With Everything I Am (The Three #2)(145)
Author: Kristen Ashley

He took her to a dressing room, laid her on a couch, sat at its edge and took her hand.

Her eyes fluttered open.

“Cal, get the gown off me,” she begged in a pained voice.

“Hang on, baby doll. Regan has an injection,” he cooed, holding her hand tight as she started shifting on the couch.

“I need this gown off me,” she repeated, clutching his hand and beginning to move with agitation.

“One second, honey,” he told her and smelled Regan before he saw her rush in, Gregor on her heels, Yuri not far behind and behind him, Caleb, Ryon, Calder, Sonia’s bridesmaids and Lucien.

“A guard on the door, Ry,” he ordered, his eyes then moving to his mother, “Injection.”

She was already digging in her purse as she rushed toward them.

“Cal,” Sonia’s hand gripped his in a death hold. “Please, honey, please, get this gown off me. I’m burning up.”

“The injection’s coming,” Callum assured her.

“Sonny, my dear, did you forget your injection last night?” Gregor asked. Having moved close, he squatted down beside the couch.

“No,” she shook her head, her eyes heated and dazed, “Cal gave it to me as usual.”

Gregor looked to Callum. “Stress?” he murmured.

“Maybe,” Callum murmured back as Regan handed him the loaded syringe.

“Get a cool cloth, hurry,” he heard Yuri order someone as Callum looked down at his mate.

“Roll to your side, little one, I’m injecting through your dress,” Callum told her and she stopped shifting with agitation and rolled to her side as ordered.

Callum made swift work of injecting the medicine.

He then carefully pulled her up and into his arms. “Two minutes,” he whispered in her ear. “Two minutes, baby doll, hold on.”

She writhed in his arms, fighting him as he counted it down in her ear.

At one minute five seconds, her back arched so violently she nearly tore herself out of his arms, her head flew back and she screamed a scream filled with agony.

Callum’s blood ran cold.

“Fucking hell, what the f**k?” Yuri growled from close.

“Here’s a cold cloth,” Leah said, handing it to Gregor who immediately moved in to press it to Sonia’s forehead.

He had it there for not a second before she bucked again, letting out a primal scream that tore through the space and straight through Callum’s heart.

Sonia shot double, her hands forming claws, tearing at the bodice of her gown as she cried, “It’s not working. It’s not working. I need this gown off. I need his gown off!”

Callum’s head shot around and his eyes pinned Calder. “Find the wolf who’s been trained to see to this. Get me another injection,” Callum ordered.

Calder, also pale, nodded and sprinted from the room.

Sonia’s hands moved from her gown to claw at Callum. “Cal! Get this gown off!”

“We’re getting another injection,” Callum told her, trying to sound soothing but even he could hear the worry in his voice.

“I’m calling her doctor,” Gregor snapped, straightening to standing, reaching into his jacket to pull out his phone.

“Do something, for f**k’s sake. More cool cloths. Ice. Fucking something!” Yuri shouted.

Callum tried to control Sonia’s thrashing. “Hang on, Sonia. Hang on, baby doll. It’s been too much for you. We should have planned. The trial, The Mating. We should have planned.”

She stopped thrashing, her hazy eyes finding his. “This isn’t right,” she whispered, her voice panicked, anguished, terrified.

Callum felt a presence, he knew who it was before he looked up and saw Lucien standing close.

“Let me feed,” he requested gently as Leah moved in with the cool cloth to press it to Sonia’s forehead.

Distractedly, Callum noted Leah’s head jerk before it snapped up to look at her mate, her face shocked as well as pained.

“Vampire saliva has healing properties, Callum, powerful ones. You know this. Perhaps, until her medicine arrives, it will give her some relief,” Lucien suggested.

“Do it, anything,” Sonia begged. “Anything.”

Callum looked to Leah to see her face had blanked and she was pressing the cloth to Sonia’s forehead.

He knew in that instant, if Lucien fed from Sonia, it would be a betrayal to his mate and it might not be worth that large of a sacrifice because it might not work.

“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, f**k,” 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 f**king 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, f**king 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.