Alec POV

One sniff of the air brought caution to Demetri's face, as he too, recognized the scent of two vampires mingled in with Evelyn's. The next second seemed to last an eternity, as Demetri focused on his gift and tried to find the tenors of Evelyn's mind. If I would still have had a heartbeat, it might have skipped a beat at the anxiety I was feeling.
"She is alive." He spoke, relieved as well. "She seems to be a bit further to the right of us. Her tenors are quite weak, suggesting she is most likely a few floors up." I still did not completely understand the way Demetri's gift worked. It seemed as if he could sense the tenors of someone's mind and therewith pinpoint where they are, as if on a map, but he could never specify it to a single floor. However, as he came closer, it would pull stronger and he could be more exact.
"Lead the way." I thus spoke, some of my urgency having disappeared at the confirmation that her heart was at least still beating. Demetri moved through the hallways, while I silently fumed. She had quite possibly almost got herself killed. Why had I been stuck with such a reckless mate? When Demetri all of a sudden stopped, I nearly crashed onto him. He turned around to me and nodded to the roof.
"She is up there."
"She is on the roof." I repeated. How did she get up there? Did she think I would not find her if she climbed on top of the building? Demetri confirmed and I sighed deeply, before entering one of the rooms with a balcony from which I could climb onto the roof.
"Of course she is. Why would she make it easy after all." I muttered and I heard Demetri chuckle quietly. I growled in response, not liking his response to her childish behaviour. A part of me was still worried about her safety, so I did hasten in scaling the wall. Demetri was right behind me. Her scent indeed washed over me as soon as I pulled myself onto the roof. Just before I could start my angry rant, I noticed her small, hunched over form and the words died in my throat. She looked absolutely miserable. I could see multiple cuts and wounds covered over her body and a purplish bruise on the top of her head. The rest of her face was hidden from me, as she leaned over on her knees. Her arms were hugging her legs closely to her chest and she trembled like a leaf in the wind. Concern immediately pushed away all anger I had been feeling before and within a second, I was kneeling in front of her. When I laid a hand on her shoulder, she gasped and shot backwards in fear. She finally looked up. Her eyes were widened in terror, her lips nearly blue and dried blood covering the right side of her face.
"Al-ec." Her voice broke. Upon instinct I moved closer to her, cradling her face in my hands. Her skin was nearly the same temperature as mine.
"You are freezing." Immediately, I unclasped my cloak and wrapped it around her small frame. Only now, I noticed how she was wearing my clothes -which were beyond ruined- rather than the dress I had delivered to my room for her. The annoyance of that was overshadowed by my concern, however, and I decided not to comment on it.
"Your cloak, Demetri." Within a second, he had handed over his cloak as well, which Evelyn took from me. She didn't even protest when I started to examine her wounds, letting my fingers trail over her skin. Part of me wondered if she even noticed.
"What happened?" I asked her and she looked up, pulling the two cloaks tighter around her, lips still trembling from cold -I assumed- and eyes blood-shot from crying. I swear my dead heart skipped a beat at seeing her so vulnerable and in pain. She swallowed.
"They... they hunted me." I growled at that response and had to actively restrain myself from setting out to find the vampires who did this to her. She needed me right now, of that I was certain. She had pushed my away each and every time, yet now, she seemed to draw comfort from my presence. As she should, a voice in the back of my head told me.
"Who." I continued my interrogation, wanting to get to the bottom of this. Whoever had dared lay a finger on her, would soon come to regret ever having laid eyes on her.
"Horatio and his friend." I growled, recalling the lower guard member who would soon lose his life.
"How did you get up here?" I asked next while moving even closer to her, wrapping my arm around her back and putting the other underneath her legs, pulling her into my arms.
"The chimney." She nodded to the structure as I lifted her up. Instead of protesting, as I half-expected her to do, she snuggled closer to me. I couldn't help but smile at her behaviour. I knew that she was merely too exhausted to fight the bond, as she had done before, but that did not stop me from feeling a huge sense of satisfaction at having my mate in my arms.
"That is impressive." Demetri spoke. Part of me couldn't help but agree. A human escaping two vampires was practically unheard of and her climbing all the way up a chimney... Perhaps I had underestimated her...
"Find them." I did not have to clarify of whom I spoke. Demetri nodded.
"Do you want them brought to your room."
"Yes." Another nod and Demetri was gone. Evelyn shifted in my arms and laid her head down on my shoulder. If I hadn't been so worried about how cold she was, I would have savoured this moment and not moved from my spot for a long time. Now, however, I leaned down and nuzzled her neck, taking in her scent to confirm once more that she was alright, before jumping down the roof.