Page 65 of Worse Fates

My body is numb, but I refuse to give up and keep my weight on Lucero’s chest. “You're fine. You’ll be fine, you have to be.”

My mate’s hands lay across mine. He’s trying to tell me something, but he might as well be speaking another language. All I know is I need to keep my hands down, keep the pressure up. I don’t care that every bone in my body hurts, or my hands are soaking in a pool of Lucero’s blood—God, he’s bleeding so much—none of it matters.

“Just need to stop the bleeding and then you’ll be okay, Lucero,” I ramble.

Suddenly—I’m in the air. I scream, kicking and scratching at the hands holding me like I’m a wild animal.

Ramy comes in front of me and I’m shoved into his arms, before Rurik comes into view.

“He’s going to save Lucero, Golden. I promise, I promise,” Ramy says in my ear.

I can’t stop shaking, or crying. I’m either breathing too much, or not at all. I don’t stop fighting Ramy, even as Rurik gets on his knees. In one smooth bite of his wrist, blood streams out and he forces it into Lucero’s mouth.

Blackness pulls in at the edge of my vision. Lucero becomes a single point—his arm stretching taut towards me.

“Lucero…” I plead, broken and lost.

The world draws in and I watch in horror as Lucero goes limp, his open gaze blank.

Then—darkness.

Chapter Twenty-Two - Lucero

Golden.

His name is my first thought upon waking, before a hollow ache digs into my stomach. A familiar pain of hunger, worsened from having to heal so much.

But that doesn’t matter now.

“Golden.” My voice is raw, and even cracking my eyelids open takes effort. But I do it all the same and raise my head. My torso is no longer a patchwork of bleeding holes, but the freshly healed skin is tender. “Golden.”

“Calm down, brother.” I smell Rurik’s scent of dark chocolate and coffee a moment before a firm hand pushes me back onto the bed.

“Where is he?” I demand weakly.

Rurik inclines his head. Turning, I find Golden sleeping, curled up on his side, sheet fisted under his chin. Relief cools my rising panic.

“He’s okay,” I breathe out, and reach for him, ignoring all my needs but the desperate urgency to have him in my arms. “Wake up, beautiful.” I know he needs rest after everything he’s been through. Yet nothing will quell my beating heart but seeing life within his big, brown eyes.

When Golden doesn’t wake, I run careful fingers through his soft curls, gently cradling his crown and tilt his peaceful face up.

“Golden?” But when his eyelashes don’t even flutter, a cold anger directs my glare to Rurik. “How dare you,” I growl.

Rurik doesn’t waver. He stays firm, arms crossed. “I had no choice. The boy was in shock, crying, screaming. He kept trying to get to you, and we were hurting Golden by restraininghim. He wouldn’t even let me or Ramy feed him our blood to heal him, Luc.”

My face buries into Golden’s curls, arms tight around his smaller body. “Dammit all,” I bite out. Golden is too fragile. How I wish we could lock ourselves away in this room, and forever be safe.

“His wounds were severe,” Rurik’s voice gentles. “If I didn’t compel him to sleep, you would’ve woken to find him in agony. Or worse.”

Eyes closing, I fill my lungs with Golden as the memory of our car crash rams into me—so vivid I feel shattered glass slice into the back of my neck. My mate had been terrified, screaming as we were flung out of control—and then flipped. He’d been bleeding when I pulled him from the wreck, confused but reaching for me. Every instinct demanded I get my mate to safety, and damn the others.

But then Jace, and the blood mage woman showed up.

“Golden fought hard,” I tell Rurik, proud and hating it at the same time. “But he shouldn’t have to. I’m his protector. He shouldn’t get a papercut, let alone in a fight between vampires and blood mages.”

“They’re assholes,” Rurik grunts. “And soon, they’ll be dead.” There is no doubt in him, or arrogance. Only facts.

My gaze locks to his, our eyes serious—deadly. “They wanted our attention, and one of them wantedmy mate. We find them, and annihilate the cunts.”