Page 47 of Dark Flame

Nineteen

ALEC

She’s safe.

She’s not screaming anymore.

She moves a step in my direction, her hands positioned to protect herself should I attack. Charming, but unnecessary.

I glance at the scum who believed they could barge into my home, pushing aside the dismay they succeeded. It’s testament to how badly Sinclair needs her powers back, to get the cure effective once more before more try the same. At least she’d be able to fight.

But, for now, their bodies need to be removed from her vicinity. There’s a head across the room I need to retrieve, but doing so means going near her, and being near her means I won’t be able to stop myself from checking over her body.

“Th-thank you.”

She’sthankingme? Thankful I showed up at the precise time the asshole tried to sink his fangs into her neck—into skin thatno onewill be touching. She’s thanking me for nearly having her killed, all because I left her alone, assuming a few hours would be fine.

I underestimated my subjects.

“I mean, I know you did it because I’m some sort of commodity to you, but still…if you didn’t show up when you did?—”

“They’d still be dead,” I cut her off, rendering her misplaced compliments as meaningless. “They’d have mortality for a moment before reaching the same fate.”

“Still…”

Still, you’d have been bitten in that outcome.

“Thanks,” she finishes, her hands coming together.

I don’t know why it’s those words that do me in, but I’m across the room in an instant, looming over her as my red-coated vision studies her closer. I’ve already checked to ensure neither of them harmed her, because their deaths would have been a lot more drawn-out if so. Only when seeing her up close, when confirming she’s untouched, does the red fade to a pink, then to black again, and my normal vision returns. I force an unnecessary breath into my lungs, keeping out the scent of the corpses behind me while only accepting the sweet notes of her gratitude. My hands itch to touch her, tofeelshe’s alright, but they form fists instead.

“Don’t thank me. Ever.”It’ll never be in your best interest, Hellion.

I turn for the discarded head resting by the fireplace, hissing with the sudden movement. One of them managed to scratch me during his attack seconds before I ripped his head off. As much as I’d prefer not to do this in front of her, I need to see what I’m dealing with and lift my shirt to inspect the damage.

The score marks are deep. Injuries to vampires never last long, but ones delivered by a fellow immortal tend to leave lasting marks. It’ll take fresh blood to speed up my healing.

“You’re hurt,” she exclaims, her bare feet rushing over the carpet to my side. A natural warmth radiates from her, despite the chilling scene she endured. But worse is the faint trace of concern. Concern formeis the last thing Sinclair should ever feel.

Her hands reach for my side, that very warmth coming temptingly close, but I manage to keep my head on long enough to twist away, my snarl a warning to her and a reminder for myself. A reminder that tonight has changed nothing about my greater plans.

When her arms drop and a flash of hurt crosses her expression, I continue to ignore her and swipe the head from the floor. “I’ll heal. Don’t get your hopes up.” With the head in hand, I grasp his body and hoist it over my shoulder, kicking the heartless one as I pass. “Don’t touch him. Stay where you are.”

“Alec—”

“Stay.”

I run downstairs to drop the corpse by the door before rushing back before she’d have a chance to move. I grasp the second and ignore the sting radiating from my ribs with the extra weight. This time when I exit the room, I lock it, not trusting her to not take advantage of my injury and the recent situation.

I deal with both bodies, placing the four pieces in random places around my property as a deterrent. It takes minutes before I return to the castle and retrieve the items from the Sinclair household where I left them in the foyer when she screamed.

She fucking screamed.

She didn’t even scream when I kidnapped her.

Shescreamed, and something inside me wouldn’t be stopped until she no longer had anything to fear.

The noise, her fear, it rattled me more than it should have.