Midnight's Captive(67)

The drough cried out, and Dale lifted her in his arms and sped away before Galen could finish her off. The other droughs were quick to follow, leaving the alley quiet and still once more.

“We need to get you and Britt out of here,” Quinn said as he walked up.

Aiden’s chest heaved from the exertion of battle, and his body was a ball of aches. Yet, he’d never felt more alive than at that moment. His father’s shirt was gone but his wounds were healing, and he had a satisfied grin upon his face.

“You wanted drough blood?” Galen asked as he held up his hand, blood dripping from his claws.

Aiden laughed, and then gripped his side, where the magic had pummeled him, as the throbbing reminded him how close he’d come to death.

That smile faded when he remembered Brit and all she had witnessed. Aiden turned to find her eyes wide, staring at all three of them in a combination of shock and alarm.

God only knew what she thought of him now, but Aiden would deal with that later. First, he had to get her out of the alley before the droughs returned.

“Britt, this is my father,” Aiden said, and pointed to Quinn. He then jerked his chin to Galen. “And this is Galen. I can explain everything.”

Britt stood and visibly swallowed. “If I’m to sample the blood on Galen’s … claws … I need to do it immediately.”

Aiden would give her credit. She didn’t melt into a puddle of screams as Galen and Quinn stood in their Warrior forms next to him. It was just another reason Aiden found her irresistible.

“Wallace knows what we’ve been doing,” Quinn said, his voice hard with anger. “We can no’ chance returning to the lab now.”

Aiden shook his head. “We can no’ give up on this. We have to finish.”

“I’ve got equipment at my flat,” Britt said.

Galen’s nostrils flared as he exhaled. “No’ safe enough. Wallace will have that watched as well.”

“The hospital,” Britt offered, her hands shaking as she clasped them in front of her. “I can get in there to do some testing.”

Aiden stared at Britt in amazement. She might be traumatized by all she’d witnessed, but she pulled herself together to help him. “We need to get moving, then.”

“We doona have time to walk. We need to use speed. Warrior speed,” Quinn said with a wink to Britt. He then held out his hand. “Shall we, lass?”

Aiden let out a sigh when Britt took his father’s hand and Quinn lifted her in his arms, then ran toward the hospital. Aiden pulled his hand away from his side and looked at the blood coating it

“Oh, shite,” Galen grumbled. “You should’ve told your father.”

Aiden grinned through the pain. Battle was exhilarating, but not when loved ones’ lives were on the line, or when black magic rendered him almost useless. “Britt can give us answers. I can no’.”

“Nay, you imbecile, you’re just his son. Quinn would give his own life for yours.”

“I know.” Aiden leaned his shoulder against the brick of the building and let his eyes close for a second. It was becoming more and more difficult to keep on his feet. “But I’m no’ the one who defeats the evil. It’s you, my father, and the other Warriors.”

Galen let loose a low growl of frustration. “Come. They’ll be waiting on us. You’ll have that seen to when we get there.”

With Galen’s speed, he got them there just as Britt was using a keypad to open the door into the hospital. Aiden leaned against the wall for support, the blood seeping between his fingers now.

Britt winked at him when the door gave a loud beep and opened. He tried to smile, but the world was going black at the edges of his vision.

“Aiden!” Britt yelled.

He wanted to tell her it would be all right, but the darkness already claimed him.



Britt’s hands shook while she took samples of the blood on Galen’s dark green claws as she worried about Aiden. She kept glancing at him, hating how still he lay on the table as his father—father!—cleaned his wound.

“Why didn’t he tell us he was hurt?” she asked.

Quinn tossed aside another towel soaked with blood. “Because he’s as stubborn as his mother.”

“Nay,” Galen said. “He’s like his father.”

Quinn turned green eyes to Galen that were filled with worry. “He’s my only son. I can no’ lose him.”

“Then call Fallon. He can have Sonya here before your next breath.”

Britt listened to them, questions rushing through her mind. Druids, magic. What else was there? It terrified her, but she had come to know Aiden, and her findings on the blood were career changing.