The Dean looked surprised at first, confused even. His piercing blue eyes drifted from Nero, to the thing lying motionless behind us, to me. His gaze searched mine, alarmed and inquisitive, then his eyes lowered to the place on my neck.

"You're hurt,"

Dean Lachlan was at my side in a nanosecond, helping me sit up.

I snatched my towel from the floor and hastily covered my bare chest. "I'm fine," I mumbled, embarrassed. "Honestly, it's just a scratch."

Gently, he swept my hair off my shoulder to inspect the wound. He leaned in close, his cool breath oddly soothing against my injury, then he inhaled sharply.

"Nero," his voice was cold, vicious. He turned on the balls of his feet to glare at Nero. "You fed from her?"

Nero matched Dean Lachlan's stare, shifting his stance to a defensive crouch. "Gabriel, just let me explain."

"Do you have any idea how important she is to our kind? To me?" The Dean was now standing, body trembling and fists clenched. "You could have killed her!" He shoved Nero hard, knocking him onto my bed.

"Hey!" I jumped up and came to stand between them. "That's enough,"

Nero was still hurt; he clutched his chest with a groan while trying to rise off the bed. I turned to check on him, holding my towel close while I got on my knees to help sit him up.

"Nero was shot," I said without looking back. "He almost died...trying to save me." I stopped as a stray tear raced down my cheek. The memory of what had just happened flashed in my head, and guilt consumed me all over again.

Nero raised my chin up to look him in the eye, and gave me a tender smile while wiping my tear away with his thumb.

"I couldn't let him die," I continued, still looking at Nero. "So, I offered myself to him."

I didn't have to look back to know just how livid Dean Lachlan was; I could feel the white-hot rage radiating from his body.

"You offered yourself to him?" It sounded like he was speaking through clenched teeth.

I nodded, still not looking at him.

"Well, then, Nero." the Dean said, his tone icy. "I hope you enjoyed feeding on live blood, because that will be your first and last time."

I finally glanced back and instantly regretted it.

The Dean's jaw was clenched, as were his fists, his knuckles whiter than snow. But he wasn't looking at Nero anymore. No, his attention was focused on my neck, on the blood trickling down to my collar bone.

"I should probably get cleaned up," I mumbled, voice betraying the unease I felt.

I slowly got to my feet, carefully watching Dean Lachlan. His pupils were dilated, bottomless black nearly consuming clear blue. And his lips were slightly parted, although it didn't seem like he was breathing. I started to back away toward the bathroom when Nero gripped my hip bone.

"Don't--" he started to say, but was cut short by a deep, guttural snarl.

"She's mine!" The Dean lunged at Nero, shoving him away from me.

Nero landed back on the bed so hard that it collapsed, it's legs splintering and snapping apart in unison. He let out a loud, garbled moan, gasping painfully.

I tried to turn to him when the Dean snatched me by the back of my neck. Instantly, my towel was flung to the floor and my front was pressed against Dean Lachlan's.

The wind was tearfully knocked out of me; my chest ached with each frantic heartbeat.

Then I felt it.

It twitched against the spot beneath my bellybutton, forcing me to gulp in a breath. The Dean had an erection, and I didn't whether to feel excited or terrified.

"Mine," he repeated in a low, carnal tone before lowering his head. Slowly, he ran his tongue from the top of my chest to my collarbone, gently lapping up the blood that stained my skin. He wrapped his arms around me, his fingernails digging into my shoulder blades as he held me tighter. I couldn't breathe; couldn't fight the fear, the arousal, brought on by his bloodlust.

All I could do was feel, and completely surrender myself to him.

My heart thumped fiercely, matching the throbbing between my legs. I threw my head back with a soft moan when he got to my neck, but he never got the chance to really get a taste of me. Instead, he buckled at the knees with two loud snaps.

Panting and confused, I glanced down at him, then to the man standing behind him.

"Lucius?" I wasn't sure if it was really him. Everything suddenly felt hazy, and I was weak, shaky.

His jet-black hair was tied back, like it had been when we met the other day, but his dark eyes weren't warm like they had been before. They were cold, narrowed, and they were practically shooting daggers at the man slumped over at my feet.

"Duke. Aiden. Take care of this mess."

Lucius said over his shoulder as he stepped toward me. "I've got Miss Ridley."

"Like hell you do!" Dean Lachlan growled before launching himself at Lucius.

Lucius moved swiftly out of his grasp, then he held up a hand and gave a light flick of his wrist. Another loud snap filled the room, and the Dean hit the floor, his neck turned at an odd angle.

"Rest, Master." Lucius mumbled at the motionless Dean. "And do not harbor ill will against me when you awaken."

"What did...what did you do?" I watched Dean Lachlan, fear making all of my hairs stand on end.

Shrugging off his white blazer, Lucius handed it over to me while speaking. "It doesn't matter." He stopped to glance at Nero, who was being helped up by Duke. "Nero, can you..?" He trailed, tapping at his temple.

Nero nodded. "I think so," his voice was strained, tired. Aiming his amethyst eyes in my direction, Nero gave me an apologetic look, then whistled a soft tune. Everything began going black, and I could barely feel myself sway.

"Damn, this is a bloody mess."

Someone mumbled as I drifted into unconsciousness.