He hadn’t dealt with this kind of shit in too damn long. As his hand pressed into his mate’s throat, he remembered the healing agent in his saliva. There were a lot of things that Kade had forgotten over the years. He had been locked up with nothing but humans, so any abilities that he had were hidden right along with his leopard.
Kade leaned down, pulling the T-shirt away. He began to lick the wound, praying that this worked. His mate had already lost so much blood and he was terrified that he had gotten here too late. He damn near shouted in triumph when the twin circular holes stopped bleeding, the tissue slowly filling in.
Kade didn’t stop. He kept swiping his tongue over Keaton’s neck, praying for a miracle. His mate was so pale and lying unconscious in Kade’s arms. He brushed the blond strands back that were thick with dried blood from his mate’s neck, examining the wounds a little closer.
The holes were closed, the skin raw around the edges, but Keaton was no longer bleeding. He gathered Keaton in his arms and got him out of the street. Kade just wasn’t sure where to take him. The juice hut was dark, telling Kade that Keaton had already locked up for the night.
When he heard loud footsteps, Kade turned to see three men heading his way. The largest of the three joined in the fight and helped the timber wolf kill the vampire. The two smaller men were hurrying over to Kade.
“Is he okay?” the blond asked, his eyes sweeping over Keaton’s body. Kade pulled his mate tighter to his chest, taking a step back. He bared his canines, warning them to keep away. His mate was injured and Kade would do whatever it took to keep Keaton safe. He didn’t know these men and was ready to fight to the death to make sure no more harm came to his mate.
“Whoa,” the one who had just joined the fight said as he carefully maneuvered himself in front of the two smaller men. It took a second, but Kade recognized Law Santiago from the bike shop. “Have you lost your fucking mind? How dare you show your teeth to our mates when we are over there fighting your mate’s attacker.” Law took a step closer, but one of the small guys spun and pushed his hands into the timber wolf’s chest.
“He’s scared, Law,” he said as he continued to push at the man. “You and Dagon just give him some room.”
Kade listened to Law shout angrily in Spanish. He could only assume the man was cursing.
Law’s mate turned toward Kade. “Take him to the resource center and I’ll call the doctor. Do you know where it’s at?”
Kade nodded. He had seen it on his way to the diner. He had no clue at the time what it was used for, but now that he needed it, Kade was thankful as hell.
“Then go. The building is unlocked.”
Without another word, Kade took off. He hadn’t run this fast in a very long time. He made it to the center and hurried to the door. Spotting a hallway, Kade raced down the corridor, finding a room filled with cots. He placed his mate on the first one, checking his wound to see if it had opened back up.
“Kade,” Keaton whispered as he gently tossed his head from side to side. Kade ran his fingers over his mate’s hair, shushing him.
“I’m right here.” Kade crawled up into the cot and curled around Keaton, feeling a strong need to protect him, to touch and make sure that his mate was okay. “I’m so sorry that this happened to you.” He continued to stroke the blond strands. It brought him comfort.
“My throat hurts,” Keaton whispered. “Some guy tried to tear it out.” Keaton turned his head, his sapphire eyes skimming over Kade’s face. “I think he thought he was a vampire. But vampires don’t exist. He was crazy, right?”
Kade wasn’t sure what to say. He couldn’t bring himself to lie to his mate, but he knew the truth would put added stress on the man’s already stressed mind. “Just rest.”
A small smile formed on Keaton’s lips. His expression was painful. “You didn’t stand me up.”
How could his mate think of something like that right now? He had just been attacked, and Keaton had been worried that Kade stood him up? The man needed to sort out his priorities. Kade glanced up when he heard someone approaching.
“I’m Dr. Sheehan. Can I take a look at him?” The doctor hadn’t moved away from the door. He stood there waiting to be invited into the room. Kade could see someone standing behind the doctor.
“Who is he?”
“My mate,” the doctor said. “He is just going to stand by the door and not get in my way.”
Kade’s eyes flickered over to the man and then gave a short nod. The doctor moved closer, sitting on the side of the cot. “Did you heal him?” the doctor asked as his fingers probed at Keaton’s neck.
“I licked his wound.” Kade watched as the human continued to examine his mate. His fingers were slim, his hands gentle. Kade wasn’t sure who this man was, but he could tell the guy cared. Kade stiffened when the doctor reached into his bag and pulled out a needle. “What is that for?”
“I need to draw his blood to see if the vampire who attacked him was infected.”
Infected? What did the human mean, infected? “What would he be infected with?” Kade hadn’t heard anything about a vampire infection. The idea alone perplexed him. Vampires bit. Vampires drank. Sometimes they killed their victims, but most of the time they just fed. The thought of Keaton being infected with anything scared the hell out of Kade.
“There’s a paranormal drug called Liquid Wrath. It is correctly named. It comes in the form
