Read Online Night Unbound by Dianne Duvall - Free Book Online

Bastien turned Zach onto his side. Again Lisette marveled over how soft the feathers were. Softer than rabbit’s fur.
    â€œI’ve set countless broken bones in the past,” Bastien murmured, “but broken wings . . . ? This is a first.”
    â€œI appreciate your trying.”
    He glanced at her as he worked. “Any particular reason you didn’t ask Melanie to help?”
    Bastien’s wife, Dr. Melanie Lipton, was a now-immortal doctor who worked at the human network, searching for a cure for the virus. Either that or a way to prevent or reverse the brain damage it caused in humans. She was also doing everything she could to carry Ami safely through her pregnancy.
    Lisette sighed. “I didn’t want to get her in trouble.”
    His lips quirked as he manipulated one of the wings. “But you didn’t mind getting me in trouble?”
    Ethan snorted. “When are you not in trouble?”
    Bastien laughed. “True. I’m going to need something I can use as splints.”
    Bastien slowly and methodically tended the many injuries that marred Zach’s lean form. When he finished, Lisette walked Bastien upstairs and followed him out the front door.
    â€œWill you have time to get home before sunrise?” she asked, eyeing the gray that preceded dawn.
    â€œThe way I drive? Yes.” He paused on his way to a Chevy Volt and turned to study her.
    Lisette shifted, uncomfortable beneath his silent scrutiny.
    â€œAre you sure you’re ready for this?” he asked at last.
    â€œReady for what?”
    â€œBeing on Seth’s shit list.”
    Hell no . The thought of facing Seth’s wrath made her quake in her boots. “You survived it,” she replied coolly, but feared she didn’t fool him.
    He shook his head. “Only because Seth believed himself responsible. It’s why he still tolerates my bullshit. And why he won’t hold my helping you against me. He feels guilty about overlooking me and leaving me to fend for myself for two centuries.”
    Whenever a gifted one was transformed into an immortal, Seth sensed it, made his way to his (or very rarely her) side, and aided him in the transition into his new life. Seth then either trained the new Immortal Guardian himself, or saw to it that the newbie was trained by another and received the guidance all new immortals needed.
    But Bastien had escaped his notice. So Bastien had mistakenly believed himself a vampire and had lived among those monsters for two hundred years.
    All knew his violent, troubled past haunted their leader.
    â€œDo you hold him responsible?” she asked.
    â€œNo,” he said, his voice devoid of rancor. “And I’m sure he’s seen as much in my thoughts. But the guilt nevertheless lingers and pretty much gives me a permanent get-out-of-jail-free card. You , on the other hand, don’t have that protection.”
    No, she didn’t.
    â€œI learned very quickly,” he went on, “that Immortal Guardians have a pack mentality.” Three years with them, and Bastien still didn’t consider himself one of them. “If Seth turns on you,” he warned, “the others will, too.”
    She swallowed hard. “My brothers—”
    â€œHave wives to think of. And, in Richart’s case, a stepson.”
    â€œI know.” She didn’t have a problem with no longer coming first in her brothers’ affections. It just felt a little scary to know they wouldn’t always have her back now.
    â€œIs he worth it—your fallen angel?” Bastien asked. Again, no scorn or mockery infused his voice.
    She honestly didn’t know the answer to that and settled for saying, “He saved my life. I can’t forget that.”
    â€œThat’s a hard debt to forget.” Turning, he continued on to the car. “You have my number.”
    â€œThank you, Bastien.”
    He opened the driver’s door. “Ethan’s