“He’s not leaving anyone,” Bel snarled. The vampire dropped to the ground beside Wyatt and shoved him out of the way. “No one is fucking dying today.” The vampire worked quickly, pressing a thick gauze-like padding against River’s chest. He grabbed what appeared to be twine and wrapped it around River several times before tying it tight, securing the padding to staunch the bleeding. He then applied more cotton padding to his throat and secured it.
“Bel—”
The vampire grabbed his face hard, digging his fingers into his cheeks so that River was forced to meet his eyes. “I am your master. Your master is commanding you to fight. Hang on. Do you hear me? You will not die.”
A glimmer of fight returned to River’s eyes and he tried to smile. “Yes, Master.”
“Good boy,” Bel said and released him.
“How are we getting out of here?”
Bel twisted and pointed behind them, wincing as the motion pulled at his seared flesh. Wyatt looked across the room to find another wall had opened to reveal a ladder leading beneath the house.
“You are the coolest fucking vampire ever,” River said weakly.
“The ladder goes down pretty far. You’ll need to fireman-carry River. I’ll follow.”
Wyatt nodded, but his stomach twisted. The position was going to hurt a hell of a lot, but River was too weak to manage the ladder on his own. He just prayed that Bel was strong enough to handle the ladder.
Shoving to his feet, Wyatt took a couple of deep breaths before looking at his lover. Through the thick door, they could still hear the howl of the smoke alarm. Someone was pounding on the metal barrier, and pounding had started on one of the windows for the lab. With enough time, they’d get through, assuming the house didn’t collapse on them first.
“We got this,” River said, trying to smile.
Wyatt could only nod. He pulled River to his feet and hefted him over his shoulder in one smooth motion, not giving the wolf time to have second thoughts. River let out a strangled cry, like he’d tried to hold it back, but the pain had forced it out all the same.
Placing one hand on the ladder rung, he looked over his shoulder at Bel. “No martyrs?”
Bel shook his head. “No martyrs, I swear. You need me for direction to Marcus’s house. He’ll be able to patch up River.”
Wyatt believed him. He had to. For one cold second, he was afraid the vampire would close the door behind him, separating them while he fought the shifters on his own. No, they were sticking together.
Small muffled cries slipped from River as Wyatt made slow and steady progress down the ladder into the darkness. Above him, he could hear Bel moving very slowly. His breathing was heavy and labored as if he were struggling, but he kept moving.
The sounds in the house grew more distant until they were enveloped in a kind of unnerving silence. No smoke. No alarms. Just the quiet of the earth and their ragged pants.
Just before Wyatt reached the bottom, lights flicked on, revealing what looked to be a spartan garage. Along one wall was a small number of weapons and in the center was a black sedan with darkly tinted windows.
“Put River across the back seat and open the trunk,” Bel whispered between wheezing breaths. “There’s a heavy blanket in there. I’ll lay on River to try to slow the bleeding, but you’ll need to cover me with the blanket. The tinting on the window isn’t enough to block out the sun at this hour.”
Wyatt hurried to follow Bel’s instructions. River was frighteningly pale, blood already soaking through the padding Bel had applied. They were running out of time, and Marcus’s house was so fucking far away. Grabbing the blanket, he carefully helped the vampire into the car. He wasn’t looking much better, lines of pain cutting deep into the uninjured side of his face.
Once they were settled as best as they could be, Wyatt jumped behind the wheel and started the engine. Thankfully, the keys had been left in the cupholder for just such an emergency. He barreled down the long underground driveway. After what felt like miles, it dumped out onto a lonely road in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. He focused on the road in front of him, desperately trying to keep the growing panic at bay.
Bel gave directions, but they were almost immediately drowned out by the persistent ringing of a phone.
“The Bluetooth display says ‘Rafe,’ ” Wyatt said. “Is the car connected to your phone?”
“Yes, a spare I picked up in the lab,” Bel murmured. “Answer it. Tell him.”
With the push of a button, Rafe’s frantic voice filled the car. “Bel! Where are you? What’s going on?”
“We were attacked. Bel’s hurt, River…” Wyatt’s voice cracked and he had to try a second time to get the words out. “River is dying.”