“We don’t know.” Dr. O’Neill placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Why don’t you know? Can’t you get him to a regular doctor? If you can’t do anything to help him, they probably can. Right?” Kalena knew in her heart that she was being rude, but Thane’s life was on the line. She wanted Thane to live. She couldn’t lose him.
“Kalena, human doctors can’t help us,” Tracy replied. “My dad is trained in both human and shifter medicine. He spent several decades working as a surgeon for a highly rated hospital in the U.S.”
“What are you trying to tell me? That Thane’s never going to wake up.”
Dr. O’Neill knelt down beside her. “He’s been like this since it happened, and his condition has deteriorated. The only thing keeping him alive is the machine.”
“Oh my God…” Her hands shook. “He’s just sleeping. Can’t you see? Isn’t there a shot…a…something that you can give him?”
“Kalena…Thane—the wolf—is gone.” Tracy took her other hand and squeezed. “His wolf couldn’t regenerate from the injuries he sustained in the fight with Gavril. When a wolf’s soul dies, there’s nothing left, and there’s nothing our shifter medicine can do to help him. It’s the human part of him that’s hanging on by a thread. He’s living because of the life support machine, which was made for humans.”
“This isn’t fair. What have I done? I should have done something more.” Kalena couldn’t think. All rationale had left her.
“You did everything you could have possibly done,” Dr. O’Neill said. “You are lucky to have gotten away with your life. When Gavril attacked, he wasn’t in his right mind. He never was. He caused this way before you were in the picture. It may not be fair, but none of this is your fault.”
“It’s possible you’re carrying multiples,” Tracy said. “You have Thane’s pups to take care of. When you give birth, his shifter legacy will live on. As one of his Pack members and followers who loved him dearly, I ask on behalf of the Pack that you stay strong to deliver these babies.”
Kalena tried to hold them in. She tried to stay strong, but tears ran down her cheeks anyway. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
“I’ll be here for you,” Tracy assured her. “We all will.”
A shadow loomed over Kalena and she looked up slowly into the face of the dark brooding vampire that had once been standing in the darkest corner of the room. The other vampire, maybe his assistant, shifted over to the windows and closed all the curtains until the room was nearly pitch black.
“My name is Tor. I’m a very old friend of Thane’s.” When he spoke, his voice echoed across the room.
Kalena nodded. Her lungs burned so much from the pain that she couldn’t speak. She just wanted to be left alone with Thane.
“Thane’s wolf soul has died. It’s likely that the vampire blood that he’s taken over the decades is what’s keeping him breathing. It is also my understanding that he took vampire blood as recently as a few days ago.”
Kalena nodded. “For my memories, yes.”
“He will not live past this night,” the vampire said with no emotion at all.
“Can you give him more blood?” she asked.
“That is why I’m here, actually. The ShadowRock Pack has lost a shifter soul, but they don’t have to lose Thane, the man.”
She swallowed. “What are you saying?”
“He can become one of us.”
“A vampire? You mean he’ll be a real…v-vampire. Like a hybrid.”
“Yes and no. Hybrids can only be born from a union between a shifter and a vampire. Vampires can only be created.”
“What happens in relationships between a human and a vampire?”
“Well, that’s between the vampire and the human,” Tor replied. “The majority of accounts so far result in the human being turned.”
Kalena swallowed.
“Do I have your permission to turn him?”
“If it will save Thane’s life, yes, you have my permission.”
“His old life cannot be saved.” Tor shook his head. “All I can offer is my blood. If he’s strong enough, he’ll rise again as one of us.”
“He’s strong…” Kalena nodded.
“There’s not much vitality left in him, which is why I hesitate. There’s a chance this won’t work.”
“But there’s a chance it will, right?”
Tor nodded. “It is your choice.”
Kalena looked across the room at all of the faces staring at her.
Brant said. “As Thane’s intended mate, you have the right to make this choice for him. You carry his imprints and his offspring.”
Kalena turned to look at Thane again. She could have sworn his cheeks had lost more color.
“I just want him back. Is that selfish?”
Tracy gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “We want him back, too, Kalena. We’ve already come to grips with the fact that we lost his wolf, but Thane was, is also a man. A very good man who just wanted to protect his family’s legacy.”
Kalena glanced up at Tor. “Please, do it. Do it and I will pay you whatever you want.”
Tor’s lips widened into a smile. “I’ve been bargaining with Thane for decades. I’m sure we can come to some agreement later.”
“Thank you.”
“He’s fading away, so I have to do it now. Leave the room. All of you.”
“Wait, can’t I stay…?” Kalena asked, as everyone else filed out of the room.
“No,” Tor said, bluntly. “This process is between a creator and his subordinate. For the next twenty four hours, no one should enter.”
Kalena rose to a standing position and gave Thane a kiss on the lips before leaving the room.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Kalena flipped aimlessly through the pages of the book she held in her lap. She’d read a few pages here and a few pages there, but wasn’t able to focus on anything but the dire situation she was in. She barely had an appetite, which was unusual for her. Since yesterday, Tracy had relentlessly checked in on her every couple of hours, insisting that she eat. Everything tasted like cardboard. The chef had even attempted to cook her favorite meal. She was restless. Over twenty-four hours had passed since she’d left the room where Thane lay unconscious.
She turned her attention to her belly, which was still flat. She couldn’t believe she was pregnant. She would be a mother. Nine months from now, she would have the children of the man she loved. Everyone who’d come in contact with her thus far confirmed that the levels of chemicals they picked up in her scent resulted from her carrying not one but multiple offspring. It was a well-known fact that male shifter sperm often fertilized multiple eggs or the same egg, which resulted in identical or fraternal twins. In identical twins, like Thane and Gavril, only one twin got the shifter gene. When the sperm fertilized multiple eggs, all the resulting offspring had the shifting gene.
Kalena didn’t care if her babies ended up being identical or fraternal, she would love them all just the same.
She missed Thane so much and was eager to see him. Why was this taking so long? Had something gone wrong?
She exhaled, letting out her aggravation, and then slammed the book shut.
Ulrick and Zeff, who’d been assigned as her guardians, jumped up on all fours, their eyes wide and their expressions startled. When they realized that she was only expressing her anger and frustration—again—they grumbled, wagged their tails, and sat back down on the floor next to the door. Wherever she went, they followed. Kalena realized that they were not only concerned for her safety, but also for the safety of Thane’s unborn children. As long-standing members of the ShadowRock Pack and loyal friends of Thane Silex, they had a vested interest in ensuring that his babies were delivered.
Kalena understood. She was grateful that someone cared about them enough to want to protect them from their moment of conception.
Someone rapped on the door and all attention immediately turned in that direction. Ulrick and Zeff snif
fed the air and then both shifted back to human form, virtually at the same time.
The person outside of the room opened the door, and Tor stood on the other side.
Kalena immediately rushed over to the other end of the room to meet him. “Thane?”
Tor grinned widely.
His expression turned Kalena’s sour mood into a positive one, but she was still a little weary as she asked, “Is he all right?”
“He’s perfect.”
Kalena breathed a huge sigh of relief. Ulrick and Zeff also showed their elation.
“He just wasn’t sure you’d want to see him since he’s…different,” Tor said solemnly.
She shook her head. “Of course, I want to see him. Why wouldn’t I?”
“He’s vampire now. Like me. He’s been around long enough to understand our ways, but he’s just now understanding what it really means to be without a soul.”
Kalena swallowed. Her blood rushed through veins as her fingers twitched nervously.
Tor must have sensed her hesitation because he explained, “He’s still Thane. He’s very much still the man I remember, but he’s different.”
“I want to see him.”
“He just wanted me to let you know that he turned successfully before surprising you. He wants to see you, too. Follow me.”
Tor exited the library and led the group down the hallway toward the back door of the mansion. The sun had gone down just over an hour ago, and night would completely descend soon.
None of that mattered. Kalena just wanted to reunite with the man she loved.
* * *
The blood craving was strong inside of Thane. Under the descending darkness of night, he picked up on every scent, every sound, and every movement. If there was one critter around, whether a rodent, a deer, or a cricket, his senses honed in and he pinpointed its exact location.
As wolf, he had always been in tune with nature. As vampire, he was more in tune with the world and everything and everyone in it. But he was saddened. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t call his wolf. His soul was forever lost. The wolf had taken it with him to the place where souls went when they exited their host.
Yet, Thane was still here because of those loyal to him and more importantly, because of the woman he loved.
Kalena.
Thane stood on the veranda, glancing out into his backyard at the lake. He watched as the last remnants of sunset faded into the backdrop. He glanced to the left at his dark shadow. On the outside, he was still the same man. It would take decades to get used to his new anatomy. Tor was one of his most trusted friends, and one of the only vampires he had ever trusted. He was grateful that Tor was the one who’d turned him. Now, like any other subordinate he’d created, Tor had pledged to show him the ropes as vampire.
Would Kalena still want him? Would she still accept him for what he had become?
He loved her so much, and so had the wolf. But where did her heart lie?
He’d find out soon enough.
Behind him, he sensed people approaching.
He heard the sliding glass door part as someone opened it from the inside. Instantly, Kalena’s scent consumed him. Her sweet, fragrant aroma floated up under his nose and he fell in love all over again. His newfound vampire instincts reveled in her presence, and in that moment, he knew that his need for Kalena would never ever go away.
“Thane…”
She called out his name, and her voice caught on the breeze.
He spun around slowly and the sight of her took his breath away. Every single detail about her was magnified tenfold. Of course, she’d been beautiful from the very first moment he spotted her on Area S2, but now that beauty shined through like he was seeing her for the first time.
When she smiled, his entire outlook on life as it stood now did a complete three-sixty.
Kalena hurried toward him and embraced him. She wrapped her arms around him, and her softness and warmth felt like heaven. For a minute or two, he was shocked by her initial response to him. He’d expected hesitation from her, but the way in which she greeted him gave him hope.
“Thane, I thought I’d lost you. I’m so sorry about what happened. I regret that things had to end this way.”
“My regrets don’t matter because I still have you,” he declared.
She held him by the forearms and stepped back. “It’s really you. They said you were different. I didn’t know what to expect.”
“I feel different, I do. This will take some getting used to.” He took her chin gently with his fingers. “I don’t repulse you?”
“No, Thane…I don’t care that you’re different. Does it matter that I’m human to you?”
His thoughts flashed back to the hut on Area S2 when she’d asked him the same exact question. He smiled. “We’ve come a long way. I want to apologize for not telling you about the pregnancy.”
“You knew all along?”
“After we spent the night in the cabin, I sensed you had conceived. It’s why I invited Tracy and Dr. O’Neill over for dinner the other night. I needed their confirmation, and I didn’t want to scare you.”
“They say I’m carrying multiples.”
“I know. It runs in the family.” He slid his fingers through her hair, admiring how the moonlight highlighted every strand.
“Thane, what will happen to us?”
“If you’ll have me still, I want that official mating we talked about.”
Her eyebrows drew together. “Do vampires mate?”
“Yes, Kalena. They do.” He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. “My possessive urge hasn’t left me. Tell me that you’re still mine.”
Thane pulled her in closer to his body and she willing came, pressing her softness against him.
“I’m yours,” she declared softly. “But I do have one condition.”
“Are you bargaining with me?”
Kalena gave him a playful smile. “I heard that vampires love to bargain.” She traced the contours of the muscles on his arm with the soft pads of her fingertips.
“What must I do for permission to claim you?”
“I want to be like you,” she said. “I want to share your experiences. I want to feel what you feel and see what you see.”
Thane kissed her lips sweetly. She even tasted like heaven. The sweet rushing sound pulsing through the veins behind her ear brought out the blood lust in him. He reeled in his hunger. In due time, he’d have to acclimate her to his new urges.
When Kalena made eye contact with him again, she gasped. His eyesight was sharp enough, allowing him to see his image mirrored within her pupils. The vein on her neck pulsed frantically as she examined him with her mouth slightly parted. He ran his tongue along his sharp incisors, willing them to recede back into his gums.
“Do you want this?” he asked. “You want to be this way?”
“Yes,” she panted.
He leaned in, brushed his lips against her ear, and whispered, “You’re pregnant with my offspring. You’ll soon have my pups, and you’ll be their mother. For that alone, I will honor you forever. After you give birth, we’ll discuss this more, but for now…I want you to live.”
She didn’t have to answer him verbally. The long teasing kisses they shared right after told him that she understood his intentions.
“I love you, Kalena,” he told her.
“I love you more.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Two Weeks Later
Thane didn’t expect that he would stand in front of the UCON Council Heads again so soon under these circumstances. Yet, here he was, fully prepared to challenge whatever sentence they dished out this time.
Tonight, Thane had come here alone.
“And so we meet again…” Luxar stood up from his seat behind UCON’s ruling table.
All the other Heads followed. Silvano. Luka. Blanc. There was still one empty seat, and dread rolled through Thane’s stomach as he tried to subdue the sour memories about what the mi
ssing Council Head had been accused of.
All of the Council Heads sat back down in their seats after greeting Thane with brief eye contact and a simple nod.
“I received your orders to appear,” Thane said. “Although, I don’t have a body to present to you. My brother was cremated and buried as all shifters are.”
“Not to worry. I have the evidence that he is no more,” Luxar said. “Word travels fast in the vampire world as I’m sure you’re aware. It is so ironic that you stand before me now as one of us, when just over a month ago you were wolf.”
“I’ve accepted my fate. I am what I’ve become. There’s no going back,” Thane replied.
Luxar frowned. “Unfortunately not.”
“I didn’t bring Gavril to you alive. You stripped my Alpha title for the interim, yet I can’t reclaim it because of what I have become, so what punishment do you have in store for me now?”
“Who said anything about a punishment? It seems that you’ve successfully kept the knowledge about the illegal form of D996 out of the wrong hands—specifically the humans. You’ve also made contact with those that were affected and offered reparations.”
Thane nodded. “That mission is still ongoing, but I was able to seize all of Gavril’s assets, including all three compounds that he owned. All evidence has been destroyed, and there are no new accounts of this drug being distributed.”
“Gavril had a very bad reputation and did some atrocious things. None of which favors the objectives of the majority of our kind. Now the rogues have taken note, which is not exactly a good thing.”
Thane swallowed. “I am doing everything in my power to ensure that there isn’t a Gavril copycat. However, I’m working with limited resources.”
“What if we extended to you all the resources you need?”
“What do you mean?” Thane asked.
“Before Upir Lyons was killed in the raid on Gavril’s compound, he was in charge of representing shifters and reducing the rogue population. As you know, we found out that he was doing the exact opposite. He was funding Gavril’s interest in creating a new breed of rogues.”
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