Page 252 of Cruelly Bitten

I phased another handful of miles, just to be safe, then found a soft patch of grass to sit on with her in my lap.

Running my fingers through her hair, I said, “Come on, pet. We have blood to spill, and I need you on your feet.”

Alas, my stubborn mate didn’t listen to me, making me growl in irritation.

“I don’t know what did this to you, but I’m going to destroy it and whoever used it.” Preferably with my bare hands. But if Willow wouldn’t wake up, I’d settle on a gun because then I could keep one palm on her while I used the other tokill.

“Damn it, Ryder,” Damien growled into my ear. “I just received an earful from Kylan and Jace. Every fucking word was meant for you.”

I grunted. “Tell them to schedule a meeting to discuss it. They seem to like those.” Well, Jace did, anyway. Kylan… Kylan just wanted to play with Rae.

A preference I understood, as I felt similarly about Willow. Except I also had Damien to think about, as well as Izzy.

Which, naturally, had made coming here the wise choice, as I wanted to ensure their safety. And maybe kill a few things along the way. Willow could also use the target practice.

But I needed her to wake the fuck up for that to happen.

“Fucking weapon,” I muttered.

“What weapon?” Damien asked.

“Whatever knocked Willow out.” Something I hadn’t exactly explained to him yet, my actions consumed by making my mate breathe again. “Seems to be similar to the device Lilith used on me, only it impacted Willow this time. Can you or Cedric hear anything?”

“No.” He didn’t elaborate, just fell silent.

I waited a few seconds before saying, “Damien?”

“He’s talking to Jace again,” Cedric replied. “Well, no, he’slistening. Seems the rebel king isn’t a fan of our surveillance mission.”

“Then tell him it’s a killing mission and see if he prefers that,” I suggested, done with this conversation and everything else. “Time to wake up, mate,” I told Willow before biting my wrist and holding it against her mouth.

Her vampiric side took over in the next second, causing her lips to part and allowing me to feed her.

“Good pet,” I praised her. “Take what you?—”

The hairs along the back of my neck lifted, my instincts firing.

I didn’t waste a second in looking, just phased out of the grassy area to the side of a building.

Only for Willow to scream as a deadly crack rent the air.

And my world went black.

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

CAM

An Hour Earlier

That fuckingalarm is giving me a headache,I thought as I finished buttoning up my dress shirt. It was a clean one that had appeared in my room while I’d been in the bath with Ismerelda, my old one nowhere in sight.

I probably should have been more careful with it, but had I attempted to hide it somewhere, my brother would have grown suspicious. So I’d discarded it in a closet laundry bin like I normally would, stripped Izzy in a similar fashion, and carried her into the bathroom.

Which was where I’d lost the earpiece. I’d put it in one of the cabinets while searching for bath supplies. And now I needed to find a way to subtly retrieve it.

While Damien wouldn’t be able to hear me, it might be useful to hear him.

“I’ll go find you a brush,” I told Ismerelda as she finished putting on the silky, barely there dress that had been left for her in the closet. Or maybe it was one that had already been there.