My sisters covered their mouths as tears slid down their faces. The wolves growled, demand for vengeance squelching Leya’s cries of hysteria. Emme released Leya. Her wounds were sealed, but she still needed care.
I shoved away my sadness and examined Leya closely. With all the volume she’d lost, her veins had collapsed. “She needs blood. And she needs it fast.” I glanced at Taran, who’d turned away, not wanting anyone to see her cry. “Taran, can you start an IV in her femoral vein? I think that’s the only option we have to transfuse her.”
Taran wiped her eyes and nodded. “Shayna, go to the blood bank and get some platelets. We’ll need a few units.”
Gemini shook his head. “Human blood is not compatible. It will cause an allergic and potentially fatal reaction. Take ours instead.”
“Mine first,” Aric insisted. “As a pureblood and her Leader, my blood will stabilize her faster.”
Shayna’s panicked face met mine. “But how will we transfer it?” Her eyes danced to Koda’s. “Your blood clots quicker, doesn’t it?”
Taran grabbed a set of scissors and cut through the side of Leya’s jeans. “I’ll get the catheter into her vein. You draw her blood in a syringe and pass it to me right away.”
Shayna gripped the side of the stretcher. “But if the blood clots too fast, we can send an embolus into her heart.”
Koda placed his arm on Shayna’s shoulder. “It’s okay, baby. Blood clots don’t kill us.” He skimmed Leya’s graying tone. “Usually.”
Shayna and I set up the catheters Taran needed. Taran shrugged off her jacket and directed the wolves on how to hold Leya’s legs. Emme wiped the blood from Leya’s face with a warm washcloth.
Aric spoke to Leya as we rushed to get things started. “How did you get away?”
Leya’s glassy eyes blinked back at Aric. “They let us go. In the middle of feeding on us, they turned toward the mountains like something had called them. And just like that, they were gone.” Her pale lips pursed together. “I picked up Paul and carried him to the road. Some humans stopped and brought us here. They kept trying to take Paul from me…but I didn’t want to let him go.” Leya’s voice trailed into an echo before her lids closed.
Aric and his wolves exchanged glances. I groaned. Someone is controlling the infected vamps.
“We need to hurry,” Taran muttered.
Aric sat in a chair Emme placed in front of him. He rolled up the sleeve of his thick navy sweater. I brought the tray with me and stared at his muscular arm. Were veins didn’t rise to the surface like human veins. They were embedded deep beneath the muscle, where other preternaturals couldn’t easily reach them. I showed him the tourniquet. “I’m going to have to make this tight.” They were the first words I’d spoken to him since our fight. And while I recognized the need, I wished I’d said more.
Aric’s eyes met mine, his voice gruff. “Don’t worry about me. Do what you have to.”
I screwed the eighteen-gauge needle onto a fifty-milliliter syringe. “Taran’s in the vein,” Emme whispered behind me.
“Okay.” I applied the tourniquet on Aric’s upper arm. And although Aric’s were blood prevented infection, I wiped the bend in his arm with alcohol.
“It’s not necess—”
I cut Aric off, clenching my jaw tight enough to grind my fangs. “Give me a break. I’m a creature of habit.” My voice shook as I spoke. I’d started IVs and drawn blood more times than I could count. Yet I was scared senseless to pierce Aric’s vein, knowing it would cause him pain. I would have turned him over to Emme and Shayna…but I didn’t want them touching him. My fingers swept over the crook in his arm, trying to find that thick, juicy vein all humans had. The warmth of Aric’s skin sizzled beneath my touch. He turned his head, groaning softly. Our skin hadn’t connected as much as I would have wanted. And although I’d longed to touch him, I’d never imagined the next time would involve a needle the size of a dart. I cleared my throat. “Your veins are buried in deep. I’m going to have to dig around to find one.”
Aric kept his head turned. “Go ahead.”
I stuck the needle far in, guessing where his vein might be hiding. I drew back on the plunger slowly, not wanting to collapse his vein. When I didn’t get a return, I swore and pushed further in, only to jerk the needle almost immediately back out.
Emme hurried next to me. “What’s wrong, Celia?” She muffled a scream.
“Damn it, Celia, hurry…”