Keeping her protected. As an ordained priest, Gideon held some inherent protection against demons, but Hannah did not. The protection mostly amounted to Gideon dying quickly instead of slowly if he was bitten, which admittedly wasn’t much reassurance. Demon bites caused great suffering in their victims. Alaric did not relish experiencing that kind of pain, and he’d feel every bit of it if one of his consorts was injured. That’s not the only reason you want to protect her, a small voice at the back of his head insisted, but he quickly dismissed that line of thought. Blood-bond or not, he had neither time nor the desire to let his emotions rule the moment, particularly when the situation was so fraught with danger. Fortunately, the demon probably couldn’t kill him. Alaric was over five centuries old, and one of the strongest immortals to walk the Earth. Demons might be able to destroy him, but not without a lot of concerted effort. Hannah, however, was vulnerable to both demons and vampires, even as his consort.
