The Wolf Within

by Cynthia Eden

  A man had appeared and yanked her away from Pate. The stranger had sliced open Pate’s stomach, then gone toward him with fangs bared.

  “Do you ever wish you’d let him kill me?” Pate asked, voice quiet and emotionless.

  Holly inhaled sharply.

  And realized that they had an audience.

  “Do you think about that night?” He continued, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the softest of rustles sounded behind them.

  Duncan was waking.

  “I-I try not to think about it.”

  Pate had been on the ground. Telling her to run. Get the hell away! Don’t look back! His shout still rang in her ears some nights.

  But he’d always been there for her. So she hadn’t been able to leave him. She’d had no weapon. Just her fists.

  She’d jumped on his back. Pounded him. Clawed him. Gotten his attention away from Pate.

  The attacker had turned and smiled at her.

  She’d screamed. Fangs!

  Then those fangs had been in her throat.

  “You’re a terrible liar, Holly.” Pate sounded sad. “You should have let me die.”

  “No.” Instinctive.

  The fangs had sliced deep into her throat. Her scream had died. He’d hurt her, so badly. She’d been the one on the ground then. He’d been over her, surrounding her. Gulping, slurping, making her so sick and afraid.

  Then Pate had driven a stake into his back.

  “Do you…do you ever wish that I’d put that stake in you, too?” His question chilled her.

  She flinched. “No.”

  Some of the tension left his shoulders.

  She knew how the vampire transformation worked. A vampire’s victim had to be near death. Had to be drained, then given the vampire’s blood. It was a virus. An infection. Science had perfectly explained it to her.

  That night, the vampire hadn’t been able to give her his blood. Not willingly, anyway.

  The vampire had still been alive after Pate’s attack. Alive, but weak. Pate had sliced open the vampire’s wrist and had forced the guy’s blood in her mouth before Holly could even think of turning away.

  You’ll live. You’ll fucking live.

  Only then had he ended the vampire’s life. After she’d gotten her transfusion. She didn’t really remember the specific details. She’d just opened her eyes to find that the vampire was missing his head.

  I don’t want to think about that night. She hadn’t been lying about that part.

  “It’s over.” Her lips felt numb. “There’s no sense looking back.”

  “Sometimes, we can’t go forward until we go back.” His hand fell away from her chin. “I was selfish that night. I couldn’t let you go.”

  She grabbed his hand. “And I wasn’t ready to leave you.”

  His gaze held hers. They’d been together for so many years. She’d been three when her mother married his father. He’d been ten. A hero in her eyes. When their parents had died in an auto accident eleven years later, Pate hadn’t let her go into foster care. He’d taken care of her. Always.

  He could be an asshole sometimes. Overprotective. Too controlling. But he was family.

  The only family she had.

  “There is a cure.” His voice shook now. “It’s a virus. You said it yourself. An infection. If you can catch it, you can cure it.”

  He wanted to think so.

  She just didn’t believe that was the case. The virus changed the body. Mutated it. With that kind of change, all of her research was showing that there was no going back. There might never be a cure. Instead, the best she could hope was treatment—that was what karahydrelene had done—treated the symptoms so that she could function almost normally.

  She stepped away from him. “Duncan isn’t going into a cell. I won’t let you cage him.”

  Pate’s gaze dipped behind her. “He’ll go if he can’t stay controlled.”

  She turned her head back to look at Duncan just as he snapped right through the bindings that held him. In an instant, he leapt to his feet. Hmm…he shouldn’t have been quite so agile after the dosing.

  Pate’s gaze said he realized the same thing.

  Dangerous.

  As dangerous as a vampire. As dangerous as me.

  Holly put her hand on Duncan’s arm, stilling him before could get any closer to Pate. “He’s not putting you in a cage.”

  “I won’t do it,” Pate agreed, but one eyebrow rose and he added, “I think you’ll put yourself there.” Then he headed for the double doors. “In case you’re curious…” Pate said, throwing the words over his shoulder, “the other alpha is in Containment Area Five.”

  Then he was gone. Holly was all alone with her werewolf.

  Not mine. Why did she keep thinking of him that way? Duncan wasn’t hers. Was he?

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I had no idea they were going to drug you.”

  His hands curled around her shoulders. He pulled her body closer, forcing her to face him.

  Did he seem…um, bigger? He did.

  “Duncan, I—”

  His mouth was on hers. Hot. Hard. And she just decided to forget talking right then. She kissed him back, almost desperately, as her fingers locked around his arms and her nails sank into his skin.

  He had her flush against his body now. That wonderful heat of his seemed to singe her right through her clothes. She could feel the heavy thrust of his arousal. Okay, yes, he’d come out of that drugged state very aware.

  Her heart raced in her chest. Her body trembled. Not with any kind of fear, but with pure eagerness.

  His head lifted. His eyes were shining. Definitely not the stare of a mortal man. She didn’t care.

  “Why aren’t you afraid?”

  Because I’m as much of a monster as you are.

  He shook his head before she could think of a response that didn’t sound so brutally cold. He wasn’t a monster. Or…hell, she didn’t think of him that way.

  Even if she saw herself as the nightmare in the room.

  “You’re the only one I trust here,” he told her.

  Her breath rushed out. “Duncan…”

  “Something’s going on. Holly, I know that alpha.”

  “Well, you’ve been hunting in the city. You probably—”

  “I’ve seen him in my nightmares.”

  That froze her.

  “Werewolves killed my family when I was just a kid.”

  She knew that. That attack had been what had placed him on the path that led to Seattle’s Para Unit. He’d wanted to protect others. To stop the same fate from knocking on their doors and leaving a trail of blood behind.

  “When I look at Connor, I hear the screams from the attack.”

  She barely controlled her flinch.

  Sometimes, when she looked at Pate, she could hear her own screams. From my attack. She’d tried to hide that weakness from him. Pate carried enough guilt on his shoulders. But after what she’d said minutes before, she knew that he already realized she saw hell when she saw him.

  “I. Know. Him.”

  His arms were still around her. Her nails still digging into his skin.

  “Help me,” he said.

  Holly nodded, and she knew that she could refuse him nothing.

  ***

  Connor was caged and collared. And he looked pissed off.

  Duncan marched into the alpha’s containment area. Elias was stationed near the cell door. When he saw Duncan, Elias immediately straightened to his full height. “Jeez, I’m so sorry, man—”

  Duncan lifted a hand. “If you’re really sorry, then you’ll give me ten minutes with this guy. You’ll walk out, get yourself a drink, and not mention to anyone that I’m here.”

  Elias stared back at him. His partner’s eyes—ex-partner—were guilt-ridden. “I’m sorry I couldn’t kill you.”

  Connor started laughing from his cell. That bastard laughed a lot.

  Elias shook his head. “I know it was what
you wanted.”

  Death? Duncan glanced over his shoulder. Holly was behind him. It had been her security card that had gotten him access to this area. Seeing as how his access had been revoked.

  But she’d come with him, not hesitating even a moment when he had to sound straight-up crazy.

  Maybe I am crazy. Maybe the madness of the wolf was setting in, but right then, “Death’s the last thing I want.” He figured Elias needed the warning. Things had changed. Fucking fast. “You come at me with silver, and you could be the one to die.”

  Elias backed away from him. “But…your family…”

  “Family…” A dark mutter from Connor. “Can’t erase their sins, can’t claw them to pieces.”

  Duncan frowned at him. Connor had risen and come to stand less than a foot away from the silver bars of his cell. Connor was the only prisoner housed in Containment Area Five.

  Connor was rumored to have killed dozens of paranormals and at least eight humans in the Seattle area. All within the last year.

  Psychopath? A psychopathic werewolf was a living hell on earth.

  “Though I have tried the clawing technique a few times,” Connor added as he glanced down at his hands. “Pity werewolves heal so fast.”

  Elias edged away from the cell. “Holly? You coming with me?”

  “She stays,” Duncan said immediately. He didn’t want Holly out of his sight. No, more than that. He needed her close.

  Wanted her close.

  Elias’s gaze darted between them. He and Elias had worked well together just days before, but in that moment, their camaraderie seemed long gone. Maybe it was due to the fear that lingered in Elias’s stare. The hint of terror that he couldn’t quite hide.

  He didn’t see Duncan as a man anymore.

  “Ten minutes,” Elias finally said, giving a hard nod. “And I’ll…I’ll make sure that no one gets through the door until you’re done.”

  Duncan inclined his head. “Thank you.”

  Elias’s hands fisted. “It could have been me. It should have been me. You saved my ass, and now look what you’ve become.”

  The thing he hated.

  Only he didn’t hate the power he could feel coursing through his veins, and even the wolf that lurked within him didn’t seem so foreign now. It was actually as if he’d finally found a part of himself that had been missing.

  “I’m sorry,” Elias told him and turned away. “So damn sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” The flat words broke from him and caused Elias’s shoulders to stiffen. “We all dig our own graves in this world.” He’d made the decision to jump in front of those wolves. Elias hadn’t forced him to do anything. Neither had Pate. Every decision had been his.

  Elias’s footsteps were soft as he left the containment area.

  Holly’s breath expelled in a rush when the door shut behind him. “Pate will know we’re here. He’ll see us on the security cameras.”

  True enough. “He wants us here.” Why else would Pate have told him where to find the alpha? Pate never said or did anything without a reason.

  Holly nodded. “All right then. It’s your show.”

  His freak show, yeah. He turned from her and paced toward those bars. Connor stared back at him. Eyes narrowed. The guy should have been looking at him with hate, with fury, hell, maybe even with fear—the way Elias had been doing.

  But there was no emotion in those golden eyes.

  Time to make some emotion come out. “How do I know you?” Duncan demanded.

  Connor shrugged. “Maybe I’ve got one of those faces.” He smiled, but the smile never reached his eyes.

  “When I look at you,” Duncan said, standing just inches away from the cell. “I hear screams. A kid crying.” Connor looked like he was close to Duncan’s age. Maybe a bit younger.

  “I can’t help what you hear.” But Connor’s smile had slipped a bit. “Can’t help you at all.”

  Holly’s footsteps padded closer. “I could…I could make him tell you what you want to know, Duncan.”

  Connor’s stare drifted to her. Sharpened. “The vampire. The sweet bite I’d hoped to enjoy.” He inhaled. “Don’t you smell nice, just like honey and—”

  Duncan’s hand flew through the cage bars. His claws hung inches from Connor’s throat. “I already warned you about her.”

  Emotion finally flashed in those eyes. Rage. “You think you’re gonna mate with a vampire? Think you’ll get all of that power to control?” He shook his head. “Better rethink that. You’ll just make the same fucking mistake he did. And you’ll leave the same bloodbath behind.”

  Duncan’s heartbeat drummed in his ears. “Who are you talking about?”

  Connor’s gaze searched his. “Maybe you need to get the vamp to bite you. Get her to make you remember.”

  Connor was just jerking him around. Duncan yanked his hand back through the bars and barely felt the singe of the silver on his fingers.

  “You believe you were the good guy, don’t you?” Connor mocked as he rocked forward onto the balls of his feet. “The human out there, fighting the werewolves. Putting us in cages and sending the worst of the lot to rot in your Purgatory.”

  “I was saving humans.” He wouldn’t regret what he’d done. He’d never taken down any paranormal without proof that the man or woman had been killing humans. Never. “I don’t throw innocent paranormals into cages. Every single one I captured was a menace. Someone who had to be stopped.”

  Connor’s gaze was on Holly once more. “Are you going to be able to stop him, do you think? When the moon rises and the alpha werewolf really comes out, I don’t even know if someone like you can control him.”

  Another one singing the song about him going moon crazy. Sure, it was a fear that Duncan had, but he was tired of everyone throwing it in his face.

  “I trust Duncan,” Holly said, voice clear. “He will keep his control.”

  Connor shook his head. “You’re a fool. The werewolf in him will come for you because he wants your blood and your body. And he’ll kill anyone who comes between the two of you.” He tapped his chin. “That’s the way for mates, and whether your special agent werewolf wants to admit it or not, he’s marked you as a mate.”

  Duncan could feel the glance that Holly cast toward him. He didn’t look at her then, couldn’t. Connor was telling the truth, and there was no point denying it. I want her. “I have ten minutes, and you’re wasting my time.” And not answering his questions. Deliberately, Duncan was sure. “Why do I see you and hear a child begging for help? Screaming my name?”

  A muscle jerked in Connor’s jaw. “You don’t know me.”

  “I know your face.” He just didn’t know how. “I’ve seen it before.”

  Connor shook his head. “Let me guess…in your nightmares?”

  Yes.

  “Not all humans can become werewolves,” Connor murmured. “You have to possess the DNA that will let you transform.”

  “I don’t want a science lesson!” Duncan snarled. Wasting time, wasting—

  “Where do you think the DNA comes from? It’s no random mutation.”

  “It’s passed down,” Holly said, her body sliding closer to Duncan’s.

  Connor nodded.

  “Werewolves and humans…we’re separate, but we can mate. But the half-breeds…they can’t always change,” Connor murmured.

  “The genetics are there,” Holly said to Duncan. “They would still pass down…in children, grandchildren.”

  Connor’s stare was back on him. “We’re everywhere, you see. The teacher in your school. The cop walking his beat.”

  Me.

  “They’re us, and they don’t know it.” His teeth snapped together. “Not until they get the bite.”

  “The bite must activate the dormant DNA.” Holly’s arm brushed his. “That’s why some humans can change and others can’t. Those who can…they’ve got an ancestor who was a werewolf. I should have realized it before. It’s not about mutations—it’s�
��” Her head turned and her gaze found his. Softer, she finished, “It’s just family.”

  Duncan’s hands fisted. His claws were trying to break free. “Werewolves killed my family.”

  “Is that what you were told?” Connor asked, words rumbling.

  “It’s what I saw.” He glared at the wolf, glared and heard—Help me! Duncan! Duncan! A child’s voice.

  His eyes squeezed closed.

  “Hearing voices are you? Those screams again?” Connor taunted. “Careful, or even your vamp will start to think you’re going crazy.”

  His eyelids flew open. “I. Know. You.”

  “And I know you,” Connor fired right back. In that instant, the mask he wore dropped. Rage burned fire-hot in his eyes as his fangs extended. “I know your face. I know your scent. I’ve looked for you…for years. And I found you, hunting me. Hunting our kind!”

  “There’s no ‘our kind’ here! Werewolves killed—”

  Holly wrapped her arms around Duncan and pulled him back from the cell. “Elias is coming back.”

  The thunder of his heartbeat had drowned out the sound of approaching footsteps.

  Connor’s cheeks were flushed. His claws out. His chest heaving.

  Duncan’s claws were out. His chest heaving.

  “Alphas aren’t made,” Connor told him. “We’re born. One generation to the next. Alphas only come from alphas.”

  The door was opening behind him.

  Duncan didn’t look back. He couldn’t. He remembered what Connor had told him when he’d burst into that basement room, so desperate to reach Holly.

  “Hello, brother.”

  His eyes swept over Connor’s face. “Have you gotten his DNA?” Duncan asked Holly.

  “Yes. A sample was taken when he first came in to the facility.”

  They had the best lab in the nation there. With equipment most couldn’t even dream of.

  Connor smirked at him. “Figuring it out, are you?”

  “How?”

  “The ten minutes are up,” Elias said before Connor could speak. “And I just saw Pate in the hall. He’s coming this way.”

  Because Pate would have been listening. He would have realized exactly what or rather, who, Connor was to Duncan.