“I am sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. It looks like you have a few broken ribs. Your leg is also broken.”
I couldn’t move. What was he doing? Would he seriously kill this helpless child? Was he that far gone?
“What is your name?” he asked her.
“Olivia.”
“Ok, Olivia. I need you to stay calm.”
Olivia’s face became trance-like. He was Controlling her.
“I’m calm,” she replied.
Elias brought his wrist to his mouth, bit with his fangs, and held the dripping arm out to her.
“Don’t be scared, all right? Go ahead and drink this.”
She had no choice, and she placed her mouth over the bite. It wasn’t long before her leg popped back into place. Her hand left her side as her ribs obviously healed, and the wounds on her face and neck faded. Only dried blood remained on her skin.
Elias pulled away from her and jumped up, scaling the tree’s branches as Olivia watched in fascination. He grabbed the kite and jumped back down, his movements silent.
He held the kite out to her. “Here you go.”
She stood up. “Wow, thank you! Are you my guardian angel?”
Elias actually laughed good-naturedly. It sounded so strange to me.
“Quite the opposite, really.”
Olivia smiled. “You are! You are my guardian angel! You saved me.”
He crouched down to her level. “Listen to me, Olivia. You need to go back inside. Do not come out until your father gets home, and don’t do anything else dangerous. Make sure you drink some water, too. Do you have food in there that needs cooking?”
She shook her head. “No. There are sandwiches and fruit.”
“All right, then. Inside you go.”
She ran to the house, the biggest grin on her face. When she got to the back door, she turned around.
“You didn’t tell me your name,” she said.
But Elias was gone.
Olivia clutched the kite. “I have a guardian angel! I have a guardian angel!”
She went inside the house, singing about her angel.
I could scarcely breathe. This was not a just a dream.
This was a memory.
Elias had saved Olivia, and he hadn’t Controlled her to forget about him. Had he checked on her since it’d happened?
I looked to the fading moon as the dream dissolved around me. I only knew one thing for sure. It was something I didn’t want to accept, but it was most likely my only chance for survival.
Elias could still be saved, and Olivia was the key.
Chapter 5 An Offer Refused
My eyes opened. I was in Gabriel’s bed, wrapped in his arms. His eyes were closed, his black hair nearly covering them. His breathing was deep and even.
My heart hurt for him as I realized this was most likely the first time he had slept, truly slept, since I’d come into his life. Or rather, since he had forced himself into mine. He’d used the conscious sleep when we had stayed at the coven house, so he had still been aware of his surroundings; I knew it hadn’t been very restful to him.
The memory of his eyes snapping open when I’d held the stake over his heart flashed inside my mind, and I could still feel myself stabbing Gabriel while under Emma’s Control.
I shuddered. Just the thought of holding a stake anywhere even remotely near Gabriel made me sick.
I snuggled against him closer and fought the urge to stretch, not wanting to disturb him. He needed his rest. He needed a clear head so he could fully understand what I was going to tell him.
He wasn’t going to like it. I didn’t like it, but I knew how limited our choices were. I was going to have to get Thomas and Inola on my side. I would need their help in making Gabriel see the wisdom of my plan.
One of the biggest downfalls was that I couldn’t do the blood transfusion yet. I needed the blood connection with Elias so I could keep gauging his intentions, so that meant I couldn’t allow myself to be connected to Gabriel.
Elias trying to form a blood connection between us was an even bigger sign than the dream. Deep down, he was desperate. He had to be if he actually wanted my help.
I pushed away the remnants of the dream and smiled softly. I felt so much better today. Letting out some of the jagged pain inside of me had truly helped. Gabriel’s method had sucked, but that was one of the things I reluctantly admired about him. Gabriel wasn’t afraid to paint himself in a bad light or even push me toward the edge of hating him again when it came to doing what he believed was necessary for me.
I rested contently in Gabriel’s arms for three more hours. Finally, his eyelids fluttered, and vampire eyes blinked at me rapidly.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” I teased.
“What time is it?” Gabriel mumbled thickly.
I looked at the blue numbers on the alarm clock behind his head. “Eleven in the morning. You do realize the sun is probably out? Our schedule is backwards.”
“You were tired. I was tired. Seriously, this is the first time I’ve really slept since . . .”
I smirked. “Since you attacked me?”
“Don’t smile about that. It is not funny. I think I liked it better when you didn’t treat that so casually.”
“Fine, then,” I said, turning away from him onto my side. “I hate you again. Happy now?”
In a matter of mere seconds, he rolled me onto my back and got on top of me, gently pinning me beneath him. All I could do was stare at his lips, my breathing too shallow and too fast.
“Not sure I believe you, heart. Your eyes aren’t burning with rage the way they used to. And even when you did hate me . . .”
He leaned down to me, his lips barely brushing mine. The feather-like touch was agonizing; I wanted him to truly kiss me instead of teasing me.
“You still wanted me. I could always tell,” he said against my mouth. “Just like I can tell now. It drives me crazy knowing that
