Page 34 of Love Bleeds

Why had he grown fangs?

And who were these other people?

So many questions. Crimson shoved them all aside as Luke's lips moved. His eyes didn't open, but he was drinking. Crimson's breath left him in a rush, the sense of relief so immense he nearly came undone. Luke wasn't going to die. His sun wasn't going to fade out.

Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to gather his thoughts for just a moment.

"Who are you?" he asked when he opened them again, looking at the vampire and the newly arrived mortal in turn. The mortal looked him over with an assessing gaze.

"You used to be Damian," he said. "I'm very sorry about what happened to you."

Crimson had no idea how to respond to that. Honestly, it shouldn't have surprised him that the mortal knew who he was if he knew Luke, but still. It was odd to run into people who knew you, but who you had no recollection of. He couldn't even begin to guess at what their relationship might have been. Friends, lovers, fleeting acquaintances? Enemies? Rivals? Anything was possible.

Although he doubted that they had been romantically involved. Not if his feelings for Luke were anything to go by. If he'd had any lover at all in his previous life, it would have been the mortal on the ground, of that, he had no doubt.

"I'm sorry I don't remember you."

"Jared," the taller mortal said by way of introduction. "I'm Luke's older brother."

"Aldrich," the vampire added his own name without looking at Crimson. "But you can keep calling me Alice if you really want to."

Crimson nodded, but his attention was taken up by Luke. "He's not waking up."

He'd stopped drinking too. Aldrich removed Jared's wrist from Luke's mouth, the wound already closing. Jared didn't pay it any mind as he drew his little brother toward him, cradling him in his arms.

For a brief second, Crimson wondered ifhehad any siblings, then decided that it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered now was Luke.

Crimson studied him closely. In the dark of the night, his pale skin seemed to glow.

No, it was actually glowing.

"Is that... that's not normal, is it?" But Crimson had thought that Luke's skin was glowing once before. Just before he'd remembered his name.

Aldrich looked at Luke with raised eyebrows. "The lightshow is unexpected." Just as he said that, though, the glow dimmed and faded away.

"What does it mean?" Crimson demanded.

"I don't know. I don't know what's going to happen either," Aldrich admitted with a small shrug. "Feeding him non-vampire blood was my best guess." He cast his gaze around. "Anyhoo, I say we scram before your sire comes back with an army."

That was probably a good idea.

"Everyone in the car," Jared ordered.

Crimson hesitated. As much as he wanted to stay at Luke's side... "I can't come with you."

Aldrich glanced at him, unimpressed. "We can't let you run back to your sire if that was what you were planning. That one will just come chasing after you again." He nodded at Luke, even as Jared was carrying his still-unconscious brother to the car. Crimson looked after them. He couldn't help himself. If only he could get in that car too...

"I don't want to run back to my sire," he explained to Aldrich. "But he'll find me." Nicolai had told him as much. Running was pointless. His sire would always know where he was.

"Gotcha." Aldrich thought for a moment. "All right. You're coming with me. We'll see if we can do something about that. Puck still owes me anyway."

"Who?"

Crimson's eyes were still on the car, but Jared wasn't waiting for them. He'd already started the engine.

"Trust me," Aldrich said.

Crimson wasn't sure that was a good idea, but what choice did he have?