Hunting Evil by Carol Lynne Page B

tighter to his chest.
    Lauren heard a loud scream before silence reigned.
    “What?” she asked. It wasn’t possible. She’d been taught the only one who could kill a shifter was another shifter.
    “York?” she whispered.
    “Later,” Vince replied with a kiss to her forehead.
    They seemed to make it down the hill in record time with York close on their heels. She heard the two men talking as the truck started, but Lauren was unable to focus on the words. She felt herself drifting, floating into the darkness.
    “Stay with me,” Vince begged.
    Those were the last words she heard before the darkness enveloped her.
    * * * *
    “Lauren, wake up, honey,” Vince called to her through the fog.
    Fighting to reach the only man she’d ever loved, Lauren struggled to open her eyes.
    “Lauren, we can’t get the bleeding to stop. I need to know what you want me to do.” She heard Vince but couldn’t comprehend what he asked.
    “Lauren?”
    “Love me,” she said.
    There was silence for a few seconds as she started to drift off again. She felt pressure at the base of her neck then heard York talking.

Chapter Seven
     
    With his teeth buried in one side of Lauren’s neck, Vince stared into the eyes of the man draining her from the other side. In the short hours that he’d known York, Vince had come to trust the vampire. The changing of a human to vampire wasn’t an easy one. Not only did a precise amount of blood need to be removed, but he still wasn’t sure how pure his blood was. For that reason alone, he’d asked York to help him. It was the only way of securing his place in Lauren’s bed while being assured that she would survive the transition.
    York released Lauren’s throat and motioned for Vince to do the same. He lifted an ornately carved knife from the bedside table and drew it across his wrist, slashing deep. “I’ll feed her first,” he told Vince.
    Vince watched York closely, learning what he needed to know. His body tingled as Lauren’s blood coursed through him. The moment he’d sunk his teeth into her vein he’d truly felt like a vampire for the first time. Fane had told him to drink from another was to lose his humanity, and although Vince feared his sire had been right, he knew he’d never fully embraced the vampire he’d become.
    “Your body is ready to fuck,” York said, staring at Vince’s groin.
    Vince ran a hand over the erection in his jeans. “Yes.”
    “It’s a natural side effect of feeding.” York nodded toward the knife. “Your turn.”
    With York’s blood ensuring Lauren’s transition, Vince didn’t hesitate. The knife sliced through his skin painlessly.
    “Quickly, her survival instincts are kicking in. She’ll need it.” York pulled his arm away and reached for Vince’s. “Here,” he said, settling Vince’s wrist over Lauren’s parted lips.
    Although Lauren began sucking the blood from Vince’s wrist the rest of her body remained deathly still. He glanced up and met York’s stare once again. “She’s strong.”
    York nodded and sealed his wound with a few licks. “Very, but did you expect any less from her?”
    “I didn’t know what to expect. This is my first time, remember?” There was something about the way York licked at the blood on his wrist that had Vince ready to lean over and do it for him. Fuck! He needed to keep his mind on Lauren.
    “Of course, it’s the reason I’m here, remember?” York grinned.
    “What will we tell her about Armand?” Vince asked, trying to change the subject. He didn’t blame York for what had happened with Armand. Hell, Vince had seen the damage York inflicted on the shifter. No way should Armand have survived, but according to the cops that had arrived after they’d fled the scene, there was no body found on the outcropping.
    For the first time since he’d picked Lauren’s bleeding body up from the cold, hard ground, he truly felt as though he’d be with her again. Despite his failure as a cop, he needed