Page 104 of The Vampire's Mate

They’re gone.

Dead.

“Oh, my God,” I breathe as my chest heaves rapidly.

I lift my head to meet Jesse’s dark eyes. He watches me carefully, his grip on me tightening as if he fears I might crumple to the floor at any moment. My head shakes from side to side, and I swallow against the lump in my throat before parting my lips.

“I wanted them to die, and the wolves attacked. I killed them, Jesse.”

“Everything is going to be okay, Eden. Just breathe,” he murmurs in response.

I am breathing. Fast. Too fast.

Suddenly, every ounce of strength I possess drains out of me, and my knees buckle. Jesse holds me tightly against him as he calls my name over and over, his voice sounding like it’s coming from miles away.

“I killed them,” I repeat breathlessly, and everything goes black.

45

IRREVERSIBLE CONSEQUENCES

“Eden.”

The deep, worried voice breaks through the darkness, and a sigh slips through my lips as my eyes blink open. I see Jesse’s handsome face hovering over me, relief traced over every one of his features.

“Jesse?”

“I’m here. Do you want to try to sit up?”

I realize I’m stretched out on a couch in one of the formal parlors, my head in his lap. I nod slightly, and he helps me upright as I drop my legs off the sofa. I try to shake off the darkness crowding in on my vision as the couch dips beside me. I look over to see Steph smiling sadly as she takes my hand in hers.

“Steph?” My gaze moves from her, back to Jesse. “What happened?”

“You passed out,” he says softly, brushing my hair back from my face and tucking it behind my ear.

“I passed out? Why––”

My question cuts off abruptly as memories flash through my mind. Waking up to screams. Running downstairs. Battling Malediction.

The wolves.

“Oh, my God,” I breathe.

The image of the wolves licking the witches’ blood from their muzzles pulses in my mind in bright technicolor. The beasts devoured every inch of the trio, leaving nothing but a puddle of blood behind.

On my order.

I drop my head into my hands, my fingers yanking at my hair as I try to come to terms with what I did. I may not have uttered the command out loud, but I mentally decided those three had to die, and the wolves took it as such.

And I can’t even think about how that’s possible right now. How I can control…

I lift my head and look around frantically. “Where are they? Where are the wolves?”

If I was unconscious, who stopped the wolves from attacking and killing their true enemies, the vampires?

Jesse’s hand presses firmly to my back in a comforting touch as he says, “They’re outside patrolling the grounds. Bernadette was able to take command of them after you fainted.”

“Bernadette? Is she okay?” I ask, looking around the room for her.