He didn’t blink, and Raven softened her voice. “You came to me for help. You must have trusted me for some reason. Trust me a little more.”
A great shudder passed through him. “There is no coming back from a vampire bite once infected.”
“She’s the same girl you adore. She’s dying, going through severe transition sickness. Most don’t survive without large amounts of blood.” Doubt dug its mitts into her, but she couldn’t repress her next words. “I can’t stop it, but I might be able to make sure she wakes up again.” She met his gaze. “Can you live with that, if she was one of the undead?”
When he didn’t answer, her heart dropped. She didn’t know the man, so she didn’t know why his lack of response disappointed her. Shifters and vampires were complete opposites. One vividly alive, the other craving life by drinking blood. Their opposite natures put them at odds.
“Try.” The scratchy sound of his voice broke through her chaotic thoughts. Durant’s eyes had partially turned back to human, the green splinters quelling her doubts. “Do what you can for her. Whatever happens, I won’t forget what you’ve tried to do.”
He loomed over her and the solemn, bleak expression gave her emotions another vicious twist. He turned, his shoulders back, his posture brittle. She sensed he let very few people close to him. If she let this wisp of a girl die, there would be even fewer.
Dominic followed the large cat at a cautious distance. Taggert and Jackson lingered, but she waved them off. “Go. I’ll call you if I need anything.”
Taggert nodded, but Jackson’s brows lowered ominously. To forestall any protest, she turned her back on them and offered the only incentive she had. “We’ll finish our conversation later.” If she lived long enough.
After three hours, she admitted defeat, struggling to fit her gloves on fingers shaky from overexertion. The pounding on the door had long since ceased. The wound had mostly healed into a rough scar, but no amount of energy she poured into the girl could animate her dying flesh. If Raven pushed harder, Cassie would not come back as a vampire, but a mindless zombie instead. Raven couldn’t risk that.
Exhaustion pressed heavily on her shoulders, the current burning her from the inside out. As she opened the door, she braced herself to face the men in the hall.
Without a word, Raven shook her head.
Durant swallowed hard, his throat working. He slipped by her into the study, avoiding her eyes. He collected Cassie’s body, cradling her against his chest, his devastation a private thing hard to witness.
“How long?” The gravelly words were barely audible. The tiger in him prowled its confines, searching for something to fight.
Raven bit her lip, indecision battling what was right. “There might be another way.”
Darkness had fallen an hour ago. If there was a hope for survival, Cassie’s transition should’ve started on its own. Instead, her condition grew increasingly worse. She was dying. Durant’s golden gaze locked on hers, the grief consuming him.
“There’s a man I met a few years ago who might be willing to help.”
Dominic’s brow wrinkled, and Raven swallowed hard at the can of worms she was about to spring on them.
“Who.” The tension in the room escalated at the terse demand.
“Rylan.”
“Hell, no.” Dominic shot away from the wall, crossing the floor in a blur. Jackson and Taggert stepped in front of her, their broad backs a wall blocking the enraged wolf prowling toward her.
“Do it.” Durant’s red-rimmed eyes didn’t hold any hope.
“You don’t understand.” Dominic swiveled to him, shaking his dark head.
“I don’t care.”
“He’s demented.” A vampire driven insane from bloodlust.
The room stilled. She doubted anyone even dared breathe. “That’s not fair. No one was sane while imprisoned.”
He whirled, but kept his distance when her two protectors tensed. “You heard his victims scream as he tore them apart just as I did. When they released him, he was covered in blood.” Bitterness tightened his face. “Shifter blood.”
Raven blanched, but stood her ground. “You would’ve done the same.”
“Never.” Dominic spit the word at her.
That enraged her. How dare he judge someone for what they had to do to survive in that place. She crossed her arms. “How long did they starve you?”
“What?”
“Vampires have to eat once a day. They can skip a few days, maybe a week at most, but only if they’re old and strong.”
Dominic scratched his jaw. “So?”
“They starved him, fed him sour blood once a week.”
“Shifter blood.”
“Damn it, you’re not listening.” Power stuttered at her core, flaring along her skin as she struggled with her emotions. She prayed for patience and took a steady breath. “For months on end, they starved him. The regimen they created was specifically designed to see how long it would take to drive him insane. They wanted to document its effects.”
Understanding darkened his eyes. “That doesn’t excuse what he did to our people.”
“You hardly know him. I was in a room with him for three days watching him pace and go insane with hunger. He was so weak he couldn’t break the chains that bound me.” A tremor took up in her muscles. “Even when I offered him blood, he refused.”
“Are you insane?”
A bitter smile crossed her face. “They had to drag his body out of the room when he collapsed from hunger.” The desolation in his eyes still haunted her at night. The program pushed them, found a specific sore spot with each occupant, and did everything they could to break them. Once they got what they wanted, their test subjects were the perfect puppets.
“What happens when you don’t have enough food?” She focused on Dominic, refusing to let him hide.
“We become more aggressive.”
Raven shook her head. “No, your wolf fights for dominance.” The next words thickened in her throat. “Now imagine what would happen to you and your control if you were starved for months with only a taste of rotten food every few days.”
He spoke through stiff lips. “It’s not the same.”
“Why not? The more primitive side of his vampire self was exposed. They pushed him too far.” Memories battled to surface. Panic beat its wings against the inside of her chest as she fought to forget. “They cut the victims and shoved him in the room. They nearly decapitated them.”
She rubbed her face. “What would you do to protect one of your pack?”
“Anything.” The one world held complete conviction.
“Even if it would destroy you?” She knew the answer. Everyone who survived the program answered the same. You protect the pack. “I’m going to call him. If you don’t want to see him, I suggest you leave.”
“What can he do that you can’t?” Jackson appeared curious instead of his normal, doubtful self.
“All I’m doing is keeping her alive, but the sickness is spreading. I can’t prevent her death. I can’t cure her. If he’s willing to finish bring her over, I think she has a good chance at survival.” She prayed no one asked for specifics. They might believe they understood her little peculiarity with electricity, but they didn’t understand the full effects it could have on others.
“Find another way.” Durant’s words cracked in the room. Decisions became harder when you had to agree to change someone into a vampire rather than just allow it to happen.
All her anger and frustration bubbled over. She pointed to Cassie. “Is your pride worth more than her life?”
When he didn’t answer, she rubbed her arms, static crackling as she did so. She couldn’t believe she’d so misjudged him that he’d let his prejudice claim the girl’s life. “If you don’t want my help, I suggest you take her and leave.”
Durant remained seated, unable to say no but unable to agree to a pact with the very creature he’d fought a war against. Vampires craved the powerful sh
ifter blood, high octane compared to humans. The danger came in when some vampires ensnared their donors and forced them to obey.
“Call him.” Taggert handed her the phone. “You wouldn’t have suggested it if there were any other choice.”
Now that the decision was made, she hesitated. Vampires weren’t much better than shifters. Their hatred ran just as deep. Prophecies said the wolves were created to protect the vampires while they slept. Until they rebelled and killed those they were sworn to protect.
A few vampires still believed shifters should either be called to heel and put back into service or decommissioned. The shifters believed vampires should be made dead permanently before things reverted back to the dark ages.
“Your promise first.” She looked at each man, daring them to glance away from her. “I want your word that you’ll leave him in peace.”
“Raven–”
“No. We escaped the lab together. We promised to stick together for protection. But the first instant, you turn your back on him.” Anxiety tightened the muscles of her back. She had to find a way to make him understand. “He’s my pack. I won’t have him vulnerable to attack in my own home.”
“No, Raven. You pulled our asses out of that hellish hole. If not for you, we’d still be there.”
Taggert didn’t seem surprised, but Jackson’s all too curious gaze made her gulp. He’d demand answers she wasn’t ready to reveal, the horrible truth about her childhood that she tried to bury deep inside where it’d be lost.
Part of her knew she was only moving through the steps, trying to find a cure where there was none. But she couldn’t give up that slim hope. And she couldn’t not give Durant that same hope.
She picked up the phone and dialed the number she prayed she would never have to use. Rylan knew her fears. Before he disappeared, he’d promised that if she lost control, all she had to do was call and he’d come for her.
He answered immediately, the low, honey sound of his voice soothing after all this time. Fear beat a heavy rhythm in her chest and silence stretched as she fought to force words past the painful memories.
“Raven.” One word breathed a wealth of emotion.
“I need your help.”
Chapter Eleven
DAY FIVE: JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT
Raven felt Rylan’s arrival before she saw him. The air hummed with his arrival, power tickling along her skin. Unlike shifters, vampires gained power through what they consumed. Though Rylan wasn’t ancient, he had a hell of a lot of power to call on thanks to the labs. Now that he was here, nerves struck, doubts rose, along with a thrill at finally being able to see him again.
“Rylan.” The men ranged close to her side as she whirled to face him.
“At your service, beautiful.” The black haired vampire stepped out of the shadows, his lean body whipcord thin and immaculately dressed. But it was his haunted blue eyes that captured her attention and stole her breath.
“Thank you for coming.” When she went to touch his arm, he deftly stepped out of reach. She swallowed thickly and accepted his choice, ignoring the stab of hurt at his rejection. She knew better to touch anyone, especially him. “A person came, asking for help. I tried, but I fear my particular talent isn’t enough.”
Those sea blue eyes of his darkened in understanding. He knew her influence over the undead and how much danger it put her in if others found out she could raise them.
“Show me.”
A relieved breath stuttered out of her body. She opened the door to the office and nodded toward the chaise. Cassie hadn’t moved since she’d left. Her drying hair was clumped and snarled, the mahogany color limp. If anything, she appeared worse, her skin pasty and dull. Death hovered ever closer.
Rylan passed temptingly near, dancing with danger as Raven’s power ached to leap into his body. She resisted reaching out to trail her hands down his back. Although they would both relish the contact, it wasn’t healthy for either of them.
He knelt, and she found herself studying him and not the patient. There was something about him, the way he watched her that had Raven take notice and enjoy the attention. As if he could see below the surface and still liked her.
A corner of Rylan’s mouth kicked up briefly. That one second told her he understood his effect on her. The slight tightening of his fists let her know that he enjoyed it, too.
“Well?” Durant’s voice broke into the fantasy.
“The transition didn’t take. She’s dying. I can try to pull her over.” He stood and gazed at Durant, unfazed by the cat ready to leap and take a swipe at his throat. “I can’t guarantee it’ll work.”
“Why the hell not?” Durant took a threatening step forward, his fingers flexing as if claws were ready to burst from their tips. Raven grabbed the back of his shirt, surprised that he allowed her to stop him. The scent of leather rose from him.
“Because her body already rejected the vampire bite. If my blood is strong enough, it will clear out her system and re-start the change.”
“You don’t know?” Durant’s voice was sharp.
Rylan shook his head, his face impassive. “I’ve never turned anyone. I also don’t have a live blood source. If this works, she can use my blood for the transfusion, but she’ll also need to use someone else for the subsequent donations.”
“Why?” Jackson asked the question, but Raven knew the answer.
“He doesn’t want to tie her to him. The initial transfusion will give them a connection, but each subsequent exchange strengthens that bond.” She understood his reasoning. The less they tied themselves to others, the less it’d hurt later. People like them didn’t maintain ties. Friendships didn’t survive long.
It was safer for everyone.
“Do it.” Durant turned his back, his hard gaze landing on her face. There was no grief there now. It was all suspicion and retribution. If anything happened to Cassie, she knew who’d be blamed.
The men exchanged a silent look that she couldn’t interpret, one guaranteed to irritate a woman. She pretended she didn’t see anything.
“She’ll need to be fed a few times a night for the first couple of months if you want to keep her in check. If you miss a feeding, her control will falter. If she goes too long without food, her sanity will fade. The urge to search out prey will take control until only the animal instinct to feed will take over. You don’t want to see what a starved vampire can do.”
Raven refused to face Dominic. They knew. They’d seen it firsthand.
“Do you wish me to continue?” Rylan kept his tone bland, not revealing even a hint of emotion.
A curl of disgust twisted Durant’s lips, but he nodded. “Yes.”
Rylan removed his jacket, placed it neatly on a nearby chair. He rolled up his sleeves in his precise way, met her gaze and nodded to the door.
Raven took the hint and cleared her throat. “Everyone out.” Durant was the last to leave, and she had to prod him each step of the way.
She knew what to expect but the others didn’t. She planted herself in front of the door and waited. “Jackson, Dominic, would you stand by Mr. Durant? Taggert, please stand by me.”
“What’s going on?” Those tiger-eyes lifted to hers, suspicion heavy in his gaze, his power beating at her shields.
Before she could react, a scream of pain rent the air, riveting the men. The voice held such emotion, such devastation, they all flinched. When the second one came, louder, longer, they charged for the door.
“What the hell is he doing to her?”
“Hold him,” she commanded.
Taggert instantly understood the danger, placing himself in front of her, bristling with enough energy that her own abused talent reared its ugly head and licked its lips. With a firm step, she backed away from temptation, nearly weak with relief when the hunger eased.
“Mr. Durant.” It was as if he didn’t hear her. He slipped out of Dominic’s hold and swung at Jackson. She winced in sympathy when the blow landed, splitting open hi
s cheek, but the stubborn man didn’t let go, didn’t loosen his hold. Dominic quickly captured the other arm again, muscles flexing.
Each step closer was a struggle, Durant pulling the men along like dead weight. Taggert tensed, ready to launch himself into the fray if Durant so much as twitched.
“Mr. Durant, how did you think this would turn out? For the transformation to work, she has to die.” She stepped closer, wishing there was another way, wishing she could offer him some sort of comfort that everything would work out all right. But she couldn’t. She couldn’t guarantee him anything.
Chest billowing under the strain, the big man finally halted. “She’s still alive.”
“Her body’s been shutting down for the last hour. He’s trying to turn her, but the process is painful. His blood will rejuvenate the cells. Since she’s so far along in the process, it’ll be agony as the change expels any drugs and toxins from her body.”
“And how is it that you know so much about their kind?” She felt the brush of his gift and nearly staggered when he slammed into her shields with the force of a jackhammer. Shards of pain shot through her skull. She pressed her palms against her temple in an effort to keep her mind from turning to mush.
“Stop.” When he did it again, the walls around her control threatened to crumble. Electricity flared to life, eager to lash back.
Desperate to keep him safe, she yanked back hard on the raw energy as it sought a target. She was only partially successful. A strand escaped, wrapped around his body. If any more of her power infected his system, they’d have one very angry, determined tiger on their hands. Reacting without thinking, she drew down hard.
He gasped, but she couldn’t open her eyes for the pain ricocheting through her skull. Despite her best intentions, he didn’t stop, continuing to ram against her shields. She could almost swear his animal snarled. The voltage built again, burning along her skin. It grew, her core searing the inside of her chest. Breathing became difficult.
Then blessedly, everything went quiet. Her knees shook as the flare slowly dwindled. She was afraid to open her eyes, afraid to find out what she’d done.
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