by Virna DePaul
“I love my grandfather. If you can do anything to help him live, I want to help, not hinder you.”
The werewolf looked at her without guile, but unease flickered through Jes. She was tempted to read Amanda’s mind, just to be sure… But she had no reason to believe Amanda was a threat to Bodin, Dex, or anyone else. If she went around reading minds anytime she felt like it, she really would shame her parents’ memory. It was why she hadn’t invaded Bodin’s mind. Why she’d pieced together her suspicions about Dex on her own before ever approaching Amanda. She owed Bodin way too much to disrespect him that way.
Still, because it wasn’t just Jes’s welfare at stake, Jes reached into Amanda’s mind, probing for deceit. Nothing. Either Amanda was telling the truth or she knew how to block Jes’s mind-reading powers. Jes prayed it was the first.
Jes turned back to her monitor and her fingers trembled slightly before descending to tap at the keyboard.
Words formed on the computer screen in front of her, the sum of which was the information about various Otherborn during her visit to L.A. She typed the information she’d gathered about the felines, including their own reports of sexual assault and how the reports had turned out to be false, motivated by the need to rid themselves of their sexual heat via sterilization. She added her observations of the one named Wraith and her discussion about wraiths in general with the Para-Ops team. And then…
To be fair, she had to include her observations about Dex, too. As a researcher, gathering information—even information that didn’t seem relevant—was critical to help explain, avoid, and duplicate certain results. If something were ever to happen to her, she wanted her notes to be thorough enough that another could take her place and carry on her research.
She typed in Dex’s physical condition. The way he’d interacted with his team members in the bar in Los Angeles. The fact that he’d commenced a sexual relationship with one of those team members, a feline mage.
Amanda sidled up to her, hovering over her shoulder, reading the computer screen. Jes’s fingers faltered slightly as she typed Lucy Talbot’s name, but she forced herself to keep going, only pausing when Amanda spoke.
“I don’t like the fact he’s sleeping with the mage, even if it is just to alleviate her feline heat. If what you believe is true, how do we know her physical chemistry won’t affect him somehow? Or that she hasn’t siphoned information from him? The aftereffects of such a mating has never been studied before—”
“—that we know of.” Jes forced her voice to remain calm. “Besides, Lucy can’t read minds, and even if she could, she can’t siphon information that isn’t there. Dex Hunt doesn’t know what he is. Lucy certainly doesn’t. And as for whether or not her body chemistry would somehow affect his gift, there’s no reason to think that. It’s not like we know how many females he’s slept with anyway, or what races they were.” Though according to Rurik Pitts, Dex had probably been with more than his fair share of vampires. Again, Jes couldn’t help wondering—had he simply been attracted to her vampire exterior? Or had it been her he’d truly needed?
“I suppose you’re right. So, tell me. Did you find Dex attractive?”
Amanda’s tone was teasing, so Jes tried to respond in kind. “You’ve seen the photos I took. He’s an attractive male. Why wouldn’t I think so?”
“But did you—”
Afraid of what Amanda was going to ask next, Jesmina said, “I haven’t had a chance to see Bodin yet. Have you?”
Amanda frowned. “I saw him earlier. He was fine. The same. Coming in and out of lucidity. It wasn’t like he was going to die while you were away. You mean too much to him.”
As she occasionally did, Amanda sounded bitter. The werewolf’s seeming jealousy perplexed Jes. Over the years, Jes had barely seen Bodin. The only reason he was here now was because he thought Jes might be able to treat him. By natural means or through science. Yet, he had no idea that she knew about the Legend of Wolves or that she’d sought out Dex. The only reason Amanda knew was because Jesmina had finally broken down and asked her to confirm that the rumors the Draci had heard about the legend were true. Amanda had been reluctant to answer at first, but once she’d realized Jes was serious about finding a way to extend Bodin’s life, Amanda had verified the rumors.
Amanda had trusted her with that information, and Jes needed to trust her, as well.
She put her hand on Amanda’s arm. “Would you go tell him I’m here? And that I’ll check on him in a little while. Please?”
Amanda hesitated, then nodded. “Yes. I will. You’ll keep me informed about the test results?”
“I will, Amanda. Thank you.”
As Amanda left, Jes breathed a sigh of relief before continuing to type up her report, including the details she’d rather keep secret. She noted the fact that Dex had come to her hotel. How many times he’d taken her. How many times he’d come.
How many times he’d made her come.
Once again, her fingers stiffened and fumbled for a moment, and this time she couldn’t get them moving again no matter how much she mentally commanded it. Blankly, she stared at the screen.
It wasn’t the memory of the orgasms he’d given her that was the cause of her frozen state, though they’d indeed been surprising. Instead, it was the memory of what had happened afterward. How Dex had fallen into an exhausted slumber, but not before he’d wrapped his arms around her and held her as if she was something precious to him.
She typed for another minute, then read over the report.
Then …
Although she knew it was wrong …
Although she knew it was a dereliction of her duties, that she should make note of everything she knew about Dex Hunt …
She hit the delete key over and over again until she’d wiped out all details about their intimate encounter.
She licked her lips. Closed her eyes and breathed in his smell. Felt his touch. Savored his voice and warmth.
She’d never be able to experience the feel of him against her skin again. Not anywhere but here, in her mind. She’d been given one night with him. The fact that he’d taken her...The fact that he’d held her—that he’d cherished her, whispered her name, nuzzled at her hair, and held her through the night—that, at least, she told herself, would be hers alone.
With a sigh, she rose from the computer station. Fantasies could wait. She had work to do.
Hours later, Jes stared at the results of Dex Hunt’s blood sample as disbelief rattled through her. She’d known Dex was special, but she’d had no idea how Bodin had identified Dex as one who could fulfill the legend.
It wasn’t possible, was it?
But yet it made sense.
Not just werewolf. But vampire, too.
She recalled the words of the legend as told to her by her Draci family.
Protect the wolf whose ancestry none can see.
Protect the one who can gift immortality.
Cast him out before you let him be found.
He’ll drive hell’s demons back underground.
Protect the wolf whose ancestry none can see, Jes mentally repeated.
Of course. This was how Bodin had known about Dex’s gift.
Mixing were and vampire blood, though not exactly common, wasn’t unheard of. In all cases, however, the offspring of such a union was a dharmire, one who carried the outward manifestations and sometimes even the powers of vamps. Like Knox Devereaux, Dex’s teammate, who was human and vampire, but who presented as a vampire.
Not Dex Hunt.
He was an anomaly, one whose werewolf genes dominated his vamp ancestry.
And an anomaly was consistent with a rare creature, one that might fulfill a legend. His blood might be able to save not only Bodin, but countless others.
A flutter in her stomach told her she was excited. Too excited. If Dex knew, he’d have to accept his destiny, wouldn’t he? She’d never force him, but wouldn’t he want to help her? Wouldn’t he—
No!
Shame on you, she thought. This was exactly what Bodin had feared.
She couldn’t think of Dex Hunt as a trophy or a means to an end. His life would be in danger if she ever revealed just how special he was. Every mortal on the planet would be after him. Not only that, he carried enough baggage already from being abandoned by his grandfather. From never knowing the love of his mother.
Had Bodin’s daughter fought Bodin’s plan to send Dex away or had she simply gone along with it? If so, had she regretted it? Had she longed for the child that had been taken from her, even after she’d had Amanda?
Jes couldn’t imagine giving up her child under any circumstances. Once she’d dreamed of having children, but over and over again her body would reject the life as it began to form in her womb, until the doctors had finally told her she’d been damaged beyond repair. She would never be a mother. She’d be alone for an eternity.
That’s when she’d dedicated herself to a higher purpose. To healing others. To saving lives by trying to prolong them. But in doing so, she’d cemented herself as an outsider, treating patients whose lives she’d never truly be a part of. Helping families, but never having one of her own.
Nausea made her stomach heave and she bolted to the private bathroom on the other side of her lab. She dry heaved over the toilet, shudders racking her body. When she finally straightened, her reflection in the mirror was ghostly pale. The lack of color, combined with her silver hair that she hadn’t had a chance to dye since returning from America, made her look older. Old.
She dampened a towel and pressed it against her face, closing her eyes when another wave of nausea swept over her. Shakily, she clung to the edge of the sink and locked her knees.
What was going on?
She was never sick. The only times she’d ever been sick was when she’d been pregnant.
Pregnant.
With Dex’s child?
Instantly, she remembered the trickle of moisture on her thigh, proof the condom he’d used had broken.
Her shocked gaze stared back at her from the mirror, her silver pupils expanding.
Impossible. Not because it was so soon for her to know she’d conceived—fertilization occurred almost instantly. Moreover, vampires were extremely connected to their bodies and could almost always sense the moment a sperm fertilized an egg.
But she hadn’t. And she wasn’t supposed to be able to conceive at all. That’s what the doctors had told her.
Impossible.
It was the same thing she’d thought as she’d stared at Dex’s blood results. And as those proved, nature loved a good laugh.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
FBI BUILDING
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
“Remember, Dex,” Mahone said during their final briefing on Dex’s assignment. “Flying to Paris is about gathering intel only. The shape-shifters aren’t exactly a group the Bureau is prepared to trust. Still, reliable sources overseas tell us there’s more infighting than ever.”
“You’ve reminded me of this every hour on the hour. I’ve made several good connections over the past few days. I’m not stupid, Mahone.”
“But you do have a problem blending in, even when you’re in the States. You’ll stand out even more in France, where Otherborn aren’t even publicly acknowledged.”
It didn’t matter where they were—none of the Para-Ops team blended in. But Dex just shrugged.
He got what Mahone was saying loud and clear.
Forget that the team’s leader, Knox Devereaux, had a vampire’s silver hair and pupils, that Wraith had once had blue skin and hazed-over eyes, or that O’Flare was an “11” on a scale of one to ten for sexual appeal. Dex was the team’s problem child. That’s what Mahone meant, and that suited Dex just fine.
“Usually,” Dex pointed out, “I have no reason to blend in. Besides, I told you I have another motive for going to Paris now. Once I get you the information you want, I’m going to take some time off. Establishing my presence overseas will allow the agency to deny my involvement in the imminent murder of a certain U.S. were leader. As such, blending in isn’t what I’m looking to do.”
Mahone narrowed his eyes in warning, causing Dex to blow out an impatient breath. Yeah, okay fine. To get him to join the Para-Ops team, Mahone had agreed to look the other way when Dex exacted revenge against his grandfather, but such things were normally kept on the hush hush. It was yet another example of Dex’s inability to blend, he supposed, but whatever. He’d get the job done. Both jobs. He always did.
“Your international travels will provide you some kind of alibi,” Mahone confirmed. “At least one the Bureau can use publicly. But that’s a secondary goal. We still need you to exercise restraint with the shape-shifters. And that’s even assuming they’ll talk to you.”
“Don’t worry. They’ll talk to me. I’ve already made contact with a shape-shifter in France and he’s assured me he has influence with the locals there.”
“I’m sure you’ll wield your considerable powers of persuasion. Then you can tackle your sudden need to deal with personal business.”
Dex’s mouth tightened. “Wanting to avenge my mother’s death isn’t sudden. I’ve put it off for far too long.” He might have momentarily put the task aside, but after the close call Wraith had suffered, Dex had been reminded that even an immortal, let alone a half-breed were, had limited time on Earth. Rurik’s appearance in his dream had merely reinforced the thought. Vengeance had to be swift or it grew cold, especially when the killer’s blood coursed through his own veins. As it was, Dex had already waited decades to get his revenge.
“Just remember, this might not be a quick and easy assignment. Despite your confidence, I have no doubt you’ll meet resistance from these foreign shape-shifters. If you’re going to be distracted because of this revenge, or even your arrangement with Lucy—”
“I’ll get you the information you need, Mahone.”
Mahone nodded. “Good. Because frankly, I’ll be a little too busy dealing with other matters.”
“Like?”
“Like filling the holes in the Para-Ops team that Caleb and Wraith have made. Like trying to track Knox’s brother and see what he’s managed to find out about the Quorum. Like trying to convince Knox that Felicia is better protected in our hands than solely in his.”
Dex didn’t even bother snorting at that one. So long as there was a remote chance that the Quorum was still after Felicia, Knox wouldn’t let her out of his sight.
It did pose a problem, however, given that the Para-Ops team was now down four of its six members. Strangely, as hostile as their initial team meeting had been, Dex wasn’t keen on bringing strangers into the fold. “You’re not replacing any of them permanently are you?”
Mahone ran a hand through his dark hair. “No. At least, I don’t think so. Wraith says she’s done, but I bet with time she’ll change her mind. Still, it’s a good sign that the President’s willing to up the team members. We’re making a good impression on him.”
“So why the troubled expression? You worrying about something I need to know about?”
Mahone looked tempted, as if he wanted to unload a huge burden from his shoulders. But then he, like Dex had moments ago, affected indifference with a shrug. “Worrying? That’s part of the job, worrying what kind of surprises you guys are going to be throwing at me next.”
“There’s no surprise where I’m concerned. I just want what you’ve promised, Mahone. You owe me.”
“You never let me forget, Hunt. None of you do. I have a feeling the same will be true of my new recruits.” Mahone said it with an edge of amusement that rubbed Dex the wrong way.
Gritting his teeth and trying to play nice, mainly because he was curious, Dex asked, “Who are these new recruits you’re targeting?”
Mahone’s smile was self-satisfied. “Classified information for the moment.”
“Right.” Annoyance warred with
his own sense of humor. He supposed Mahone had to get his jollies somewhere. Lord knows the band of misfits he’d assembled gave him enough grief without any of them trying. Dex wouldn’t want Mahone’s job for all the money and fame in the world. “You’ll keep an eye on Lucy?”
“Lucy’s perfectly able to keep an eye on herself. She’ll be fine. Or do you have some reason to worry that she won’t be? Has she been—I don’t know—ill that you’re aware of?”
What did Mahone mean about Lucy having been ill? Dex didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt like he was playing a game he didn’t know the rules to. “She’s pretty shaken up by all that stuff that went down with the felines. But as far as I know, her health is normal.”
Mahone nodded, but he still looked slightly troubled. Even so, he reassured Dex, saying, “She’ll be doing some intel, same as you, only here in the States. Talk to the shape-shifters. Find out what’s got them turning against one another. Get back here as soon as you can with the information we need and we’ll be able to set our course of action.”
“Right.” But just as Dex turned, Mahone called out.
“And Hunt?”
Dex cocked a brow at the human.
“Watch yourself. I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Something’s coming. Something none of us are prepared for. At least not yet.”
Dex frowned. Again, that feeling of being manipulated. Or at the very least, kept in the dark. But what else was new with Mahone. If the guy had secrets he was keeping, nothing Dex could say or do would drag them out of him. He just hoped Mahone’s secrets didn’t end up complicating Dex’s life even more. “Between each of us, we’ve danced with the devil more times than I can count. Whatever’s got the shape-shifters out of sorts, we’ll contain it.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Dex left, but as he did, he heard Mahone mutter under his breath, “Problem is, I don’t think you are.”
***
Mahone’s chest ached with a burning sensation as he watched Dex leave.
