“He wants their blood,” Cain pressed out. “The humans out there . . . the scent is too much for him.”
Oliver looked like a wild animal, his fangs protruding from his mouth. Sharp claws were where his fingers had been, and his eyes glared with aggression.
“Shit!”
As he rushed to help Cain, Quinn felt guilt blast through him. He hadn’t spent much time with his prodigy to help him through the change. He should have been by his side, leading him outside and staying with him to help him control his urges.
“Oliver, I’m so sorry. It’ll be okay. You’ll get through this.”
He grabbed Oliver’s arms and held him in a vice grip, then motioned to Cain. “Get bottled blood from the panty. He has to feed right now.”
Cain nodded. “You got it.” He rushed out the door.
Quinn looked into Oliver’s eyes, hoping to connect with him, to get his attention. But it appeared that his prodigy didn’t even see him.
“Oliver, talk to me. It’s me, Quinn, your sire.”
He shook him lightly, then harder. No reaction. He felt the strength with which the kid was fighting him to get out of his hold, but as an older vampire, Quinn was stronger.
“Everything will be good in a minute. Trust me. You’ll feel better in a little while. I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you.”
The door burst open and Cain rushed in, two bottles of blood in his hands. Setting one on the washer, he unscrewed the other.
“Feed him,” Quinn ordered.
Cain led the bottle to Oliver’s lips and started pouring the red liquid into his mouth. At the first swallow, Quinn felt the tension in his body release.
It took only seconds for Oliver to down the bottle.
“Give him the second one too. We’ve gotta be sure that he’s sated.” Considering how wild Oliver had looked, Quinn wondered if a third bottle might be needed to subdue the kid’s lust for human blood.
Slowly, he felt Oliver’s muscles relax under his grip. He stopped fighting. Quinn watched as his claws turned back into fingers and the red glare in his eyes dissipated.
“He looks better already,” Cain remarked and removed the second empty bottle from Oliver’s lips.
Suddenly, Oliver seemed to realize where he was and what had happened. A rueful look crossed his face.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t . . . I couldn’t . . . I wanted . . .” He broke off and dropped his lids, clearly ashamed of his actions.
Quinn released his arms and pulled him into an embrace, patting his head. “It’s happened to all of us before. I should have been there for you. I should have known that the crowd of humans outside the front door would create too strong a scent for you to resist. It’s not your fault.”
Oliver lifted his head. “I disappointed you.”
“What happened is natural. And it will continue to happen until we’ve got it under control. But I know you’re strong. Stronger than those urges. You can do it.”
“I hope so,” Oliver mused then turned his head to Cain. “Thanks for helping me.”
Cain shrugged. “Hey, whatever it takes.”
Quinn released his prodigy from his arms. “Let’s get you upstairs.”
“But I thought we had to evacuate,” Oliver protested.
“Screw that. The fire is pretty much under control from what I saw. You’re staying inside. We’ll smuggle you past the firemen to your room, and if they see us, we’ll wipe their memories.”
Cain peeked out the door into the corridor. “All clear.”
They quietly snuck out of the laundry room and rounded the next corner. Quinn arrested his movement and pulled back, stretching his arm to the back to stop his friends from going any farther.
A fireman came down the stairs, but instead of heading out the door, he turned a corner, going in the opposite direction. Unlike the other firemen Quinn had seen earlier, this one wasn’t wearing an oxygen tank on this back.
Just as he turned toward the door to the basement and garage, Quinn caught a glimpse of him. He read the nametag on his uniform. Cheng it said. His eyes shot up to the guy’s face. The man was clearly Caucasian, not Asian as the name would suggest. Within a split second he noticed something else: the man’s aura. It wasn’t human, nor was his scent, which now drifted toward Quinn. The man was a vampire.
And there was only one reason a strange vampire would be in this house: he had to be one of Keegan’s men. Quinn was pretty sure that it wasn’t Keegan himself since Rose had mentioned that he had dark hair and this man’s hair, sticking out from beneath his helmet, was clearly blond. He briefly wondered how the vampire had been able to infiltrate into the group of firefighters, but figured that he would have had to employ mind control for them not to realize that he wasn’t Cheng.