Pietro fell asleep after his feeding. Demetri was loath to leave him in the filthy bed but he needed his hands free for the moment. He left the blood-soaked room with the sickening stench of rot still in his nostrils. In the main bathroom he turned on the shower careful not to have it too hot. He filled the bath too.He quickly examined the cottage trying to find any hint of the poison used but coming up empty. The room downstairs where Pietro had obviously been imprisoned was just as bad scent wise as the bedroom, the bloodstained chains having his fury building again and he had to work to stifle it down.Heading back to the bedroom after a desultory glance at the dead vampire in the basement, he was already mentally working out how to clean up the mess. He considered calling Caleb but figured Mara would take care of that. The entire cottage would need to be sanitised once they left and there was still the unknown woman out there somewhere and Michael.The pungent aroma of the bedroo
"A month!" Pietro ground out, shocked at the thought he'd be weak for so long. A month was an eternity for a vampire to be injured."What's a month compared to death?" Demetri snorted, rolling his eyes. He couldn't fully hide his relief that they'd pulled his friend back from the brink of death. He wasn't usually so lax in front of strangers but Joshua had proved himself today."I said a month for our vamp. It's likely to be longer for you, Pietro," the blond was saying with a frown on his face. In all honesty he was guessing at how long it would take the vampire to recover, if he ever fully recovered from his injuries."Why didn't we know about this first instance?" Demetri couldn't help slipping into his Ancient role. If vampire poisoning had happened before, the Council should have been advised at the time.Joshua picked up instantly on what he meant. It was hard not to smile at the arrogance of the Ancient. "You forget we don't follow your Council over here, Demetri. They may thin
Demetri laughed, first silently in his mind and then a soft sound into the room. "I was admiring your ass," he answered as he drifted back to that night, closing his eyes to savour the memory. "You were wiggling it in time to your music and I was thinking of what it would feel like in my hands. I've always loved your ass, wife."He opened his eyes slowly as she laughed and called him a rude name. The room came into focus and he looked down at the human bleeding out into Pietro's mouth."Thanks, beautiful," he whispered and then pressed his hand against the man's neck. He felt Joshua step away as he bent his head and quickly sealed the wound on the human's throat. The man was weak and could barely stand but he was alive.Demetri led him over to the wall and helped him sit down. "Sleep now, my friend. We are thankful for your generosity."The humans hadn't come willingly to the party but they deserved some respect for what they were unwittingly doing to save Pietro's life. He nodded his
Demetri turned from watching the blood gush from his friend's torn throat. Ordinarily the wound would have been healing by now but the poison lacing Pietro's body kept the wound raw, allowing the tainted blood to flow unhindered.Grabbing one of the empty bottles beside the bed, he used his vampiric speed to clean it out in the bathroom sink while Joshua was still outside with the humans. He returned to the bedroom, his gut wrenching painfully as he collected a sample of Pietro's blood and ensured it was left somewhere safe for retrieval later.He pulled out his cell phone and hit the first speed dial number. "Stay with me," he whispered as the call was answered. He wasn't sure if he was talking to the man on the bed or the person on the other end of the call. All he was sure of was the coldness seeping into his bones as his humanity slowly ebbed away."Please carry on without me. This is an emergency call."Mara's sweet voice echoed in his ear as she excused herself from most probabl
"You take the blood trail, I'll see to Pietro," Demetri ordered. "It might be best if you're not with me at the moment." His feral side was reacting to the heavy blood loss and the awful taint he could scent on the air. He wanted to try and ensure Joshua's safety as best he could.The other man didn't argue simply peeled off into the kitchen and down the stone steps into the bowels of the cottage. Demetri turned to the door that hid Pietro from his view. He reached out telepathically now he was close to his friend."Are you sleeping on the job?"There was a long moment of silence."Fucking wish I were, D," Pietro's weak response came back, pain lacing every word. "You have to be close to reach me. Be careful when you touch me. My blood's poisoned. Don't know what with but the delivery agent was bottled blood. The poison seems to eats our insides up and we can't regenerate. Thank fuck someone got here in time so I could at least get that information out before..."Demetri turned the do
The train pulled up as the call ended and Demetri stepped aboard and sank into the first available seat. His concern was increasing, his feeling of being too late starting to spiral out of control. If anything happened to Pietro...The vampire was a pain in the ass but he liked him, trusted him more than he did most people. His easy laughter, the way he took the piss out of Andrei, his steadfast loyalty to his friends...all those things were what made Pietro a friend to Demetri. And no one fucked with his friends.He hadn't lied to the vampire on the phone. He would rip the continent apart to get justice for Pietro if he died. He'd done it before for people he'd cared less about and he would do it again. Despite the veneer of civility Demetri wore, his feral side dominated his spirit. It was more subdued since he'd met Mara but it was always there, always waiting for a chance at freedom.It was simple for Demetri...if his friends were hurt then the enemy would bleed a river of blood i