Hunter's Blood Special Edition (Cursed by Blood Saga) (10 page)

The room went silent. “Stephanie!”
Rissa scolded. “Apologize, this instant!” Mitch held Rissa’s hand, his face
hardening as he stared at Lily.

Stephanie’s small lips trembled. She
opened her mouth to do what her mother asked, but instead started to cry.
Running back across the room, she buried her face in her mother’s lap.

Rissa looked at Lily, the pain in her
eyes obvious. “I’m sorry. Stephanie doesn’t understand the gravity of what’s
going on, or what actually happened with her father.” The woman’s voice broke.
“She only knows that he’s gone. You’ll have to forgive her, she’s only four.”

Lily couldn’t bring herself to speak.
There wasn’t a hint of accusation in the woman’s voice, only grace and
sympathy. She had to blink back her own tears watching Rissa comfort her child,
and her heart broke for the two of them.

Terry shimmered next to Lily. “I guess
I can stop holding my breath now, huh? You finally found one.”

Lily just nodded, tears running down
her face. “I certainly did find one.”

“Found what?” Sean asked a little
confused.

“Another reason to stop hating,” Lily
answered squeezing his hand. Letting go, she took a breath and stepped closer
to Stephanie.

Looking down at the mother and child,
Lily’s heart broke again watching the little girl’s tiny shoulders shake in
grief and fear.

Lily knelt down next to her. Stephanie
hid her face while her mother whispered softly, rubbing her back. Mitch stood,
his fists clenched at his sides. “Leave Stephanie alone. I think you’ve done
enough damage for one day.”

Rissa eyes locked on Lily’s. “It’s
okay, Mitch. If Sean trusts her, then I do. She’s not going to harm Stephanie.
Let her speak.” With a nod to Lily, she sat back, giving her room to get
closer.

Lily didn’t say a word. Instead, she
laid her hand gently on the child’s arm.
“Stephanie, I know what you saw in
my head scared you, but please, I need you to listen to me. Your daddy was
terribly sick, only he didn’t know it. He didn’t know what was wrong or what
was making him do the things he did. Your Uncle Sean tried to help him, but it
was too late. I hope someday you can understand. I’m so very, very, sorry.”

She let Stephanie see how heartbroken
she was for hurting her and her mother. She let her see her own grief, but also
let her know she didn’t have a choice in what happened, making sure to shield
her from any further memories.

Slowly Stephanie turned her head,
resting her tearstained cheek on her mother lap. Her eyes found Lily’s, but she
remained silent.

Rissa’s hand gently stroked her
daughter’s hair. As her finger glided through the soft curls, she glanced at
Lily. “Because Stephanie is so young, we still share a mind link. I heard
everything you said to her. I apologize for her intrusion into your thoughts.
I’ve been trying to teach her that just because she can, doesn’t mean she
should. Her psychic gifts go way beyond that of simple telepathy—not unlike
your own. She’s just barely four years old and it’s a bit much to master.”
Shrugging, Rissa exhaled sadly. “I’m afraid she doesn’t quite get the concept
of privacy. This entire situation has been hard on all of us, but your words
did help, and for that, I’m grateful. Hopefully, Stephanie will understand more
as she gets older.”

Dr. Volkmann walked into the waiting
room like a hurricane, oblivious to the tension already swirling around the
room.

“Good, good, you’re all here. The lab
results are in. Let’s talk in the examination room as there’s too many of us to
squeeze into my office.”

Sean helped Lily to her feet. Winking
at Rissa, he helped hand off Stephanie to one of the nurses before heading
toward the examination room. “Doc, this is Lily Saburi, the girl whose blood
you’ve been testing,” Sean introduced them, trying to be delicate.

“Oh. I wasn’t expecting to see you, my
dear. Why don’t you stay in the waiting room while I talk to Sean? I think
you’ll be more comfortable out here.”

Sean felt Lily stiffen. “Doc, she
already knows, so we might as well include her in the conversation, especially
since it directly affects her.”

Volkmann took a deep breath, looking
back and forth between the two. “All right, this way then,” he motioned,
opening the door.

The room was a large examination
suite. They filed in one after the other, pairing off on either side of the
tiled floor. Volkmann stood by the exam table against the wall, rifling through
his files, his wire rim glasses perched on the edge of his nose.

“Jesus, Doc, enough with the
paperwork. What did the lab find?” Mitch asked impatiently.

“Yes, of course, I’m sorry,” the
doctor said clearing his voice. “There’s just no easy way for me to say this,
so I’m just going to say it. The results from the last round of tests were all
positive.”

Rissa buried her face in Mitch’s
chest, his jaw tightening as his arms went around her shoulders.

Stunned, Lily’s breath froze in her
throat. The little man in the white coat had just handed her a death sentence.
One way or the other she was going to die, either by Sean’s hand or by her own.
There was no way she was going to allow herself to become some mindless, beast.

Sean’s face was grim. There was no way
out, now. In one day, Lily wouldn’t be Lily anymore. He felt his anger rise,
and clenching his fists he turned and punched the opaque glass separating the
two rooms causing it to shatter. The people in the waiting room screamed as
Sean growled for them to get out!”

Stephanie cried for her mother, her
arms flailing as a nurse scooped her up and took her out of the room, mumbling
something about ice cream while the rest of the patients fled.

“Leighton, please! I haven’t finished.
Rissa’s prognosis isn’t as bad as it seems, at least not yet. Her being
pregnant is actually a Godsend in more ways than one. It actually buys us time.
Not only for her, but for the baby as well.”

“What exactly are you talking about,
Doc.? Are you trying to tell us you’ve found a cure?” Mitch demanded as Rissa
looked up, sniffling. “Could you just spit it out? We’re upset enough. If you
can offer us some hope then get to it and stop beating around the bush.”

Volkmann nodded. “Of, course, of course.”
With a grim look, he peered over the edge of his wire rim glasses at Lily.
“Rissa’s hope is standing right over there.”

Sean looked at the doctor in
disbelief. “What are you talking about? You just said Lily was infected. How
does that make her a hope for Rissa and the baby?”

“Her blood. The type of antibody it’s
begun to produce is highly effective and can be distilled into a vaccine. It
won’t cure
her
, but we can harvest her blood to provide a cure for us.”

Incredulous Lily started to back away.
“No! No way…
you’re all crazy!
” There was no way in hell she was going to
let them keep her as some kind of lab animal. Harvest her blood…no fucking way!

“Where are you going? I haven’t
finished yet,” Volkmann barked after her.

“Oh, yes you have! Keep away from me!
I’d rather die than let you use me like that.” Panicking she ran for the door,
but couldn’t get it open. She was trapped.

Mitch lunged for her throat. “You
fucking bitch! If you won’t help us, then I’ll kill you and drain your carcass
myself!”

Lily screamed. In a blur of speed,
Sean phased, vaulting over Mitch. Teeth bared he stood between them. With a
sneer, Mitch reeled back, phasing on the fly, as well. The two wolves hurdled
forward, snarling and with jaws snapping, their large bodies colliding in
mid-air as they fought, fur and blood flying around the room. The noise was
deafening.

Sean grabbed Mitch by the throat, his
teeth shredding skin and clothing, before sending him crashing into the side
wall. Volkmann grabbed Rissa, pulling her out of the way, yelling for Lily to
get down. Mitch reared back, the muscles in his hind legs coiling as he
rebounded, lunging for Sean again, blood coating his massive chest.

Rissa covered her ears, her color
draining with each snarl and yelp.

“Can’t we stop them? They’re going to
kill each other, and it won’t change a thing,” Lily shouted her voice
desperate.

The two wolves crashed into the
examination table. The room was in chaos, papers, broken glass and instruments
everywhere. Volkmann ordered the women to the far wall, away from the frenzy.
With the door blocked, his gaze flicked to the side cabinets and the only
option left. As best he could, the doctor crawled across the floor and grabbed
a tranquilizer gun from one of the smashed supply cabinet drawers. Fisting as
many cartridges as he could hold, Volkmann loaded the cannon, praying Sean’s
presence of mind was still intact before he pulled the trigger, aiming for
Mitch.

The large wolf reeled back before
slumping to the ground in a silent heap. Sean’s wolf froze. Sniffing the air,
he growled, swiveling his big head in Volkmann’s direction. Gun ready, the
doctor tranquilized him next, and the alpha wolf chuffed out a soft whine
before sliding to the ground, as well.

Volkmann’s shoulders slumped, and he
dropped the gun, the sudden quiet, unnerving. Lily glanced at Rissa who looked
as if she would pass out at any second.

“I’m sorry, Rissa. I’ll give the Doc
as much of my blood as I can until it’s too late. Hopefully, that’ll be enough
to help you, but I can’t allow myself to be used as some sort of caged lab
rat.”

Volkmann stood up and brushed the
debris from his knees, his eyes flicking between the two women. “Lab rat? What
are you talking about? Who said we planned cage you like an animal?”

“I was just being figurative, Doc.
Nevertheless, I won’t let you keep me alive in that crazed state just so you
can harvest my blood.”

Volkmann frowned. “That’s why there’s
no place for this kind of emotion in my research lab. You didn’t allow me to
finish, none of you did before this craziness erupted! While it’s true, your
blood tested positive for the pathogen, for some reason you are asymptomatic.
Your human blood is immune. All tests show your blood wouldn’t allow the
pathogen to alter your DNA. When Jerard bit you, he passed on some of his Were
traits, but not enough to activate the virus. Since you can’t phase, you have
the unique opportunity to have your own antibodies build to the point that even
if you were to become a full Were
,
you would never be at risk for
infection.”

Lily looked at him in confusion. “I
don’t understand.”

“In this instance, your blood is like
a fine wine. The longer it sits intact in your body, the better it will become.
Preliminary tests have already shown it’s a powerful antiviral. God willing, everything
will turn out fine, for everyone.”

Rissa sobbed openly after hearing what
the doctor had to say, and Lily wrapped her arms around her in reassurance.

The little man smiled, patting Lily’s
arm. With a wink, he jerked his head toward the larger of the two wolves just
starting to stir. “Just don’t let him turn you, yet. Give it a year. That way
we can be absolutely sure. After that…well, it’s up to you to decide if you
want to race the moon with him,” he added with a shy smile. “So, will you help
us?”

Lily laughed, heat rising to the tips
of her ears. “Of course, but can we stop these two from killing each other long
enough to tell them the good news?”

Chapter Eight

***

S
ean stood by
the window waiting for Lily. It was open, and an early winter breeze drifted
past carrying the scent of snow. Filling his lungs, he exhaled. The moon had
crested, and it paced back and forth behind the clouds mirroring his
impatience. “What’s taking you so long, Lily? You already know almost everyone
on the Hunter’s Council. Tonight is just a formality.”

The statement was true, despite the
grumbling from a few traditional dogmatists. The Compound had its share of
detractors, there was no denying that—still, no one in their right mind could
deny the service and sacrifice Lily had given the community of Weres. She
deserved this honor, and everyone knew it.

“Relax. It’s not like they can start
without us. Besides, I’m almost done,” Lily called from behind the bathroom
door. “Don’t you want me to look nice?”

Sean grunted. “That question is as
loaded as one of your guns. I’ll tell you this, though, if you don’t hurry it
up I’m coming in and carrying you out over my shoulder.”

“Hmmmff,”
was her only
response.

A month had gone by in a blur, so much
so Sean could swear he had vertigo. Lily had gone from unknown quantity, to a
possible threat, to lover and savior in one moon cycle. Adventure and miracle
all wrapped up in one petite woman.

As much as Sean hated gossip, this
time the rumor mill had worked in his favor. There was no way he or his hunters
could have spread the word that quickly. A test vaccine had been developed, and
the initial results were remarkable, even Rissa and her unborn baby were
responding well.