"Let's go see Phoebe," Cassandra said, taking his hand and leading him toward another corridor. "She told me I could drop in on her any time."
It didn't take long to reach her sister's apartment. Phoebe's side of the city was a lot busier than theirs.
Wulf stood to the side, watching the Apollites walk hurriedly past them while Cassandra keyed in the code for Phoebe's lock.
Cassandra was doing her best to not think about the future. Or to think about the officer who was spending her last night with her family. Just as she would do one day all too soon with Wulf.
How she needed to push him away. To keep him at bay so that her death wouldn't hurt him too much.
She focused instead on the fact that she still had one of her sisters with her.
The door slid open.
Cassandra started into the room, then froze. Phoebe was on her couch on top of Urian. Their bare skin was set off to perfection by the dull light of candles that had been set around the room.
Cassandra gasped to find them in flagrante delicto.
Phoebe jerked up, her mouth coated in blood.
Mortified, Cassandra stepped back and closed the door. "Oh, that was really bad timing."
"What?" Wulf asked as he turned toward her.
Grateful he hadn't seen them and gone berserk over the way most Apollites fed, Cassandra grabbed his hand. "I think I'll talk to her later."
Wulf didn't budge easily. "What happened?"
Cassandra didn't want to share her experience with a Dark-Hunter who would judge her sister harshly for feeding.
The apartment door opened.
"Cassie?" Phoebe was now wearing a thick blue bathrobe. Her face and mouth were clean, but her hair was completely disheveled. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing that can't wait," Cassandra hastened to assure her. "You go finish and I'll talk to you later."
Her face flushing, Phoebe went back inside.
Wulf burst out laughing. "Let me guess. Urian in there with her?"
Cassandra's face flamed even more than her sister's.
He laughed harder.
"It's not funny, Wulf," she snapped at him. "How would you feel if someone barged in on us?"
"I'd have to kill them."
"Well, there you go. I'm sure Urian feels the same way. Now let's go back so I don't have to think about the fact that the image of them naked together will give me nightmares for months."
As they headed down the corridor, a little girl came running up to Wulf. She craned her neck to look up at him accusingly. "Are you really going to kill my baby sister tonight because she didn't wash behind her ears?"
Both of them were aghast at her question.
"Excuse me?" Wulf asked.
"My mommy says Dark-Hunters kill little boys and girls when they don't behave. I don't want you to kill Alycia. She's not bad, she just doesn't like to get her ears wet."
Wulf knelt down in front of the little girl and brushed her hair back from her face. "Little one, I'm not going to hurt your sister or anyone else here. I promise."
"Dacia!" a man snapped as he rushed forward. "I told you never to talk to anyone with dark hair." He scooped his daughter up and ran off with her as if terrified that Wulf really would kill her.
"Hasn't anyone ever told you people that we don't hurt Apollites!" Wulf shouted after them.
"Sheez," he said under his breath. "And all this time, I thought Christopher was the only person I terrorized."
A passing man answered his words by spitting on Wulf's shoes.
"Hey!" Cassandra snapped, going after the man. "There's no need to be rude."
The man raked a repugnant glare over her. "How could you let something like him touch you? I say we should have left you to die by the Daimons. It's what a whore like you deserves."
His eyes darkening, Wulf slugged the Apollite. Hard. The Apollite staggered back, then charged him.
He caught Wulf about the stomach and slammed him back into the wall. Cassandra cried out at the sight, wanting to stop them, but she was too afraid of hurting the baby to try.
Suddenly, Apollites came out from all directions to break them apart. Even Urian came out of nowhere.
Urian was the one who pushed Wulf back. His skin tone was ashen and it was obvious Urian was extremely weak. Even so, he put himself between Wulf and the Apollite and kept a hand on each one.
"Enough!" Urian roared at the two of them.
"Are you all right?" Wulf asked him.
Urian released both men. The Apollite was taken off by the others, but he cast a parting malevolent glare at them.
"You need to stay out of sight, Dark-Hunter," Urian said, his tone much kinder than it had been earlier. He wiped a hand over his sweat-covered brow.
"You really don't look good," Wulf said, ignoring his warning. "Do you need something?"
Urian shook his head as if to clear it. "I just need to rest for a while." He curled his lip at Wulf. "Can you stay out of trouble long enough for that?"
"Uri?" Phoebe asked as she joined them. "Did I take too much?"
Urian's face softened instantly. He pulled her against his side and kissed the side of her head. "No, love. I'm just tired. I'll be fine."
He pulled away and started back for their apartment. He staggered.
"Bullshit," Wulf said. Before Cassandra knew what he was doing, Wulf had Urian's arm slung over his shoulders and was headed back for their apartment.
"What are you doing?" Urian asked angrily.
"I'm taking you to Kat before you pass out."
Urian hissed at that. "Why? She hates me."
"So do I, but we both owe you."
Cassandra didn't speak as she and Phoebe followed after them all the way back to their apartment.
Kat and Chris were playing cards when they entered.
"Oh, jeez, what happened?" Kat asked as soon as she saw Urian.
"I think I took too much blood from him," Phoebe said, her beautiful face lined with worry.
Wulf laid Urian down on the couch. "Can you help him?" he asked Kat.
Kat pushed Wulf out of the way. She held up two fingers in front of Urian's face. "How many fingers do you see?"