Disclaimer: I don't own Midnight Predator
Turquoise was surprised when Jaguar came across her broken body.
One of the older vampires had managed to run her through. She suspected that one of her lungs had been punctured. Her back was mangled and one of her legs wasn't working. Smoke was floating to the ceiling.
Of course, the poison had failed. The contractor had warned them all that it might. But his price had been high and she along with the rest of the raiders had wanted that more than anything. Well almost anything. Killing all the immortals in The Underground was something they all wanted anyway.
Burning the building was just a last resort.
"Catherine?"A familiar voice called out to her. Shocked, that now of all times someone was calling her by that name, her eyes flew open. Smoke immediately flooded her senses.
A tall figure walked their way over to her. She knew it was a vampire. Through hazy vision she saw that it was Jaguar.
She tried to say his name but there was too much blood in her throat. She forced herself to swallow it.
It was fate throwing luck back in her face. Naturally, she would meet up with him only when she was dying during a raid into the enemy's territory – his territory probably.
Jaguar lifted her tenderly into his arms.
He hadn't changed a bit. It must have been ten years and he was still perfect.
"Stay calm." He told her as they started to leave The Underground. Around them, many vampires lie dying as flames engulfed them. Some immortals were fighting with the raiders. Catherine was too wounded to care and Jaguar seemed all but immuned to the fighting around him.
When they made it outside, Turquoise leaned her head on his shoulder in a way so that she could watch The Underground burn. Even if she did somehow survive, their contractor would be long gone already.
Jaguar's strides were unusually gentle. She would have fallen asleep already if not for his gentle prodding to stay awake.
He didn't stop walking until they reached an apartment building in the next town. Dawn wasn't far away. The room they ended up in was a basement apartment with only two small windows that had already been boarded up. There was no furniture, however. Turquoise could only guess at how long he had been using the room.
Jaguar lied her down on the floor.
Only then did she realize that he was only wearing a pair of black jeans and shoes.
It was mid November and she could only imagine what they looked like walking down the human streets in the middle of the night. An injured girl quickly bleeding to death being carried by a shirtless wild man. It was a wonder that no one had reported them to the authorities.
Without a word, Jaguar left her side and went into a different part of the basement. A moment later he came back with some blankets and a pillow.
"Sometimes, I keep other humans here." He explained, as he repositioned her so that the blankets were under neath her.
Turquoise couldn't help but cry out when the sudden movement irritated her injuries.
Jaguar pulled up her shirt to reveal a gaping wound in the middle of her chest. Turquoise cursed. It was bigger than she thought... disturbingly she wondered why she hadn't died yet
"I'm going to have to remove this." He gestured to her shirt with an apologetic smile. Turquoise nodded and listened silently as the vampire ripped off her clothing so that her upper torso was completely bare.
Apparently the aroma from the wound was too much for him, though, because as soon as her shirt was off he was leaning down and licking the blood on her stomach and chest. Turquoise hissed and he backed off. The sudden movement in the air caused her to shiver.
"There's not much I can do for you." He told her seriously as he wiped his mouth. She guessed that he was probably the only vampire in the world that could care less that she had been one of the raiders responsible for attacking one of the immortal residence that he and others of his kind had been residing in. Or that she was completely vulnerable, lying half naked and bleeding in his apartment with no one else around.
"I didn't – I didn't know you were at The Underground." She tried to explain suddenly. If she was going to die, she was going to make her peace with him.
Jaguar studied her silently. After a moment he sighed heavily.
"I can make you go to sleep. It will be like you just faded away." He told her nonchalantly. He could have been talking about the weather. Turquoise shook her head and sniffed, realizing that somewhere in all the chaos, her nose had started bleeding.
"I could drain you." Jaguar continued.
"There isn't much blood left but it would be painless. You would just get dizzy and dizzier until you couldn't keep your eyes open." He caressed her bruised cheek softly. Turquoise reached up shakily and took hold of his wrist.
"I couldn't find you after Midnight." She went on, choking a little.
"I wanted to but I couldn't. After I heard that Jeshikah survived I tried to find you."
"Naturally, I went into hiding." He told her neutrally. Turquoise searched his eyes, wishing that she knew him better.
"I wanted to know you were safe." But later, Jeshikah did fall and then he had no reason to hide. But by then she had stopped trying to find him and he had been too cautious, to careful to break the trust that she had built up in him and seek her out.
"I could snap your neck and make it end faster." He continued. Turquoise closed her eyes, wondering if he thought she got what she deserved. She started to shake.
"Or," He paused then and his voice took on a softer, lighter, affectionate tone.
"I could pop that vein now." Gently, he shook out of her hold and brought her wrist up to her mouth where he kissed it tenderly and bared his fangs. Immortality would surely save her.
"You would be free of all of this?" He gestured to her wounds. Turquoise wanted to smile but didn't have the energy.
"And you?" She asked. Her question had a million others underlining it.
"I would be close by." He said vaguely, knowing she didn't have enough time for him to answer them all right then.
Turquoise sucked in a ragged breath.
"Or," She grabbed his hand again in a tight grip.
"You can stay with me until my eyes close on their own."
After a moment of stunned silence Jaguar nodded.
He stayed and talked with her until she could no longer hold his hand and then when he ran out of words for both of them, he transformed into his jaguar form and listened until her heart stopped beating.