I snap out of my moment of terror, praying I can subdue the devil within. Hale’s eyes flash over to me as he gauges my pupils. He looks away when he sees it’s still just me.
I follow the man carrying Brazen to the vehicle, and I grab four packs of blood before I leap in with him. I use my teeth to rip open the bag, and I start pouring the blood into his mouth before I assess his damages any farther.
“You’re okay. I’m here now. You’re going to be okay,” I almost cry, and then my shaky hands grab another bag to tear open.
I almost drown him in this one when my hands tremble too much and the bag gushes the blood into his throat.
When I reach down to grab another, his hand pulls it up for me. Tears surge free from my swelling eyes as I watch his wounds healing from the heaps of blood I’ve forced down him. They begin sealing up very slowly, and his broken bones begin cracking back into place. He gasps when air finally flows into his lungs without obstruction, and he takes several easy, deep breaths. He casually opens the third pack himself, and he begins sipping it as if it’s just a snack.
“Well, I suppose I must look pretty damn terrible for you to be holding such heavy tears,” he smoothly rolls out, his hand motioning for me to come to him, and my wails ring free as I lean into his chest.
“I’m okay,” he coos as he holds me to him, stroking my windblown hair with his hand. “Look. They’re all gone now.”
I see the threat of the tint dropping from the sky, and I scramble to roll up the dividing glass from the back to the front. I sigh in relief when I finally know he’s safe - from everything. Very gradually the size of the knots in my stomach and throat begin to lessen.
“I didn’t think I was going to make it in time,” I whimper.
“You did. It’s rather emasculating to need my girl to save me, but I’m damn glad you got here when you did. They fried our radios right away, and then another pulse killed our cell phones. The ones in charge left before it was over. We didn’t even-”
My lips silence his rambling ones. I just want to feel his touch. I don’t want a debriefing just yet. His hands grip against my back, and I lie on top of him in the back of the tinted vehicle.
“I was so worried,” I breathe.
“I was too,” he confesses. “I sure as hell wasn’t ready to go before I got to see you walk down the aisle,” he playfully adds.
I cry and laugh at the same time until his lips halt mine’s quivering again. I hear the front doors opening, but the dividing glass is too dark for me to see who’s driving.
“Who’s there?” I worry.
“It’s Hale and me,” Clay says, and he sounds better than he looked earlier.
“Are you healed?”
“Thanks to you and Hale I am. It’s a damn good thing you brought so much blood with you,” he sighs out with relief.
My eyes burn in the direction of the driver’s seat where I know Hale will be sitting. I was right. We did need the blood.
“That was Araya. I just drove here. She did the rest,” Hale softly interjects, his tone sounding distant and slightly dismayed.
“You’re hurt,” Brazen suddenly blurts out, and I see panic on his face when he gauges the massive blood stain shining through my shirt.
“I’m fine,” I murmur dismissively.
There are gashes all over my body from the breaking storm of bullets I endured after my invincibility dropped. I can taste my own blood in my mouth sliding down my throat. I suppose it’s a good thing we don’t feel the need to blood fuck ourselves when we taste our own blood.
A small smirk tries to come to my face after my dirty thought rummages around my mind, and Brazen turns my face to meet his.
“Take this one,” he says while handing me the fourth pack I brought.
“No. You need it to get your strength back. I’ll be fine. I’ll get some when we get back to the compound,” I argue.
“How bad is she hurt?” Hale asks through the closed window to prove he’s listening in.
“Bad enough to leave at least two pints of blood worth of stain on her shirt. It’s still dripping too,” Brazen growls, and now he’s trying to force the blood into my hand.
“You drink it. I’m not going to,” I assert.
“Drink the damn blood, Araya. You’re not as fucking invincible as you think you are,” Hale barks, and I see Brazen scowling at the man we can’t see.
