Once Bitten, Twice Burned

Ryder was being merciful. A fairly new concept for him. And he didn’t even know why the hell he was bothering.

The child. The whisper came from inside of him as he hurried down the hallways. You know what it’s like when a child grows up alone.

Yes, he knew all too well.

He inhaled as he ran, pulling in all the scents around him. The cold scent of antiseptic. Bleach. The rotting stench of death. So many dead bodies. Wyatt had been a busy man.

He inhaled again. Caught the wilder, woodsy scent that Ryder knew came from shifters—that scent drifted from upstairs.

But the scent of fire . . . the scent of woman . . . the sweet but rich scent that he’d come to associate with Sabine—that scent came from dead ahead.

Ryder rushed forward. He expected to walk right into the room that housed Sabine. Instead Ryder entered an observation room. Two white lab coat–wearing bastards whirled toward him when he entered. Three seconds later, they hit the floor, unconscious.

Ryder looked out of that tinted glass. Another two-way mirror. He stared at Sabine. She was strapped to a table, while a guard headed toward her. The man had a gun in his hand.

Donaldson. Ryder recognized the guard instantly, and not just because he had a blood-soaked bandage at his throat. The guard’s bitter blood flowed within Ryder. The man—with his too short hair and tight, furious features—stared at Sabine with hate.

Are you pissed because I took a bite out of you? Ryder shoved the thought right at the guard. As with Thomas, forming the link with this human was effortless. All he’d needed was the blood, and, of course, to actually let the humans keep living long enough to use the link.

Donaldson stiffened.

That’s right. I’m inside of you now. There’s no getting away.

The guard’s trembling hand lifted the gun. This guy was stronger than Thomas had been. There’s no use fighting.You’re not powerful enough to stop me.

“Please, don’t!” Sabine yelled as she yanked against the straps that held her down.

Ryder could easily read Donaldson’s thoughts. She’s not human. The bitch deserves this pain. She’ll hurt, she’ll die, then she’ll come back again.

It’s not like she can ever really die.

The guard’s thoughts enraged Ryder. No, Ryder pushed into Donaldson’s mind as he grabbed the cell key card off one of the fallen doctors at his feet. She won’t die, and you won’t hurt her. So stop pointing that gun at her. Point it at your own damn self.

Ryder swiped the key card at the control box on Sabine’s cell. The lights flashed, and he ran into the room.

He found Donaldson standing near Sabine’s restrained figure. The guard had the barrel of the gun pressed against his own chest. Donaldson’s eyes were wild, and he screamed, “Stop! Stop me!”

Sabine wasn’t screaming. She just stared at the guard in wild horror.

Then she looked at Ryder. Her lips shook. “What’s—what’s happening?”

He rushed to her. Yanked away the restraints and pulled her into his arms. “You’re safe.”

She shook against him even as she wrapped her arms around him and held Ryder as tight as she could. As if she’d never let him go.

No one had ever held him like that. Most were too eager to escape him.

She knows what I am. What I can do. What I did to her.

And still she wants me? His chest ached. My second chance.

His arms curled around her. “I’m going to take you out of here.” Take her out, then come back to destroy the place. Wyatt wouldn’t get away with his sick experiments any longer.

She nodded against him, and her silken hair brushed over the side of his neck. He inhaled her scent, bringing it even deeper into his lungs. The scent soothed the fury that had been boiling to such a dangerous degree within him.

“I want to go home,” she told him, the words a whisper. She’d longed for her home before.

He eased back just enough to stare down at her. She didn’t seem to realize it yet, but her “home” wasn’t going to be a real option for her, not anymore. She’d changed.

The humans at her “home” hadn’t.

But he found he couldn’t crush the faint hope in her eyes.

Then her gaze darted to the guard and her dark eyes widened in alarm. “What is he doing?”

“Can’t stop!” Donaldson yelled before Ryder could speak. “He’s in my head.”

Ryder pulled Sabine up to her feet. “Forget about him.” He wouldn’t give the order for the guard to shoot. Not until Sabine was out of the room. No sense in her seeing that blood and gore.