not just from my seed dripping down her thighs, but also from my shirt dwarfing her petite frame.

And I couldn’t imagine a more perfect scent. A more perfect moment. A more perfect mate .

I breathe for you, Lily. And only you. It was what our separation had proved to me.

I hadn’t been able to think of anything other than how to get to Lily and ensure her safety.

It’d been my sole reason for existing this last week.

And it would continue to be my driving focus for the rest of my life.

This sweet, innocent flower had somehow cemented her roots inside me. And I would not be unearthing their source.

Instead, I would nurture it however I could. I would become the air she needed to survive. The soul she required to live a long, full immortal life. The being she could rely on when she needed protection.

I pressed my forehead to hers, my eyes closing. We’re going to find a way to survive, Lily. Whatever you want. Whatever you need. I’ll give it to you.

Even death? she whispered.

Even death, I echoed, my chest aching with the thought. I’d considered it so many times, recognized that it was the selfless choice, yet I hadn’t been strong enough to see it through.

However, if it came to that… if that was the only way to keep her truly safe… I would kill us both.

The clearing of a throat had me suppressing a growl of irritation. “Viper’s window of opportunity is closing,” Khalid said softly. “You need to decide, Cedric.”

I’d already chosen a path forward, but I hadn’t voiced it. We will follow him until another option presents itself, I told Lily.

I trust you, she replied, those three words resembling an arrow through my heart. And I breathe for you, too.

I pressed my lips to hers, needing to thank her with my tongue, but instead ensured she swallowed a healthy dose of my blood in addition to my gratitude.

Because Khalid was right—we were out of time.

I could sense the lycans prowling nearby, their presence causing the hairs along my arms to dance on edge.

Interesting that I didn’t sense Viper when he arrived earlier, I thought, pulling away from Lily to take in the silent lycan. He held my gaze with an arrogance that reminded me of Khalid. Perhaps that was why I hadn’t liked him from the start.

Regardless, he was our escort. “Lead the way.”