Chapter Thirty-One
Nik rolled his eyes at my snarky quip and continued to examine my wrist. It looked as though the wolf bite had also broken the thin ulna bone in my wrist, or at least that's what Nik said. Evidently, during his many years of existence, he had picked up a fairly in-depth understanding of the human body. Nik carefully worked his fingers into the torn flesh and realigned the bone. I grabbed my destroyed shirt and wadded it into my mouth to keep from screaming. I probably wouldn't have been able to scream even if I'd tried. All the breath had been forcefully expelled from my body when he started working on the bone, and my lungs refused to inhale again until he had finished.
Finally, he wrapped my wrist in bandages, being careful not to move the joint. Evidently, he didn’t think a traditional cast was necessary. He reached into the cooler and pulled out a blood bag. I felt my need and desire swarm through my veins. Was this what a drug addict feels when going through withdrawals? But my fix was right in front of me. I breathed through my mouth, trying to control myself. Nik tried to hand me the bag.
“What are you thinking?” he demanded in a harsh tone when I didn't immediately take it. “You have to drink. Don't tell me you're not okay with blood bags now.”
“I just want to work on my control. I can't let what happened tonight happen again.”
“Now is not the time to practice your control. You need to drink to heal,” he growled. When I still didn't take the bag, he tore the plug off and forced it into my mouth. No matter how much my control had improved since turning, it was not good enough to resist when blood was filling my mouth and running down my throat. I jerked the bag from his hand and downed it. He had another waiting when I finished. I didn't stop to think. I just took it and drank.
Somewhere between my third and fourth blood bag, Nik took one for himself. He sipped at it, watching my insanity. When I finished my own bag, I set it down and waved off the fifth. I shivered and glanced down at my nearly naked body. It was covered in splatters of blood.
“Can I have a washcloth?” I asked, rubbing at the worst of the stains with my bare hands.
He got me three. I would need them. I scrubbed at my leg, stomach, and arms while Nik sat with his back against the tub, sipping on another blood bag—giving me some privacy. By the time I got the stains off, my skin was red from rubbing. At least it wasn't blood. I hissed in pain when I shifted to try to clean the blood that had dripped from my shoulder down my back.
“What's wrong?” he asked, turning around.
“Just can't get my shoulder cleaned.”
“Let me.” With Nik's help, I climbed out of the tub and sat on the edge facing away from Nik. He scrubbed my back, having to rinse his rags half way through.
“Nik?” I whispered when he was nearly finished. He grunted in response. “Did it hurt Jordan when you… when you bit him?”
He gave a long, tortured sigh. “No Ash, in fact, being human, he probably enjoyed it.”
“What?” I asked, spinning around on the edge of the tub, causing him to bump my damaged shoulder. I winced and had to take a few shallow breaths before I could stare at him.
Nik sighed again. “I am very old and have been doing this a long time. I didn't hurt him.”
“But when Isaac bit me it hurt like hell.”
Nik thought about his words for a moment before speaking. “I don't know Isaac really well, but what I do know of him suggests that he doesn't care whether his victims suffer. I doubt he ever feeds without killing the person. When a vampire is feeding and trying to create a connection with the human it is better to cause as little pain as possible.”
“Why?”
“Because pain helps clear the head. It means their natural defenses are better able to block out our call. Vampires who want to keep their humans learn quickly to be gentle.”
“So you didn't hurt Jordan?” I asked again. I just wanted to be sure.
“I did not hurt Jordan,” Nik replied, saying each word slowly.
“You sure?” I just couldn't separate what I had felt when Isaac fed off me and the idea of Nik feeding off my best friend.
This time, Nik growled deep in his chest. In a lightning movement, Nik sunk his teeth into my neck on the opposite side of my wound. I felt a tiny prick and then nothing. He sucked on my neck for less than half a minute. His lips felt warm against my cold skin as they carefully slid off, wiping the last of the blood off my neck.
“Now… did that hurt?”
I shook my head, suddenly feeling very tired and overwhelmed. “What's going to happen to him now?”
Nik took a deep breath before speaking. “That depends on a lot of things. One of us has to keep him close through feeding. If you want, I can do it until your control is good enough. Or you can leave him with me. I'll take care of him.” Nik shrugged. “After all, I'm in need of a new… family. He'd be welcome at my home.”
I felt my face dip into something like a pout. I was hoping Nik would just leave him alone. “Can't we just let him go?”
“No. He knows about us. We’ve been over this, Ash. If Mikhail found out about him, and that he wasn't controlled by one of us, Mikhail would have him killed.”
“Then just don't tell Mikhail,” I whined.
“It's not that simple. He is my primus. I am bound to obey him and act in the best interest of the seethe. Letting Jordan go free is not within the best interest of the seethe.”
“But if we just talk to him, I know he would promise to keep our secret.”
“That's not enough, Ash, and you know it. Our secrecy is vital. If the public found out a lot of people would die, and likely not many vampires.”
“That's not why Mikhail wants our secret kept,” I mumbled.
“True. But that doesn't make his reasons any less valid.” After a long, resentful silence, I nodded. Nik tenderly reached up and brushed my hair out of my face.
“I'll take care of him, I promise.” I nodded again.
I knew I was pouting, and I knew his reasoning was sound. I just hated feeling helpless, and I hated Mikhail for being the hard-ass bastard that the seethe needed. And I hated myself for feeling all this hate. “C’mon, you need some sleep.”
Nik brought me a large T-shirt, which he slipped over my bandaged shoulder before getting my head and other arm through the proper holes. The shirt nearly reached my knees. Rather than make me walk, he scooped me up and carried me to his king size bed.