Alliances (Guardians of White Light, #1) by F.J. Gale Page A

see where the blade is before I pull it. It could kill her otherwise.”
    “I’m fine,” Jenna rasped. “It’s not serious.”
    Jax eyed the pool of blood beside her, the red liquid soaking her white tank. A haze of bloodlust enveloped him and he grunted at the effort of trying to hold back. The scent was overwhelming, made more so by her purity.
    He and Mathias exchanged a worried glance. Oh, it was definitely serious. Arthur had driven the blade deep.
    “You’re losing too much blood. I need to stop it now or you’ll bleed out.” He peered over his shoulder at Mathias. “Get the decanter over by the bar. Now.”
    Mathias understood his meaning immediately and retrieved it in two bursts of vampire speed. Jax snatched it from him and quickly gulped down several mouthfuls of the lion’s blood inside. He handed it back to Mathias. “You would do well to follow my example here,” he warned, gesturing to Jenna’s wound. They were both vamped out from the earlier battle. But they hadn’t reverted back to their human faces yet, because of her blood. They were both right on the edge, but Mathias was struggling more than him. He could see the strain on his face and his hands were shaking with his effort of fighting to keep the demon and its vampiric killer instincts at bay. Jax was actually a little surprised that Mathias hadn’t snapped yet.
    Now that his appetite was momentarily sated so he knew he wouldn’t hurt her, Jax focused on Jenna. He examined the blade, relieved to discover that he could remove it without killing her. It was what he’d hoped for, because checking her into the ER wasn’t an option. They had killed Immortalia soldiers. Reprisal would be imminent. None of them could risk stepping into a public place. They had to keep to the shadows. He instructed Mathias, “I need you to exert pressure the second I remove it.”
    Mathias hesitated. His eyes were drawn to the blood that pooled on the ground beside her, the blood on Jax’s hands. The scent was overpowering, intoxicating.
    “I can’t,” he told him, taking an uneasy step back, “It’s too…I don’t trust myself…I’m sorry.”
    Jax nodded knowingly. “There’s a first aid kit in the lab. First cupboard to the left when you walk in. Finish off that decanter while you’re in there.” Mathias needed to take the edge of ASAP, at least in some small way. The last thing Jax needed was him going for Jenna. He couldn’t tend to her wounds and worry about defending her from Mathias as well. No, Mathias needed to pull himself together.
    Mathias leapt into action. Jax watched him go. As soon as he was out of earshot he whispered to Jenna, “He can’t be near you right now.”
    “What? You’re okay with…the blood,” Jenna said, not understanding.
    “It’s different for him.”
    Jenna threw him a questioning glance. How?
    “He was a warrior for centuries and a killer for longer than that. He killed for the pleasure of it not for survival. Even though that’s no longer the case, it’s still in him. The bloodlust for him is particularly difficult,” Jax explained. “These days, he’s normally a master of self-control, but….”
    “But, what?”
    “Attraction complicates all that.”
    Jenna felt herself blush. She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’m a slayer. I don’t get involved with vampires. This is business.”
    Jax couldn’t help but smile at her denial because her response mirrored Mathias’ exactly. He looked up as Mathias returned to the room. He handed him the first aid kit and then stepped back. He folded his arms and shifted his weight uncomfortably. Jax could see that he was trying to conceal his anxiety, but he knew him too well.
    He returned his attention to Jenna. He withdrew a gauze pad from the first aid kit and held it ready with one hand. He gripped the knife handle with the other.
    “This is gonna hurt,” he told her. “Remember to keep breathing through the shock or you’ll pass