Azaire POV
“No, no, no,” I said, rushing over to my mate.
She had blood all over her face and her body.
“I’ll call the doctor, she’ll be fine, man,” Ross said, fishing out his phone.
“No, Elaine. I shouldn’t have let her do this,” I whispered.
“Blazer’s breathing,” Fran said.
I didn’t give a crap about Blazer. I picked up my mate. I couldn’t take her to my apartment. I wasn’t sure she could take the try. I carried her into the dark mansion and carried her to my room. My brothers were right behind me and Opal.
“We have to call Nik,” Opal said, behind me.
“Fuck no!” Richie said.
I was just about to say the same thing.
“That’s her brother and without Blazer, there’s no one else to give her venom,” Opal reasoned.
Right, I thought.
“Azaire’s her mate. Why can’t he give her venom?” Richie asked.
“Gee Richie, I don’t know why don’t we try it? There are only two ways this could go. It might work or Azaire’s going to poison her,” Opal said sarcastically but she was right.
I wasn’t risking poisoning Elaine.
I placed her on the bed and held her cheek. Her breathing was shallow and she wasn’t healing. Her wolf retreated into her mind so I couldn’t reach it.
“Listen, I’ll talk to Nik myself. He’ll listen,” Opal said.
“He’s not going to listen. He thinks Elaine is a traitor and we can forget about Laiken,” I said.
“Then we have to make sure Blazer wakes up tonight,” Richie growled.
“No, there’s another brother…” I trailed. How the hell am I going to find him?
Then I smirked. Rae, I thought.
“Opal, stay with her while I talk to Rae.”
Opal nodded and took my place on the bed next to Elaine.
***
“It’s been hours Rae,” I grumbled.
“He’s around here somewhere. My magic doesn’t lie.”
Rae and I parked the car along the road and trekked into the forest. Why the hell Elaine’s brother was out there was beyond me. It seemed it rained here last night and the ground was soggy and debris-filled. I didn’t mind a bit of dirt it just slowed us down. Elaine didn’t heal on her own and her wounds were serious. Richie said the Pack doctor was with her but, Elaine needed venom to heal her.
Rae tracked Lawrence to a forest two hours away from Elvira Falls. I suspected he wouldn’t be far since his Father ran one of the worst Packs there is, no offence to the love of my life but I couldn’t stand her Father.
“He’s hiding that’s all,” Rae said. “Azaire what happens if he’s with other vampires?”
“I’m not scared of vampires,” I grumbled.
“I am!”
“He’s not Rae. Vampires hang out in bars and abandoned cemeteries. If he’s out here, then he’s likely running.”
“Or looking for peace and quiet,” Lawrence’s voice came behind us.
Rae jumped and clung to me.
I didn’t miss the way Lawrence stopped to take her in.
“Can’t even find it out here,” he whined.
“You’ll get back to your peace and quiet later. Right now my mate needs your venom.”
“Er… excuse me?”
“Elaine! She needs your venom to heal her because her curse fucked her up.”
“Why me?” He threw his arms in the air. “Why should I help?”
“Because you’re her brother and she needs you,” Rae said.
Again Lawrence stopped to take her in. I knew that look but it wasn’t the time to prob. Lawrence would give Elaine his venom even if I had to knock him out and drag him back to my house.
“You’re kind of the only one who can help. The others won’t help,” Rae said biting her lip.
I had a feeling that if Rae did all the talking Lawrence would eventually fold like a beach chair. Our women had a way of doing that to us.
Lawrence grumbled. “Fine, but don’t expect anything else from me.”
“Of course not. What else would I expect from a Ryker?” I grumbled.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Rae jumped between us.
“Not now Azaire! Think about Elaine.”
I locked eyes with Lawrence.
“My Dad’s a good man,” Lawrence.
“I know who he is. You don’t need to convince me.”
Lawrence grabbed his shirt and marched into my car. The drive was silent only when we arrived at the mansion he looked uneasy.
“First time in Elvira Falls?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“Not supposed to be here?”
“Vampires aren’t allowed this part of time, aren’t we?” he said through gritted teeth.
“That or your Daddy told you not to?”
“Azaire,” Rae hissed.
“Elaine’s in my room. She’s a special wolf that can’t heal on her own. Give her your venom so she can heal then you can leave and we’ll never talk again.”
“Fine by me,” Lawrence muttered.
We hurried upstairs, a part of me hoped she had woken up so I could see her beautiful eyes but she was still asleep. Her cuts had been cleaned and her hair brushed back neatly but her skin was pale and her breathing was shallow. My wolf cried for his mate. She just had to pull through. I couldn’t do this without her. I needed her.
“Who the hell is this?” Richie asked. “A vamp!”
“A hybrid, Rich. This is Elaine’s brother,” I said.
Lawrence ignored Opal, Richie and Lucas and went straight to the side of the bed. A part of me worried the scent of blood would put him on the edge but he just stared at her.
“What the hell?” Lawrence said.
“She was born with a curse. Please just help…” Opal begged.
Rae tugged on my sleeve and motioned for me to follow her out of the room. I closed the door behind us.
“Tell me you think this is weird!” she hissed.
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“The fact that Alpha Laiken has children of three of the most powerful creatures! This isn’t a good thing.”
“Of course, it’s not good, Elaine was born cursed and I can’t even think what Lawrence has going on.”
Rae fidgeted on the spot. “He could be planning a ritual.”
“With his own children?” We’re talking about the man who made the mother of his daughter believe the child she had given birth to passed away at birth. “Go on.”
“I need to do more research but having hybrid children is illegal! And Laiken has two hybrid kids!”
“Excuse me?” Blazer asked.
Oh crap.
“My Dad only has one hybrid kid. Elaine.”
I ran a hand through my hair. This day keeps getting better and better.
“You might not want to go in there then,” I mumbled.
Blazer brushed passed me and stormed into the bedroom. Elaine sat up in the bed, she was startled when Blazer rushed in. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. She’s okay.
“I’m leaving. I’ll check on Elaine after I do some digging.”
I nodded. “I’ll be waiting for your call.”