She returned her attention to him. She had changed her shirt last night, but his gaze settled on where the bandage was. "Are you okay?" he asked hoarsely.
"Yes."
"I hurt you."
"No—"
"Yes, I did!"
Sera winced at the anger radiating from his voice. "Liam—"
He gripped her arms and pulled them forward. Sera tried to jerk them back, but he was already shoving the sleeves up. Bruises marred her upper arms and the delicate bones of her wrist. His breath rushed out of him as he gazed upon the ugly, dark marks. Marks he inflicted. He dropped his head as self-loathing gripped him.
"You didn't mean to," she whispered as she brushed back his raven hair. "It wasn't you."
"It was me!" he spat. "It is me!"
Her lower lip began to tremble as tears filled her eyes. He thought he had himself under control enough to see her, to come near her. He'd been wrong. His composure was rapidly unraveling as he thought about what could have happened to her, what Beth could have done to her, what he could have done to her.
He dropped her arms and stood swiftly. "Liam, please don't shut me out."
He couldn't shut her out if he tried. He couldn't get her out of his mind, out of his body, out of his soul. She was a part of him, and he needed her more than the blood keeping him alive.
"I have to go somewhere," he said.
"Where?"
"David and I are going to take the snowmobiles out."
"You can't!" she cried. "You can't go out there! Those things are out there! She's out there!"
He knew what was out there better than she did. He was aware of what they wanted, and that was her. "Liam," he heard her stand, but he didn't turn to face her.
"Sera stay away, just stay away." She sat back on the couch. "I have to go. This is something I have to do."
"Why?"
He ground his teeth as he moved further away from her. He could smell her blood. The memory of what it tasted like caused his teeth to lengthen, and his mouth to water. "I have to find food," he grated.
"You can just go into the woods!" she cried.
"For you. I have to find food for you."
She inhaled harshly as her hand fluttered to her throat. "Oh," she said dully as realization sank in. "I see."
"When I come back..." he grated.
Sera bit into her bottom lip. "I know."
"Good." He turned and walked from the room. He had to get away from her, now.
"Liam." He froze in the doorway as her voice drifted over him. "Please be careful."
"I will be."
"I love you."
He closed his eyes, clenched his jaw, and forced himself to leave before he couldn't.
Sera gazed out the window as dusk descended. She had long ago retired to her room, unable to face Kathleen's enthusiasm, Danielle's cheerful laughter, and Mike, Doug, and Jack's pitying glances. Her thoughts were in such turmoil she could barely understand what they were saying to her, let alone try to function.
She turned away from the window and woodenly moved toward the bed. These were her last hours as a human. Despair filled her as she slumped to the mattress. She wondered if it would hurt. It was a little uncomfortable when Liam bit her, but he hadn't taken it all before. He would now. When he changed her, when she died, would it hurt? It had to; dying couldn't be easy.
She shuddered as she wrapped her arms around herself. She was sitting here, waiting for death to come, for her death. She should run, she should flee into the night and never look back. But she couldn't move. She had nowhere to run, and even if she did, she knew she would return to him.
The waiting was killing her. The creeping by of minutes was making her edgy. She wondered where he was. She knew he was safe, she could feel that, but she still wondered where he was and when he would return to her.
She bit her bottom lip as she clasped her hands together. She could leave. If she left now, then she would be able to put some distance between herself and the cabin. There was another snowmobile; she could take that and go. No one would know until it was too late.
A muffled knock at the door caused her to jump. "Sera, are you okay?" Mike asked.
"Yes," she called back.
"Let me know if you need anything."
"I will."
He had come down at least twenty times since she had locked herself in over two hours ago. She knew he was worried, but he was driving her insane. Her nerves were frayed enough without being startled every ten minutes by his incessant need to check on her. She should have gotten used to expecting him, but her thoughts were too discombobulated to even try to remember Mike would be coming by every few minutes.
She stood back up and began to pace the room. Suddenly she stopped, her head tilted to the side, as she looked at the night beyond the window. Liam was back. She knew it, felt it. She walked over and closed the blinds. Her hand trembled as she stepped back. A steel cord of resolve strengthened her spine. She knew what she had to do.
Liam and David stomped the snow off their shoes as they entered the back porch and quickly shed their wet winter clothes. It had taken hours, and miles of snow, but they eventually found an open rest area. It took almost as long to wait for enough people to stop there but eventually, they had. He'd fed until he couldn't feed anymore, and then fed again.
He needed to make sure he had enough for Sera; that she would get enough blood for everything to go smoothly. He had seen the things that got stuck in between human and vampire, and they
