“You can’t,” he muttered, looking back to Lucien and he finished, “Your mate.”
“I can,” Gregor stated, stepping forward.
“She’s your daughter,” Yuri hissed, his voice repulsed.
“Yes, and I want her to survive,” Gregor fired back.
“Then I’ll do it,” Yuri announced moving toward them.
“Fuck, fuck,” Callum clipped, looked down at his agonized bride, took in her torment and made a decision. “Yuri is going to feed from you, honey. Try to stay calm. It won’t hurt.”
She nodded, clearly in agony, clearly willing to try anything.
Callum moved away and Yuri moved in, gently pulling Sonia up, twisting her in his lap as he sat in the couch and Callum felt his entire body turn to stone.
“Please, darling, try to stay still so I don’t do you more harm,” Yuri murmured in a soft voice, his arms tenderly gathering Callum’s mate to him, one hand cupping the back of her head, moving it to the side, exposing her neck and Callum tasted bile in his throat.
Her eyes came to him and he forced his lips to curl up. “It’s going to be all right, baby doll,” he assured.
She nodded.
Yuri ran his tongue along her neck and it took everything Callum had to fight back the instinct roiling in him to tear his mate from the vampire’s arms and rip him apart.
Powerless and hating fucking everything about that feeling, Callum watched as Yuri tore his bride’s flesh open and he fed.
This lasted too long, way too long as Yuri gathered her closer, closer, fucking closer and took more.
Again, suddenly, Sonia’s body arched violently, ripping her throat from the vampire’s teeth, blood poured down her chest and she screamed that hideous scream.
Yuri moved in quickly to lash her neck with his tongue, the healing began slowly but Callum was there, tearing his wife from the vampire and pulling her into his arms.
She again thrashed, struggled, clawed at him, now keening animal noises that seemed physical, shredding him.
He could take no more.
“Where’s that goddamn injection!” he roared, moving to sit in the couch that Yuri vacated, holding his mate as close as he could get her, feeling her flesh burn to the touch.
“This isn’t good, Cal. This isn’t good, my wolf,” Sonia said, her voice weak, the fear in it palpable, her body’s struggles unceasing.
The door swung open and Orphenon followed by Calder ran into the room and straight to Sonia.
“The injection?” Callum bit out and Calder handed it to him as Orphenon got close, grabbed Sonia’s flailing wrist and then dropped it immediately.
“Jesus,” Orphenon whispered, glancing quickly at Callum before he went for Sonia’s wrist again and demanded to the room at large, “A tub, ice, immediately! Get someone to my car to get my bag!”
Callum turned his mate and moved to inject her.
“How many is that?” Orphenon asked, his tone dire and urgent and Callum stopped.
“Dose two,” Callum told him.
“Your grace, I don’t think –” Orphenon started.
“It’s the only thing that works,” Callum clipped.
“It’s poison, your grace,” Orphenon whispered, Sonia gasped then bucked then arched and shrieked so loud, so long and so horrifying, it was a wonder everyone’s ears didn’t immediately start bleeding.
Callum held her close but leaned into Orphenon. “It’s worked for decades.”
“I’m not sure it’s wise,” Orphenon replied but Sonia jerked mightily and shrieked yet again.
“If you don’t think it’s wise then what do we fucking do?” Callum snarled, setting the injection aside and again fighting her struggles in order to pull his mate close.
“We need to get her temperature down immediately,” Orphenon answered.
“Do you think?” Callum’s tone was snide.
“I can see you’re upset and I understand that, I do, but I know what’s in that injection, Callum, and two doses is absolutely not advisable.”
“She’s burning alive.”
“That’s why we need to get her temperature down.”
“Then how about we cease discussing it and do that?” Callum gritted.
“Cal, Cal, Cal, my wolf,” Sonia called suddenly, her voice strange, hideously weak at the same time desperate and Callum jerked his gaze to his wife, his blood now ice in his veins at the sound. “Cal, Cal, Cal,” she chanted feebly.
“Baby doll, I’m right here.”
“Cal, it’s happening,” she whispered, her hand moving to clutch his lapel again.
“We’re going to get your temperature down, honey,” he assured her.