Kindred (Book 1 The Kindred Series) (50 page)

  
They scrambled upon the ground,
pummeling
each other
as Julian tried to get back to
Cassie
, and Devon fought to keep him
far
away
. Julian was crazed with his hunger, frantic, and deadly because of it.
But Devon was determined to keep her safe, determined
that she
would
survive th
is
night. He w
ould not lose her, if he did, he
w
ou
ld not
be able to
endure
it. With every cell in his body he knew that he would
not survive her death
, just as he knew that he would
destroy everything, and
every
one
that ever tried to hurt her.

   Julian drew his legs up under him, somehow getting them between their bodies. Using all of his vast strength, he shoved Devon forcefully off.
Devon was thrown
into the center of the clearing
.
P
ain jarr
ed
through his body as he bounced across the hard ground
.
Cassie’s
frightened
cry echoed loudly in his over
sensitized ears.

   Ignoring every ache and pain, he launched himself back to his feet as Julian reached her.
Cassie swung at him, but Devon could sense the weakness in her body
, the life
and strength
draining swiftly from her
. Terror and rage tore through him as Julian seized hold of her arm, ripping h
er
toward h
im
, a
loud hiss
of desire
escaping
him.

   Devon sprang forward
,
seiz
ing
hold of Julian,
and
ripping him away from her seconds before his teeth sank in
to her delicate neck
. T
urn
ing
in midair,
he
twist
ed
their bodies away from her
, trying to keep
her
safe
from
the impact
of their weight
. They fell to the ground, bouncing across its surface
mere inches from her. Julian seized hold of Devon’s neck, his hand wrapp
ed
tight around it.
U
s
ing
the palm of his hand,
Devon
slamm
ed
it
into the bottom of Julian’s already broken nose. Fresh blood spilled forth
causing
Julian
to
howl in pain
as he
f
e
l
l
back.

   Devon leapt to his feet, grabbing Julian by the shirt
.
L
ift
ing
him like a rag doll,
he
sh
ook
him fiercely.
“Stay away from her!” he snarled
viciously
.

   Julian’s fist connected with his cheek, staggering him back a few feet with the force of the blow. Bellowing with fury, determined to destroy the monster he had
helped to
create, Devon slammed his fist into Julian’s che
ek
.
The sickening crunch of
his
cheekbone
echoed loudly in the clearing. Julian’s
half collapsed
face twisted with fury
and pain
, his eyes burned with red fire.

   He lashed out, panic and
agony
making him reckless and dangerous. His
claws
connected with Devon’s chin, the force of the blow stagger
ed
him slightly
as blood spilled free
.
Grabbing hold of Julian, he
pick
ed
him
up and heav
ed
him across the clearing
once more. The large maple Julian collided w
ith
shook
from
the force
of the blow
, a
large
crack lanc
ed
up its thick trunk.

   Julian
landed head first on the ground
, his legs above his head against the tree
. He lay for a moment before
falling away from the trunk. S
tagger
ing
to his feet,
he
sh
oo
k his head
in
disorientation.
S
hift
ing
his
stance
,
Devon
kep
t
his body protectively in front of Cassie as he
waited for
another
cha
rge. Julian took a step forward;
his gaze dart
ed
briefly to Ca
ssie, hunger and longing burned
within the ruby
red
depths of his eyes. Then his gaze came back to Devon, anger
, fear,
and disgust
flash
ed
briefly across his distorted
, beaten
features.
Though
Julian
still wanted her, the beat
ing
he had
received
seemed to have shaken
him
free of the bloodlust. He was back in control of his actions and thoughts.

   Weighing the odds, Julian
stood for a moment, his gaze darting between them. This fight would go to the death, and Julian would not win. They both knew that.
Julian
wanted Cassie fiercely, but he wanted to live even more. Julian had always been number one in his own book, always highest on himself.
His own life and his love of himself were
his
two biggest motivators.
Devon was relieved to realize that things had not changed. Though
Devon
w
as
win
ning this
fight
,
if it continued
Cassie would probably bleed to death before
Julian’s life
was
forfeit
.

  
“Till next time.”
   Julian
turned and fled into the woods,
becoming
a blurring shimmer that disappeared swiftly within the trees.
Not trusting Julian
to
stay away
,
Devon kept all of his senses honed for
hi
s presence
as he turned back to Cassie
. Julian
was wounded and overpowered, but he was also reckless and
hungry
.

  
Taking a deep breath,
Devon
braced himself to get close to her again. He braced himself to withstand the enticing lure of her deliciously scented blood
,
and the power that it possessed
. He tr
ied
hard to keep control of the fierce, hungry monster inside of him
as he approached
her
slowly
.
She was scared enough, and confused enough, without seeing him turn back into the demon that he was.

  
She
stared up at him, her eyes wide with horror, hurt, and terror. He
continued to move slowly
toward her, but to his surprise she did not shrink from him. She did not try to scream, did not
even
try to
scramble away
, as
he was fairly certain she would
be too weak
to run
. She simply stared up at him with a sad acceptance in her mesmerizing eyes.

 
Blood stuck to her fingers, coated her arm, and clung to her shirt and jeans. A puddle had formed beneath
her;
the beat of her heart had slowed
dangerously
. Fear tore through Devon
.
Forgetting his need to go slow,
he hurried to her side
as he
dropp
ed
beside her.
He was surprised to realize that h
is
concern for her life momentarily outweighed
his desire for her blood.
He did not k
now how long that would last
, but for now all that mattered was her, and her safety.

  
Gently, he eased her
slender
body into his arms. She moaned softly, her head dropp
ed
limply
against his chest as he lifted her swiftly.
She felt as light as a feather in his arms, and just as weak.

  
The fragileness of her life hit him hard as he cradled her, holding her tight against him. He had forgotten how weak and frightening it was to be human, how vulnerable and tenuous.
Even if she wasn
’
t entirely human, she still had to face the reality of death. And her life consisted of even more death than mo
st
humans, and
it
was far shorter.
It was
a fact
that he did not want to
acknowledge
, or recognize
,
in Cassie.

  
Though the bloodlust had been
crushed beneath his fear, he felt a
different
kind of urge overtaking him
now
. This
urge
was new,
and
something that he had never experienced before.
He was suddenly swamped with
the desire to keep her safe from her own mortality
, to keep her safe from the fragility of her life
. He was consumed with the need to change her, to make her as immortal as he was
.
To keep her
protected from he
r life and the certain death that accompanied it
. 

   Though he had changed people before, he had never been consumed with the fierce
need
to do so.
Never felt t
he fierce craving
to make sure that she never had to face her own mortality again.
He closed his
eyes
, shaking with his
urge
to change her, shaking with the desire to keep her forever safe, and with him.
He could take her away from here, keep her safe, sheltered, and loved. She
would
never have to worry about fighting again; never have to worry about the brutality of her life. And he knew that
her life
was brutal
.
H
e had known some Hunter’s during his
long
lifetime,
seen what they had gone through, and
had even killed a few of them.
He did not want her to have to experience that. She deserved far better than what her lot in life had handed her.

  
“Devon.”
He shook his head, trying to clear himself of his
urges
as he met her tired gaze. There was a sad acceptance
about her
;
the
knowledge
of death
within her
stare
rattled him
completely
.
The norm
al light in her eyes was dimmer; the spark of life that radiated from her was already beginning to flicker.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I… I…”

 
“
Shh
baby, it’l
l be ok.” Her wide eyes met his;
tears fill
ed
the bright depths of them. “Don’t leave me Cassie, just hold on. Don’t you leave me,” he whispered fervently.

   Tears slid down her face. Resting his hand over top of hers, he pushed hard against the wound, hoping to
help
stem the life pouring from her.
There was one way that he
knew he
could
completely
stop the bleeding
.
H
e was just afraid that it would take more self
control than he possessed at the moment.