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to her arm
and lifted her up.
    “I
told you there was no escape.”
    She
shrugged. “Forgive me if I don’t take your word for it.”
    She
reached for the chain as he dragged her out. With a shake of his head, he
removed it from her hand. “You won’t need that.”
    “Why
not?” she asked, arching a brow at him. “Because you don’t mean me any harm?”
    “Because
it won’t do you any good.”
    So
much for that hope. She resisted as much as she could as he tugged her down the
dark hall. Which wasn’t much considering the strength in the man.
    He
stopped, his brows snapping down with impatience. “Would you prefer to be
bound?”
    “No.”
    “Then
keep up.”
    He
was a bossy son of a bitch. “Where are you taking me?”
    He
paused in front of another door. “To Caleb.”
    She
stopped resisting immediately. She had more than a few things she wanted to say
to that man. But before she said anything, she wanted an apology. Considering
she’d kept her promise—getting here without stopping—that was the least he owed
her.

SHE
wasn’t going to get an apology. Allie stared in horror at Caleb. He was pale.
So very pale. And the life that usually hummed off him in waves was now just an
occasional flicker she could barely feel. Half his throat was laid open. He
wasn’t bleeding anymore, and in truth his wound was like no other she’d ever
seen. It almost looked as if it had started to heal and then had just stopped
in some gross transitional phase.
    She
took a step forward, drawn to where he lay on the bed, his big-boned body dark
against the white sheets.
    “What
happened to him?”
    “The
wolves.” Jace practically spat the words.
    She
looked at the three men standing around her. She knew them by sight, all three
clones of Caleb in one form or another. Indisputably brothers in looks and
temperament—fists balled as if ready to fight at the drop of a hat, jaws set in
preparation. The question was, for what?
    “Why
haven’t you taken him to the hospital?”
    “He
doesn’t need a hospital,” Jared said, anger slicing through every word.
    “He
needs blood,” Slade clarified.
    Allie
shook her head, touching Caleb’s bare shoulder over the white sheet. He was so
cold. So still.
    “That’s
precisely why he needs to be in the hospital.”
    Jared
stepped forward. “He doesn’t need that kind of blood.”
    She
looked at him, something in his tone alerting her. This wasn’t going to be
good. He grabbed her wrist, pulled back her shirt, and exposed her wounds. “He
needs it straight from the source.”
    Blood
flowed. His eyes glowed. Good God, his eyes glowed!
    “No.”
She shook her head and stepped back as far as his grip on her arm let him.
    “Jesus,
Jared, I thought we were going to break it to her gently.” Jace stepped forward
as if to break his brother’s grip.
    “Why?”
Jared asked, stepping between her and Jace. “So she’ll understand why she’s
going to die? Do you think that makes it any more acceptable?”
    “She’s
not going to die.”
    Slade’s
words might sound sure, but the expression on his face didn’t do much for
Allie’s nerves.
    “Caleb
would never take too much,” Jace argued.
    Too
much? Too much what? Blood ran down
her arm in a hot stream, an unreal precursor to the incomprehensible.
    “Can
someone tell me what you’re trying so hard to break to me gently?” Allie asked,
her voice higher than normal as she fought the reality they were trying to
force her to accept.
    Jared
stared at her for a moment, his fingers biting into her forearm, before he said
flatly, “We’re vampires.”
    “That’s
nuts!” She tugged her arm. Jared didn’t let go. He caught and held her gaze
with his and slowly spread his lips in an obscene parody of a smile. Fangs
gleamed on either side of his mouth. Sharp, white, freak-a-girl-out fangs.
    She
yanked her arm free, clutching her wrist against the pain and took a step away,
staring at those fangs, at what they implied. She shook her