“No.” Finn barked. “I just don’t see how it’s possible, but…” He paused for a moment. All Cain heard was the soft sounds of their feet on the floor. “I don’t want to continue living as I have been. Another dominant male will not subjugate me.”
“I assure you I will not fail.” There was too much at stake, and failure wasn’t an option.
Cain picked up the pace. He continued to talk to distract the wolf. “There was news through the supernatural grapevine that Fane took on challengers to his rule. Did you fight him and lose?”
“I planned to fight him, but there was a mutiny among the rogues before I got the chance. One of them convinced the rest that they could assault the Romanian mansion and prevail. Fools,” Finn spat out. “I knew it would be a bloodbath, so I didn’t let my pack take part. Since then, I’ve been biding my time. Fane and his wolves haven’t troubled us.”
“It was wise of you not to engage in a battle you knew you couldn’t win.”
Finn made a grunting noise. “I hope I’m not making an unwise decision now.”
“Don’t worry. Willis just needs to—”
“Who’s Willis?” Finn interrupted.
“A scientist I am working with. He is studying the blood of my kind and yours, figuring out how we can get them to blend,” Cain explained.
“A human?”
“Yes. The humans are vital to my plan.”
“Hmm.”
“As I was saying, Willis needs to compare your blood to that of a dormant.”
“Then what?”
Cain pushed through a door. Beyond it was a room full of tables covered with scientific equipment. “Then, based on the results, he will know which blood bonds with the vampire virus. And from that, he believes he can make blood that can be transfused into your kind.”
He walked to a chair sitting in the farthest part of the room. It was bolted to the floor, and leather straps were attached to the arms and legs. It looked like a torture contraption. And for Finn, it would be. TheCanis lupuscertainly wasn’t a small creature, and he would have to be restrained. Cain had a feeling that regardless of his willingness to help, Finn’s beast would not take kindly to being bitten by a vampire. The king turned to the wolf. “I need you to sit there.” He pointed at the chair.
Finn’s brow rose as his lips pulled back, revealing long canines. “Excuse me?”
Cain sighed. “I cannot risk your wolf deciding he doesn’t want to cooperate halfway through the procedure. The way I understand it, man and wolf do not always agree.”
After several minutes, Finn finally moved forward and turned, letting his large body fall down into the chair. Cain made quick work of the restraints, using his own vampire strength to make sure the damn things were tight.
The door to the room opened, and Willis walked in. His eyes widened, and Cain thought the male would faint from excitement. “You captured one?”
He shook his head. “No,” Cain said with a note of warning. “I convinced him to volunteer to work with us.”
Willis attempted to school his features and cleared his throat, apparently picking up on the unspoken threat. “Rock on.” He nodded, “Hello, Mr.…”
“Finn.” He growled and eyed the human, as if the much weaker male was actually a threat. Cain mentally shrugged. He supposed Williswasactually a threat, considering the human genius could easily kill the wolf with one of his chemical cocktails.
“Well, Mr. Finn, welcome to Area 51 and the Dormant Project.” Willis smiled.
“Super original title,” Finn mumbled.
Willis shrugged. “I’m a geneticist. I create brilliant solutions to problems within the human body. I’m not a freaking wordsmith.” Then he turned to Cain. “Are we ready?”
Cain nodded. “Have one of your people bring in the first dormant.”
Willis picked up a phone and spoke the command into it. Cain looked at Finn. “I need to taste your blood. I will not be drinking from you for sustenance. But I need to compare the amount of wolf blood in each dormant.”
“Why?” Finn’s body visibly tensed.
Cain sighed. Had the damn wolf been listening toanythinghe’d said? “Because so far, every time we try to mix vampire blood and wolf blood, the wolf blood overcomes the virus. Your race has super-healing abilities. Apparently, that is why a vampire cannot turn aCanis lupus.”
