by J. C RIMELL
Jesus Henderson! Speak to me, buddy, what's going on out there? Ryker mentally demanded.
Screw this, I'm going in.
No, Remi, hold on, Jack answered. I'm making my way back, there's been a slight change of plan.
Chapter Forty-Three
Madeleine hadn't left Kit's side all night. She'd spent hours with her hands placed over the young woman's limbs trying to stop the poison that was flooding her veins. The doctor's healing capacity flowed at full potential, trying desperately to make some kind of impact. To use her ability to rejuvenate Kit. But after each hour she checked and re-checked Kit's stats, nothing changed. The blood-work that came back after testing each time showed signs of progressing alteration to her DNA.
Her fever, however, had seemed to retreat a little, and the bright blue bruising and broken jaw-bone were now fully healed. An effect of the vampiric elements taking hold, leaving Kit's face as angelic as it had previously been.
Madeleine realized that her unique skill didn't stretch beyond the capacity to heal any injury. It clearly wouldn't stop the venom from attacking and altering Kit's body. Having had a good few hours to think while she watched over Kit, an idea plunged into her mind. Only a small plausible concept, but one she couldn't ignore if she wanted to help save the woman.
After making sure Kit was comfortable, she left the infirmary and headed directly for the cells to see the Other, Seth. As most of the pack were either at the Society's meeting or on patrol, the corridors were quiet, enabling her to make her way there with little fear of being stopped.
Pausing outside of the cells, Murphy was sat on a chair against the opposite wall and glanced up at her from whatever he was reading on his Kindle.
“Something you need, doctor?”
She smiled at him, her reflection distorted in his dark wraparounds. “I'll let you know. Thanks, Murph.”
Leaning her palms flat onto the glass she peered into the room and found the male sitting on the bed. “Seth,” she called out to him. Her voice wouldn't have penetrated the thickness of the glass wall between them, but his sensitive hearing caught it and his strange, ice blue eyes flicked up to meet hers.
Cocking his head to one side, his gaze narrowed as he got up and made his way over toward her. “Another visit so soon… to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I need your help.”
He laughed, shaking his head a little in disbelief. “I thought I already did that.”
Madeleine held his sharp gaze. “Yes, you did and I'm grateful. But I have a female in my care who was bitten by a vampire and I'm losing her. Is there a way to stop the venom attacking her body, to stop the change?”
His expression turned wary, thrusting his hands into the pockets of his jeans he lowered in contemplation. A second or two passed before he looked at her again. “What do I get if I help you again, hmm?”
Madeleine shrugged. “I can't offer you anything. Besides, the mean looking guy behind me can get you to talk even if you don't want to. So what difference will it make?”
Seth liked the pretty female, with her warm, gentle gaze and delicate features. Though, she was far tougher on the inside than her exterior mask truly let on. “I took you for a soft touch. I can see I was very wrong.” He turned sideways and leaned his shoulder on the glass. “Leon is an evil bastard and all I will say is that my brothers and I want nothing more than to be rid of him. He's tried to turn every living thing he's gotten hold of. Humans are the most successful. Walkers like myself, as you know, turned out quite problematic, but shifters...” he let the sentence trail off.
“What about shifters?” she probed.
His white irises flashed a quick glance over her shoulder to the large male sitting guard before letting his gaze fall back onto her face. “They can't be turned. The venom isn't compatible. A few months ago the vampires tried with two shifters they'd captured, they tortured them in the process and failed miserably to turn them.”
Madeleine was acutely aware of Murphy's sudden interest as he came and stood beside her. Having already put two and two together, she figured out the two shifters Seth was talking about, were the two from their own pack, Nate and Vic. It also just dawned on her how she could help Kit.
“Seth,” she said, moving her hand to where his shoulder touched the other side of the glass. “Thank you.”
He flashed a half smile. “I hate to say it, but you're welcome and now I'm thirsty as hell.”
Watching her had made him hungry. His mouth watered and his fangs had slit his gums. He needed to quench the thirst that was ablaze in his throat. “I'm sure my brother, Daniel is too.”
She nodded. “That, I may just be able to help you with.”
After taking Seth and Daniel some bags of human hemoglobin from the stock kept in her lab, Madeleine slipped into a protective coverall and retrieved a few blood samples to test. She hoped and prayed she could unearth the cure she was now desperate find.
§
Cade stared at the older man sat beside him, and for the first time he examined the Overseer's features. The high cheekbones and deep-set, silver, gray eyes, the same cupids bow of his upper lip, the chiseled jaw line, and thick, dark hair. Having some photos of his father, Cade brought the images to the forefront of his mind. He compared the two and was astonished he hadn't noticed their similarities sooner, and that, he, himself shared identical facial characteristics.
The penny dropped.
The weight so heavy that if he'd been standing it would have surely knocked him on his ass.
He knew that he should have felt happy, elated he had some family, real family left in his life. But he had a bitter taste in his mouth that refused to evaporate.
“Stop the car.” He ordered, leaning toward the driver, he needed air, needed to think.
“Wait, Cade―let me explain.” Christopher Warden suddenly felt helpless despite being the most powerful shifter in the country. He watched first the realization, then disappointment flash in the silver gray eyes of his grandson. The car slowed and panic set in. If he left it like this, perhaps he would lose Cade forever and that was the very last thing he wanted.
The car pulled into the curb and Cade opened the door to climb out, but the unyielding grip of the Overseer's hand on his forearm made him pause. “Please don't leave like this, Cade, let me explain.”
All his life Cade thought he had no one. Now he suddenly had a grandfather who just happened to be the most dominant and influential Alpha male in the Society. “Why now?” he questioned, placing one foot out of the car. “Why didn't you want me when I was a child?”
Christopher Warden's eyes closed in angst for a moment, regret swelling in his chest. “I have no excuses, Cade. Only that I couldn't bear to look at you, your face reminded me of Stephen so much that the pain was unbearable.” He opened his eyes and looked up at his grandson who was halfway out of the car. “So much was expected of me, I didn't want that pressure on you. My mate, your grandmother, never forgave me for pushing Stephen away. I can only apologize, and hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”
Cade listened without interruption. A wedge had formed in his throat, but a fire was an angry flame in his gut. Yanking his arm free, he stepped out of the car completely, slamming the door behind him.
Chapter Forty-Four
“Che Belladonna!” Remi wolf whistled, his keen eyes grazing over the female as she stood in the middle of the circle of shifters.
“I should pat her down, make sure she's not carrying,” Jack suggested, feeling a slight irritation at the other men now staring at the woman. Nevada broke the circle and approached the vampire, shaking her head with a cuss under her breath.
“Keep your paws off!” The scent of male testosterone became almost unbearable in her nose. “Lord, you're all acting like you never seen a woman before.”
“You will always be Bellissimo to me, Nevada,” Remi told her, placing his hands over his heart in mock adoration.
She rolled her eye
s at the smooth talking, Italian shifter, “P-lease.”
Nevada patted the female vampire down under the heavy scrutiny of the Chief of Police. He watched as her hands undid the parka to reveal the clothed curves beneath. His hands went to his hips, swallowing hard as Nevada frisked the woman up and down. The other men had drawn in closer to watch, making him feel uncomfortable. Something had stirred inside of Jack as he'd walked the female back to the rest of the pack. He hadn't recognized the strange sensation at first, but as he stood there with her scent buried deep in his senses, it became all too apparent just what he was starting to feel.
Nevada found a slim blade in a leather sheath tucked into the woman's boot. “That's about it,” she said, handing it to Jack.
He palmed the bejeweled hilt and slipped it into his vest noting the discontent in the vampire's glare.
“What's the plan now then, Chief?” Gunner asked, breaking Jack's momentary absorption in the woman's beauty, but his gaze remained transfixed on the flawless skin of her face. The wariness in her dark eyes didn't escape him when he answered.
“We question her,” Jack said, shifting his steely gaze to hold the vampire's deadly stare. “She's gonna' tell us everything we need to know.”
Valerie had only ever day-dreamed. Being a vampire meant she didn't need sleep, so to her, dreams were an enigma. She'd often wondered what it must be like to fall into a blissful slumber where your imagination ran wild, without conscious direction or persuasion. So as a sea of total darkness washed over her and took her under into the unknown, she didn't fight it but welcomed the curious sensation.
It was hazy and gray and she was standing in the open, away from the shelter of the trees. Sunlight beamed down onto her icy skin making her feel warm and safe. She relished it, the heat, all her life knowing that such a thing could not be permitted. The hotter the rays, the quicker her strength would diminish, and left for too long it would weaken her until eventually death would take her. But somewhere in her unconsciousness she knew this was what dreaming must be like, so she allowed herself to explore the wonder of it.
Valerie didn't know what part of her subconscious brought him into her dream, but the stranger was standing beside her now. She turned to face him, unafraid of his tall, strong body towering over her. He brushed her cheek with the gentlest of touches sending a ripple of pleasure across her skin. He was strikingly handsome with eyes that shone like emerald jewels, so clear she could see her own reflection. His generous lips curved into a smile and drew her attention to them. Never had she wanted to kiss a man more in her lifetime than she did at that moment.
Valerie felt his arms come around her waist and the promise of those lips kissing hers felt imminent. Heat seemed to rise up from the very core of her until the fire became a volcano and she couldn't bear it. It was hot, so unbearably hot...
“Chief! She's coming to.”
Jack pushed between Remi and Nevada and he choked on a breath when he looked down on the female. Her pale skin seemed to shimmer in the early morning sunlight that pierced the thick, green canopy of the trees overhead.
God, she's… beautiful.
He felt more than one set of eyes turn to look at him. Shit. That thought had slipped out from under his well-trained, protective shield without him thinking.
She started to struggle, her voice guttural as if she was in pain. Bringing up her tied hands, Valerie tried to protect her face with a muffled hiss against the material gagged in her mouth. She rolled over, trying to crawl away deeper into the shadow of the trees. Once there she curled into a ball, bringing her knees up to her chest and tried to calm herself. Her eyes refocused onto the stranger and his followers standing beside him.
Jack moved slowly and crouched down in front of the female. “You passed out,” he said. “Your kind don't like the sun, huh?” She didn't answer him but kept herself cocooned within the security of her arms. “I'll give you a few minutes. But I need information and I really hope you'll be nice this time.”
A corner of his mouth tugged upward as he recollected those sharp little fangs that had already bitten him.
Her gaze lowered to his lips and she swallowed. Valerie was a strong vampire with speed, supernatural hearing, and eyesight. A hypnotic stare that could place a trance onto her subjects and use her deadly venom. Why then, did she feel completely powerless against this stranger with the dazzling green eyes?
Jack reached forward and tugged loose the cotton binding around her mouth, he intuitively knew she wasn't about to scream for help. After checking through her few belongings, it was evident she was leaving and heading somewhere else.
“What's your name?” he asked keeping his tone level.
The woman's stare narrowed in silent investigation, so he made it easy for her.
“My name's Jack, and you'll probably find that none of your vampire abilities will work on me seeing as though I'm a wolf shifter.” He tilted his head to the side. “Now, what's your name?”
After a silence that seemed to stretch beyond several long seconds, she said, “My name is Valerie Dupont.”
Jack took a moment to compose himself. Her voice was as rich as it was dark, with a lilt of a French accent that made the tiny hairs on his skin prickle to life. He cleared his throat, feeling the weight of his comrades' stares. “I've heard a lot about you, Valerie,” he informed her, realizing she was the vampire who had ensnared the Walker, Seth.
“Where were you going when I came across you?”
She pinned her cagey glare on him. “I was leaving this place.”
“Why?”
“Because I will not live my eternal life any longer with Leon.”
His gaze tapered. “Leon?”
A nod of her head sent her long, silky black waves falling further around her face. “He is our King. He returned this past night with a human female and I used his distraction to escape.”
Jealously jabbed like a knife in Jack's sternum. Somehow the thought of another male touching her made his blood catch alight. With effort, he doused the feeling as quickly as it had permeated his emotions.
“How many vampires are inside?”
Valerie may no longer want to be with Leon, but she did not wish her coven any harm. “Are you going to hurt them?”
“That depends,” he hedged, unable to provide a direct answer. He didn't want her to clam up, he needed statistics, a layout inside of the premises...
“On what, Jack?” she answered cautiously.
Christ Almighty! Did she have any idea what she was doing to him? The way she said his name was like a seduction he'd never known.
“If you provide us with the exact information we need.”
He waited, surveyed her eyes as they flicked over the other shifters before finding his gaze once more and holding him fast.
Then she nodded.
Chapter Forty-Five
By the time Cade returned to the lair, his thoughts were a jumbled mess. He had an awful lot to think about, but right now one thing trumped all the others. After showering and slipping into a pair of loose tracks and a jersey, he made his way to the medical wing.
He strolled slowly across the room. The white tiles cool beneath his bare feet. The sterile scent of antiseptic stinging his nostrils as he approached the bed where Kit lay. Relief flooded him when his eyes swept over her face and saw the bruising and swelling had gone. He assumed it was Madoc's healing ability that had treated her so quickly. She was still peacefully deep in sleep. He sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to disturb her but found he couldn't resist taking a hold of her hand.
His fingers were so large compared to hers and she stirred under his touch. He cursed low at his clumsiness but breathed a huge sigh of relief as her eyelids fluttered open.
“Hi,” she said, her voice groggy.
Thank you, sweet Jesus. The alleviation of the crushing pain that had gripped him so entirely made his heart beat so hard he thought it would pound its way out of his chest. He smiled and leaned fo
rward placing a gentle kiss upon her lips. His brows crashed in concern when he felt how cold they still were against the burning heat of his own.
Propping her up with the pillows, Cade turned to the nightstand next to the bed and poured her a plastic cup of water. “Hey,” he said, handing the drink to her, waiting until she had a firm grip on it before he let it go. “Thirsty?”
She nodded and sipped the cool liquid, then cradled the cup in her lap. Kit looked around, a sudden recognition of her surroundings flashed across her tired eyes. “How long have I been out?”
He shrugged. “About sixteen hours, give or take.” Reclaiming her hand, he swallowed the knot in his throat, so damn happy to see those electric blues eyes staring back at him once again. All he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and kiss her like he wanted to. His wolf whined and as if she sensed it, she squeezed his hand with weak fingers.
“What happened? Where's Jo?”
Her question splintered his thoughts. “They took her, Kit. Jack and a few other shifters have located her and are trying to bring her home.” It killed him to see the hurt shrouding the beauty of her eyes, but Kit was a part of this now. She knew shifters were real and she'd been bitten by a blood-sucking vampire. He owed her the truth. She would no longer believe other supernatural beings didn't exist either.
“They?”
He nodded. “Yeah, those men at the house, the one that bit you, Kit, they were vampires.”
She wanted to laugh it sounded so ridiculous.
Kit felt like a ton of bricks were cemented to her chest. The emotional weight was profound and she could only hope and pray that her aunt was found alive and unharmed. The guilt of lying here useless was the last brick that crushed her. It would be unfair to expect Cade to deal with all her emotional baggage. Not only did she refuse to give up the ghost of her dead sister, even after all this time, she now had the strong possibility of losing her aunt to vampires...