Chosen by Sin (23 page)

***

Dex wasn’t sure what he was expecting of Cy’s village, but this wasn’t
it.

He supposed that since Jes’s home was a castle, he wouldn’t have been
surprised to find a village of cramped dingy huts and a bunch of morose
dragon-shifters bemoaning their short life spans. Instead, Montpeyroux Village
was both modern and quaint, bustling with life despite the fact it only had
about 189 residents. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear the village was
inhabited by regular old humans. No wraiths, vamps, or weres in sight.

As Cy led him down the main thoroughfare, they passed outdoor cafes
where a few couples sat outside. Several people walked the street with them,
some pushing prams or carrying nappies or picnic bags. There were several
restaurants, including a pub that caught Dex’s attention—damn, he could
use a beer right about now—as well as several businesses. The Draci were
obviously a creative, artistic bunch. On one street alone he passed sculptors,
wood crafters, leather crafters, ironmongers, painters and a poet reading his
work in front of a bookstore.

Across the way from them, there was a small water fountain where
several children played. To Dex’s surprise, the sight of children playing and
the sound of their laughter didn’t have their usual effect on him. Whenever
he’d seen kids playing in the past, he’d inevitably remembered the suffering
he’d witnessed at the were orphanage and during the War. And he’d always
renewed his vow never to bring another child into the world. Now, with Jes
pregnant, it was too late for that. Still, the thought came without regret or
anger. He seemed more inclined to remember Ella, the cartwheeling girl. Even
more amazing was the fact he wanted to smile at the memory.

Cy stopped outside a
creperie
.

“You like ice cream?” Cy asked.

Was the guy joking? “Not particularly.”

Cy shrugged, went inside and ordered a double-scoop of Rocky Road and
vanilla.

Dex watched the entire transaction, then fell back in step beside him.
Cy was one surprise after another. He was huge, looked like a linebacker, yet
had no problem ordering and licking a double scoop ice cream while they walked.

Cy finished off the cone, tossed the wrapper in a garbage can, then
grinned before turning to Dex, catching him staring at him. “I’m freaking you
out, aren’t I?”

Dex coughed. “A little.”

“I told you.” Cy gave one of his common shrugs. “I have to enjoy my
life while I can. If I feel like having an ice cream cone—and unlike you
I have quite a fondness for ice cream—I’m not going to stop myself from
having one because someone else is gonna see it as unmanly, you know? Isn’t
there anything that you’ve wanted, that you knew would make you happy, and you
just took it, damn the consequences?”

“Yeah. That didn’t work out too well.” He was thinking of Jes and their
unplanned pregnancy. And he had the feeling Cy knew it. Especially when he
said, “Show’s not over yet. Who knows what will happen.”

As they continued to walk, the dragon-shifter greeted those they
passed. Those same people looked at Dex with fascination, but no one seemed to
be scared or disdainful of him. Which Dex found interesting.

“You get many weres around here?”

“At one time, quite a few. At various times they’ve been enemies.
Allies. Peacefully indifferent. Right now, we’re at the peacefully indifferent
stage. We have been for a long time. We’re hoping that’s not going to change.”

“Why would it?”

“The were leader who controls the packs around here promotes peace and
everyone knows the punishment he’ll impose if they countermand him.
Unfortunately, he’s dying. Those set to take over aren’t quite as open minded.”

“And what will you do once this were leader is dead and the others
don’t cooperate?”

Cy shrugged, but this time his expression was hard. “Whatever we have
to do. Same as you would.”

Dex was about to ask him the were leader’s name when Cy stopped. “We’re
here.”

“Here” was a little shop complete with wind chimes and a banner that
advertised palm readings. “You’re kidding, right?”

Cy opened the door and motioned Dex inside.

A mage came out from the back room. He recognized her immediately. It
was the blonde from the farmer’s market in Paris.

Her eyes widened when she spotted him, then she smiled. “Hello, were.
You still looking for something to help your lover ease the heat?” she asked. A
second later, her gaze dipped to his chest then back up to his face. Was it his
imagination, or had her smile dimmed slightly?

Before he could respond to her question, Cy grabbed him by his shirt
and hauled him to him. “What is she talking about?”

Dex shoved him away. “What the hell business is it of yours?”

“You know why it’s my business. How do you two know each other?”

“We met at the farmer’s market before I ended up at that church where I
met you.”

“And this lover in heat?”

“She’s a lover. End of story.”

“You’ve been with her since meeting Jes?”

“Does that surprise you? Did Jes imply we’d made promises to each
other? Because we haven’t. I hardly know her. I wasn’t looking for a
relationship or family. I’m still not.” But even to him, his protest sounded a
little weak. Why? It was true. Wasn’t it?

“Yeah, well, like I said before, it’s your loss.” With a final look of
disgust, Cy turned back to the mage. “Dex needs to ask you some questions. He’s
a friend of Jes’s, so you can trust him. For now.”

The mage looked at Dex, her expression serious, all trace of sweetness
and light gone. “What do you need to know?”

“What do you know about shape-shifters and dark spirits?”

“
Diabol
s? Why?” Again, her gaze darted to his chest before
returning to his face.

Automatically, Dex rubbed at the tender area just over his heart. Was
it his imagination, or had she honed right in on it? “Because shape-shifters
are killing shape-shifters and I’m trying to help stop it.”

This time, she looked down at her suddenly wringing hands before she
seemed to consciously relax them. “And what if you can’t?” she asked softly.

“Excuse me?”

“I said, what if you can’t?”

“Why wouldn’t I be able to?”

“There are some things so powerful, they can’t be stopped. Not by mere
mortals. Maybe not even by immortals.”

“Yeah, well I don’t buy that,” Dex reassured her.

“I suppose that’s good. Maybe it’ll help you.”

“Help me what?”

“Help you
fight the
diabol
that’s after you.”

***

So far so good, Jes thought.

She didn’t seem to be suffering any negative effects because Dex was
off the castle grounds, and neither did the baby. Its life force was a
comforting presence inside her. Though it didn’t move, its energy intensified
whenever Dex was in the room. In case it was worried, she rubbed her stomach
and said, “Don’t worry, little one. Your father will be back soon. Stay with
me, okay?”

It was nice to feel hope again. At first, she’d been so worried about
losing the baby then about Dex’s reaction to the news that she’d barely allowed
herself to imagine what her life would be like once the baby was here. It was
partly a defense mechanism; experience had taught her that the more she
envisioned that kind of life, the more devastated she’d be when it didn’t
happen. Right now, she needed to be smart, stay healthy, and keep her focus.

Finding Rurik Pitts’s body in the woodshed had certainly thrown her
equilibrium off. At first she’d thought the werebeast had come after her,
either to kill her or to extort more money. A host of questions had swiftly
followed: Did he know Dex was here? Had he come to warn Dex about her? Had he
brought anyone else who knew about her? And, of course, who had killed Pitts,
and why?

Thankfully, she’d managed to keep her composure and Dex had taken care
of the rest, immediately assuming that Rurik had traveled to France because of
him
. Even as relief had overcome her, she’d been tempted
to tell Dex the truth—not just about Pitts, but about everything.

The legend. His grandfather. The blood she’d taken.

Aside from freaking out about the baby and trying to choke Cy to death,
Dex was proving to be enjoyable company. Revealing bits and pieces about
himself through his actions and so far confirming why she’d liked him from the
very beginning. Then there was the fact he’d been so tender when they’d made
love in the library…

She wanted to get to know
that
Dex Hunt better.

And telling him the truth would ensure that never happened.

So she hadn’t told him the truth.

Hadn’t told him anything.

Even though part of her wondered if Pitts’s death had anything to do
with Dex’s crazed behavior and possible possession by a dark spirit.

Instead, she’d convinced him to go to the village with Cy. She’d
obviously meant it when she’d said she didn’t want to interfere with his job.
She wanted him to help keep their baby alive, but his job put a lot of pieces
in motion, and ignoring any one of them could prove disastrous.

At least her autopsy of Rurik Pitts had been fruitful. The werebeast
had died of a heart attack. His presence in France was still a mystery, but
he’d died from natural causes, which made it less likely something dangerous
was lurking on the castle grounds.

Since Dex and Cy were still gone, she decided to take advantage of
Dex’s absence to continue working in her lab. She collected the vials of Dex’s
precious blood and ran several more tests. The results were similar to the
others. Except for his vampire ancestry, Dex’s blood showed no signs of
extraordinary power. Unfortunately, that meant she had to move to the
experimental phase of her research sooner than later.

Her first plan was to see if Dex’s blood had any healing or
life-prolonging properties even though her initial tests hadn’t shown it. Using
laboratory mice infected with a debilitating virus, she injected them with
Dex’s blood. She took another set of mice and slathered the blood on them
topically. Then she slipped a couple of vials of blood into her lab coat pocket
and headed off to see Bodin. She wouldn’t inject him with the blood yet, but if
the mice didn’t suffer any ill effects, and if Bodin’s health continued to
decline, she might not have any other choice.

On the way to Bodin’s room, she wrestled with whether she should tell
him about Dex. She’d been going back and forth on the subject since Dex had
arrived. Would it be wise to alert Bodin to Dex’s presence, even if Bodin had
acted in Dex’s best interests when he’d sent him away?

Her steps slowed for a moment. She supposed part of her didn’t believe
that. When it came down to it, Bodin hadn’t necessarily acted in Dex’s best
interests. He’d acted to keep Dex alive, which wasn’t the same thing at all.
Still, his actions were understandable. Those of a man left with few choices,
all of them difficult ones.

Still undecided about what to do, she knocked on Bodin’s door. He was
in an isolated room meant to house quarantined patients. It was on the other
side of the castle from Dex’s room, and one had to get through several locked
doors to get to it; only she and Amanda had the keys.

“Come in.”

At Bodin’s soft call, she stepped inside. When she saw the werewolf
leader, she strove to keep her expression blank. Now he had deep wrinkles
tracking his face to go with his white hair.

Yet when Bodin looked up and saw her, his eyes lit up with the same
intelligence and vibrancy that they’d always held. He reached out his hand.
“Jes,” he said softly.

Even his voice is different, she thought. It used to boom with
authority, and now it was barely more than a whisper. She took his hand and
kissed it. Held it for several seconds against her cheek, yearning for the
strength he’d once possessed and that she’d so infrequently been able to lean
on.

“You look good,” he murmured. “You’ve been resting.”

“I have. Yes,” she replied.

“Good. That’s good. Amanda came to see me earlier. She said you had
another patient. A werebeast. Do I know him?”

Would he know him? She sighed, unwilling to lie, given Bodin’s direct
question. On some level, she was certain that’s why Amanda had mentioned Dex to
him in the first place. “Actually, I think you do know him. But I need to talk
to you about something first. Something important.”

“All right.”

She sat in the
chair next to the bed. “As you know, I’ve been furthering my research on
extending life. I had a lead in L.A
.
and—and I’ve brought something back with me.” She held up the vial of
Dex’s blood.

Bodin’s brows furrowed even as he smiled. “What’s that?”

“It’s blood. It’s blood that I think is very powerful. The blood of a
werewolf. And a vampire.”

Bodin’s quizzical expression slowly disappeared. “Vampire? And
werewolf?”

Jes simply continued to look at him, saying nothing.

If possible, Bodin paled to almost the exact same color as his hair.

“No. No, Jes. No.”

“Shhh. It’s okay,” she said. “I heard about the legend from the Draci.
The day you brought me here, I saw how you reacted when Lacrosse asked you
about it. I knew that—”

“Damn it, girl. What have you done?” he shouted. With more strength
than she’d expected him to have, he grabbed her arm. She automatically tried to
pull away, but he yanked her closer.

“What have you done?” he asked.

She scrambled for something to say. All that came to mind was, “I met
Dex.
Il est ici.
He’s here.”

Bodin blinked. Slowly, his fingers loosened and he fell back against
his pillows.

“Dex? The Boy is here?”

“Yes.”

“You’re sure it’s him?”