“Why are you here?” she asked.
“It’s about your blood,” Alex said.
Damien’s eyes snapped to Alex. “What about her blood? Is the virus active again?”
“Nothing like that,” Hayden said, trying to put Damien at ease.
Alex handed his beer to Tess as she came down. “Here, I don’t drink.” She smiled at him as she took the beer.
“On with it, Alex,” Damien said.
“Hayden, Pryce, and I have been talking about why the WSSO would ask Rinn to kill Tess, and I don’t mean simply to kill her but to leave nothing behind except ash. Rinn was very clear that’s what the group wanted. Ashes.”
“And?” Tess prompted as she took a sip of beer.
Aside from when Damien had given her whiskey to numb the pain of removing the tracking device, he had never seen her drink before. She didn’t seem to like the beer, but she was holding it, trying to fit in. She fell quiet again. A nervousness came over her, as it did every time the topic of the WSSO came up.
“Burning a body to ashes destroys a virus. I don’t think the WSSO wants any trace of their virus falling into our hands. The organizers thought you’d infect the pack, and then they could come in here and burn the bodies like they’re doing elsewhere. That didn’t happen, and they were afraid to try another attack. You’re a wealth of information they don’t want us having.”
“What does it mean that she’s a wealth of information?” Damien asked.
“Her body is, actually. We can use her to develop a vaccine, maybe even a cure. Tess, there’s a technique called passive immunity wherein I could give your antibodies to other shifters. It would help prevent them from getting sick from the virus. It doesn’t last long. A few weeks, a few months at most.”
“You can do that? With my blood?”
“Yes, but it’s not a practical method, given how many shifters we need to protect. You’re only one person. Even if I drained you of all your blood, I wouldn’t have what I need to protect even a third of this pack, let alone scores of other packs.
“I have samples of the live virus from when you were sick, too. That’s where my focus has been, working on a more effective vaccine that will last longer than a few weeks. The point is the WSSO doesn’t want any trace of this virus left behind, and that’s exactly what the group has done... left the virus behind, in you.”
“Use her blood. Make a vaccine and a cure,” Damien said.
“I’m limited in what I can do.”
“What do you need?”
“Honestly, more samples of the live virus. What I took from Tess when she was sick isn’t enough. And I don’t have the right set up here to cultivate more.”
“The latest reports are saying that it was more than a suicide, that the leader of the cult poured gasoline on all the bodies, including himself, and set everything on fire,” Callen said with the earbud still in one ear. “The WSSO is cleaning up after itself.”
“That confirms it,” Alex said. “They’re destroying all evidence of the virus and anything that could lead to us creating a vaccine or a cure. At least we still have Tess as a source for continued research.”
Tess set her beer down on the coffee table and wandered over to the window, her back to the group. There was a sudden tension in her that Damien didn’t like. His eyes remained on her while the others talked.
“I think I should put the vaccine aside for now and focus all my attention on finding a cure,” Alex said.
“Prevention is better,” Hayden insisted.
Tess wrapped her arms around herself and withdrew from the discussion and the circle of shifters. More than what Damien had said by the lake was bothering her. A low growl directed at Alex tore from Damien’s throat.
Alex froze at the sound.
“Damien!” Hayden said, even as he moved in front of Alex, protecting the doctor.
Damien stopped growling and hid his shock at his own behavior. Hayden shouldn’t have to rein him in like that. Neither should Damien be growling without intending to. His wolf was reasserting himself. Why the hell was he focused on Alex?
“Continue with what you were saying, Alex,” Damien said, making no apologies for his behavior. He kept his eyes trained on Tess as Alex resumed.
“Tess is the only one who has survived the virus who we know of. Her immune system is key to a cure. If she’s killed before I have a chance to work on the cure, it could be months, years, before we find another shifter who’s survived the virus.”
Now Damien knew why his wolf had growled earlier. Alex saw Tess as a tool to be used to combat the virus. And it’s why Tess had suddenly become so withdrawn. She had been the subject of research before. CLS24. The tattoo—a constant reminder of the hell she had survived—still marred her wrist.
Damien wanted to kick everyone out, so he could hold her, make her feel safe and loved, but unfortunately, he needed to hear everything Alex had to say. Alex was the only one working on the medical end of the virus, and Damien couldn’t afford to scare him off.
“Only a few packs have been attacked,” Hayden said. “No survivors. We don’t need a cure; we need a vaccine.”
“We need both. But if anything happens to her, and we lose the chance for a cure, any pack that doesn’t receive the vaccine and gets infected has no chance at surviving. The virus could spread faster than we can get vaccines to everyone. The WSSO is actually doing the shifter community a service by burning the bodies. It’s keeping the virus from spreading from pack to pack. The fires are controlling the spread.”
“He’s right,” Damien said, surprised he was agreeing with Alex. “The WSSO’s holding back, testing the waters to see how far it can go without too much pushback from the government and non-shifter population. But that won’t last long.”
Everyone was talking now, discussing what to do next: how best to secure Tess; where to set up a better lab for Alex, now that this location was known to the WSSO; how to get him help so he could work on a vaccine and the cure simultaneously; how best to communicate with other packs not only to warn them of the virus, but to share the possibility of a vaccine and cure. The group had a lot of work ahead of it.
Throughout the entire discussion, Damien didn’t take his eyes from Tess. She had withdrawn, closed down completely, offering no opinion as she stood by the door. It was hard to know what was going through her head.
“You’re never going to let me leave, are you Damien?” she asked, that hollow look in her eyes returning as he joined her.
For the first time since he met her, he wished he could let her walk away. She didn’t deserve any of this, but he had no choice now. This was about more than just him or even her, this was about a war with the WSSO and the lives of every wolf-shifter out there. Even if she never blood-bonded him, he couldn’t let Tess leave. Damien had no choice but to steal her freedom.
Chapter Twenty-One
TESS
Tess removed the tea kettle from the stove and poured the water into a mug. She had kept herself busy inside Aloe’s house for the past two days, cleaning, cooking, and even taking sewing lessons… anything to distract herself from Damien.
He’d been trying to get to her nonstop. Aloe and Frank both ran interference, which created more problems than it solved. Every time Damien scented Frank nearby, Damien started growling. His control was slipping, and having a male keeping Damien from Tess had set him off, more than once.
Callen posted a guard outside Aloe’s house, to ensure Damien didn’t force his way past Frank. She didn’t fear for her safety, but rather Frank’s. Damien would never intentionally hurt her, but he could reach a point where he’d kill to reach her. And yet she couldn’t bring herself to return to his house, or even go on a walk with him. She wanted to see Damien, but not now and not here, under these circumstances.
Of course, no one kept Alex from coming in and taking more blood samples. She was starting to feel like a damn pincushion. She kept silent, though, as she would do whatever was n
eeded to develop a cure. But her spirits sank every time Alex entered.
Alex didn’t say when she could leave. Technically speaking, once he found the cure—if he found it—they would need to find an infected shifter to test it. What if the next infected shifter was a thousand miles away? A wolf carrying the cure would take weeks to make it cross-country, through enemy territories of other shifter types, not just wolves. Hopping on a plane with an unknown substance wasn’t an option either. As for driving cross-country in that beat-up truck that the pack used to haul supplies from Devil’s Peak, the vehicle was literally being held together with zip ties and duct tape and wouldn’t make it far. That was assuming they found a cure soon. Finding a cure could take weeks, months… years.
Even if Alex found the cure tomorrow, Damien would find another excuse to keep Tess here. Her body seemed to be on his side, damn traitor. Every time she heard Damien arguing with Frank or Callen outside, or howling in the distance, the pull to go to Damien, to soothe him, intensified. Her heart raced and her body shivered with the mere thought of his touch. Then her pussy would go all wet…
As for that traitor of a friend, Aloe, she kept her windows open more often than not. With the windows open, there was no keeping Tess’s scent, her arousal, hidden from Damien.
“There’s a cute blonde with a streak of silver in her hair,” Tess said as she sat down with her mug of tea.
“That’s Harmony. And stop trying to find him a mate,” Aloe replied as she finished drying the breakfast dishes.
“But he needs—”
“We all know what and who he needs.”
“Blood-bonding with me will kill him.” How many times did Tess have to say this?
“And you think going feral won’t? The pack can’t let him turn feral. He’ll be a danger to everyone, including humans. There’s no official war on shifters yet, despite what the WSSO said. The WSSO doesn’t represent the U.S. government, but if Damien goes feral and attacks humans in a way that leads back to us. It’ll be bad, Tess.”
“Then what can I do? I won’t be responsible for his death. I can’t lose anyone else.”
“Leave.” Aloe stacked the last plate into the cabinet and joined Tess at the table. “Once you leave, he’ll have to find another to blood-bond. There are a lot of single females here. I’m sure one will gladly step forward when you’re gone, but not before. They see you as an alpha.”
“That’s funny, given how I still hear my share of remarks about how human I am.”
“I’m serious, Tess. They may have claws and teeth to rip you apart, but they’re not strong like you. You stand up to Damien and most of the males around here.”
“Except Callen.”
“Callen’s a special situation. The point is, the females here won’t dare go anywhere near Damien to propose or accept a blood-bond with you around. They know he’s yours.”
“I’ve rejected him. Several times now.”
“And yet you carry his scent.”
She hadn’t thought about that. Every time he touched her, or she touched him, the other shifters must have smelled it on them. She had lost her ability to scent as a shifter, and already she was forgetting some of the most basic facts about being a shifter. She was becoming more and more human, every day. It was yet one more reminder of why she couldn’t be with Damien.
“If you want them to believe he’s available, you need to reject him outright by leaving and staying away.”
Tess stared into her tea. “I’ve tried leaving, several times.”
“But you can’t, can you?” Aloe slid the chair out and sat down until their faces were level, and she had Tess’s full attention. “You’re in love with him. That’s why you haven’t found a way to leave. You won’t let yourself leave.”
“Alex needs my blood,” Tess said, hearing how lame her excuse sounded. She found herself staring into her mug.
“He has enough blood, by now. He doesn’t need you to stick around to work on the cure.”
Tess lifted her eyes.
“Time to make a choice, Tess. Either completely walk away or blood-bond Damien.”
“I’ll talk to Alex. I’ll let him know where he can find me if he ever needs me again.”
“No. Cut off all contact with the pack.”
“Even you?”
“Especially me. I have a soft spot when it comes to Damien. I catch glimpses of Zach in him here and there.” Aloe smiled for a moment as she lost herself in her memories, and then she sighed. “I’ll give in the moment Damien begs me to tell him where you are.”
Just the thought of Damien begging made Tess shudder. It wasn’t in him to beg, unless he was really desperate, but Tess had seen him do it, more than once. He had begged her to stay.
“You’re hesitating.”
“Yes, I’m hesitating! I want to be with him, but there’s no shifter in me to stabilize his wolf. If the blood-bonding doesn’t kill him outright, it will only send him into a downward spiral. They’d have to kill him on the spot, Aloe!”
“Then leave. And don’t go back to Florida. If he knows where you are, or thinks he can find you, he won’t move on.”
Tess released a deep breath. Aloe was right. It was time to go.
* * *
DAMIEN
She was refusing to see him, again. It had been days now, and every other male seemed to be traipsing through Aloe’s house. It was a damn parade of males. Alex, Callen, Hayden, Pryce, Tim/Tom—whatever the hell the asshole’s name was—and of course Frank… Frank who lived there. Smelling his scent made Damien’s wolf go crazy.
Running became Damien’s salvation, or at least a way of trying to soothe his wolf, to help him focus and put the beast in its place. But his wolf was steadily gaining ground. Hayden had spoken of his uncle’s decline, how blood-bonding with a weak shifter had done more harm than good. Even if Tess agreed to blond-bond, Damien was starting to think she was right, that it would hasten his decline. They might have to put him down in front of her. He couldn’t let that happen.
“Damien!” Hayden shouted from down the trail. He had only caught up because Damien had stopped at the lake where he and Tess had made love. Her scent was long gone, but being here, remembering, soothed him.
“What?” Damien said, not trying to contain the growl in his voice.
“It’s Aloe. She’s been taken.”
“What do you mean taken?”
“Miller and Aloe went to town for supplies. While Miller was loading the truck, someone clocked him from behind and grabbed Aloe.”
“Who?”
“Drake. He left a note on the truck. He’s willing to give her back, in exchange for Tess.”
* * *
“Hell. Who told her?” Damien asked Hayden and Callen when Damien spotted Tess heading their way. From her expression, she was not only worried, but determined. That was a bad combination.
“I think I’ll let you handle this one,” Hayden said, backing away.
Coward.
“I can’t believe you’re leaving without me,” Tess said, the fire in her eyes a glorious, though unwelcome, sight. “Drake’s note specifically said he wanted me.”
“Which is why we’re leaving you here. I thought that would be obvious.” Damien was too pissed at whoever had told her about the kidnapping and the note to care if he was being obnoxious. Tess wasn’t going, and that’s all there was to it.
“I’m going with you.”
“Drake’s already threatened to kill you. Why on Earth would I hand you over to him?”
“I don’t know,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Maybe because Aloe’s life is on the line!”
Damien looked Tess over, wondering if he could get away with throwing her over his shoulder, tying her down to a bed, and having some fun with her until she was either so tired or distracted that she’d drop this crazy idea of hers. Then he noticed her lips tremble. Aloe was Tess’s only friend here, the woman she’d been turning to for guidance in place of t
he sister Tess had lost. He knew how that felt. When he had lost Zach, Damien had developed an empty spot in his soul. Hayden had been there for Damien, being his sounding board, someone he could count on no matter what, and in many ways Hayden had become the brother Damien had lost. He would do anything to protect Hayden, and that’s probably how Tess felt about Aloe.
“Did you hear me, Damien? I have to go because it’s Aloe out there.”
“Callen and I are going and you’re staying. I promise, we’ll get her back.”
“How?”
“How?” Damien repeated her question. Wasn’t he the alpha here? Since when did he have to answer to anyone, let alone one small female? One small adorable female that looked like she was about to punch him. His cock stirred at the sight of her, all her passion and drive. Hell, this wasn’t the time to get aroused by the thought of her fighting him.
“This isn’t my first mission,” he finally answered her. “The last one I was on, we managed to bring back over a dozen shifters alive, including you.”
“I don’t doubt your skills.” Tess choked back a cry. He could tell she was scared, so he pulled her into a hug.
“You can’t just sneak into his territory undetected,” she said, her arms wrapping around him. “This isn’t like when Drake took me. He caught your guards by surprise, found an opening by the canyon where the patrol was thin and took it. This time, he knows you’re coming. Maybe that’s his plan, to take you down, and I’m just the decoy.”
That answered one question about how she’d found out. She shouldn’t have known the details of how Drake had invaded their territory undetected that day.
“You and I will be talking about which information should and should not be disclosed around here,” Damien said to Callen over the top of Tess’s head. Callen merely crossed his arms over his chest, as if it was of no concern to him. Damien was losing the respect of his shifters.
Damien’s Dilemma Page 29
