Moon Sworn (Riley Jenson Guardian 9)

I couldn't recall his name, but I knew him. Loved him.

I scrambled to my feet and ran for the door. It opened, revealing only the darkness of the night. But he was there, hidden in the shadows, and I launched myself at him.

The darkness wrapped me in a hug that was fierce and joyous, pressing me against a body that was so very real.

"Thank God," he whispered, his cheek pressing against mine as he hugged me ferociously. "I really thought I'd lost you for a while there."

"You almost did." As the shadows hiding his body began to dissipate, I kissed him, with every ounce of the love and relief that was surging through me.

Only to be practically torn out of his arms and into the arms of another. A man who wore the masculine version of my face and who was the other half of me. The brother that Evin wasn't.

"Oh, thank Christ," he said, his hug every bit as fierce as my vampire's. "I was going crazy with worry."

"I take it," Harris drawled from behind us, "that you know both of these men and that I should drop my weapon."

"If you don't," another voice said from the very back of the room, "you might just get shot yourself."

I twisted out of my brother's grip and saw another vampire standing in the cell block doorway. I knew his face, knew he was my boss, and was both relieved and surprised to see him here. But I couldn't damn well name him, and that was frustrating.

He was holding a laser aimed straight at Harris, and the whine of the weapon firing up indicated he was very close to pressing the trigger.

"Everyone, relax. Harris is the cop here, and Evin is a friend. They're both on our side."

The whine of the laser shut down. Rich green eyes met mine. "What the hell is going on here, Riley?"

Riley. The name fit. It felt right. Riley Jenson. That was my name. I wanted to dance with the joy of finally knowing me.

But right now, there were more important things to concentrate on. Celebrations could happen later, when the mess surrounding me and Evin had been cleaned up.>He dug deeper and hit it. Only gently, but it felt like he was driving a red-hot poker deeper into my flesh. I just about jumped through the roof, and sweat popped out across my forehead as my breathing became short, sharp gasps.

So much for the wound being numb.

"Meaning I've hit it," he commented. "Hang on hard to something and try not to move."

If I gripped the arms of the chair any tighter, I'd fucking shatter them. And the damn things were metal.

The bullet moved again. Heat flashed, white hot, through my muscles and nausea rose thick and fast. I swallowed heavily and closed my eyes, hoping that not watching would make me less aware.

It didn't.

I felt every inch of the bullet's journey upward. Felt it when his grip slipped and the bullet fell back into my flesh. Sweat dripped from my forehead and ran in rivers down my back, and bile rose so fast it took all of my control not to vomit on his shoes.

Then the heat was gone and Harris was holding up the tweezers with the bloody bullet clamped firmly between its jaws.

"Done," he said. "But you need to change to stop the bleeding."

"Thanks." I rolled out of the chair and reached for the shifting magic, instinctively calling to my wolf rather than the seagull.

There was no hesitation, no pain, this time. Just a surge of power that swept through my body, numbing and reshaping my body, until what stood there was wolf rather than human. I stayed in her form for several seconds, simply enjoying the feel of her, then, somewhat reluctantly, shifted back. The wound was nowhere near healed, but at least the bleeding had stopped.

Harris closed the first aid kit then put the bloody tweezers and scissors into a plastic bag. "What now?"

"Well, the vamp has proven capable of getting past the nanowire and controlling Benny, so our first order of business is to get him contained. And Evin's waiting outside in the car for an all-clear, so we need to bring him in."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why is he outside?"

"Because I knew something was wrong the minute we pulled up. I'm used to dealing with vamps. He's not." I shrugged. "I was simply keeping him safe."

"Given the vamp is injured but telepathically unrestrained, how safe would it be to bring him within range?"