What Rough Beast [Blood Oath 1] Read Online Free

Lucien lifted her.
    She'd feed as they fled. They couldn't wait.
    Krystiyan wouldn't.
    When they emerged from the tunnel, Malachi weaved shakily in the stable's sole exit. Sticky black blood sheeted his shirt and seeped into the waistline of his jeans. “She lives, then.” He leaned against the doorjamb, his face pasty white. “Good."
    Snarling, Lucien swiveled to place the bulk of his body between Mal and the woman. He anchored her to him with one arm, freeing the other to retrieve his sword. The sharp, metallic slide of his weapon as it slipped from its sheath electrified him. “Don't make me kill you."
    "David may have beat you to it, kid.” Malachi laughed, turning to stagger from the stable. “I'll leave a blood trail for Krystiyan, lead him from you as long as I can.” Beads of scarlet spattered on the cool grass as he walked, his gait awkward and uneven.
    Lucien followed cautious yards behind. Relief that his partner wasn't fighting him for Kate made him dizzy, but he was young, not stupid. He wasn't foolish enough to put his weapon away yet. Malachi would hunt him for the woman cradled in his arms soon.
    His throat tightened.
    Garrick hunted him already.
    "This is where we part company,” the elder said when they reached the hole they'd cut in the perimeter fence. “I'll go through first, heading west-northwest.” He raised a red-smeared hand when Lucien opened his mouth. “I don't want to know which direction you're going, so you don't need to lie."
    He watched his partner's clumsy crawl through the opening. “Thanks, Mal."
    When he reached the other side, Malachi struggled, but he finally pulled himself upright. “I'm in no shape to fight you for her, anyway.” Shoulders squaring, he lurched forward one step, then another. “It was good hunting with you, Luc."
    Lucien frowned at the wet rattle in his partner's chest. “Forget drawing the others from me. I can outrun them. You can't. Garrick is coming to help you, Mal. Go to ground."
    "Death is nothing to be afraid of.” The vampyr smiled, blood foaming pink and frothy at the corner of his mouth. “Even the death Krystiyan would give me would be...a blessing."
    Lucien's first responsibility lay with Kate now. He wouldn't risk her, not even for his partner, but the survival of their kind demanded more than the woman in his arms, the females who were so horrifically rare. They needed women. Desperately. But to win the war, they needed soldiers too. “We can't afford to lose you, Malachi."
    "Get the woman to safety. I won't die.” Mal shrugged an apathetic shoulder. “My luck's never been that good."
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Chapter Two
    Lucien sprawled against the scratchy nap of the sofa. His chest heaved when Kate's mouth released the opening he'd made above his left nipple. The cut wept blood, but her boneless weight told him she already slept, too weak to notice or care.
    He closed his eyes.
    His head fell back against the couch's spine.
    Five nights.
    He'd wasted precious weeks circling Krystiyan's search parties and Garrick's ruthless hunt to reach his closest shelter, a derelict basement in Chicago's K-Town. Then he'd shut out the world to nurture and tend to her for five hellacious nights.
    He'd cared for the injuries David had inflicted. He'd comforted her through the agony of the transition, murmuring into her hair, stroking and soothing her. He'd coaxed precious drops past dry, cracked lips as hour passed to hour and night melted into night. In the beginning, he'd marveled at how eagerly she'd feasted. Those brief periods of hunger had galvanized him while they'd been on the run, but hope had since become a vague memory.
    He was losing her.
    During the daylight hours, the pallor of her skin blanched to bloodless alabaster. The purpling of her bruises had intensified, and the slashed skin on her back had ceased knitting. Most telling, Lucien had forced her to feed for the past two days. Before, feeding had been instinctive. Though