I tried to sit up but collapsed back, fighting the urge to curl in around my stomach. Given the pain radiating from it, my wound was definitely nowhere close to healed.
“Careful,” Liam cautioned.
“I need to see about my friend.”
His cool hands reached down and helped me sit. He scooped me up before I could try to stand and carried me over to Caroline, setting me down so I lay next to her.
She was still, and when I touched her face, burning to the touch.
“What’s wrong with her?” I asked.
Peter gave a small sigh and reached down and gripped her leg, turning it so I could see the blood soaked cloth.
“I don’t understand,” I said.
“A werewolf’s bite can cause two reactions. The first does nothing but cause a mild cold and the victim can return to their normal life. The second,” he trailed off.
“The second? What does the second do?” I grabbed his arm, gripping in tightly.
“Forces the change,” Brax said from behind me.
My head swiveled towards him.
No.
That was not what was happening. Not Caroline.
“You’re wrong. She’s just taking longer to recover from the demon taint because she’s human.”
“Aileen,” Liam began.
“She’s fine,” I shouted. She was. She’d be fine.
“You know she’s not,” Brax said, his voice gentle. “It’s best this way. At least she has a chance to survive.”
“What do you mean?”
They all traded looks.
My voice dropped to a deadly tone. “Explain what he meant.”
This time it was Peter who spoke up. “Demons can drain the essence from their victims. With spooks, this can last for days depending on how big our pool of power. Humans don’t have that same advantage. A demon can suck them dry in hours. She’d be dead if she hadn’t started the transformation.”
Silence fell between us as I stared down at my friend.
“You’re telling me she can either be one of the monsters or be dead,” I said in a flat voice.
Liam watched me with intense eyes. “Is that how you see yourself?”
I looked away, back at my friend. Sometimes. When it’s the middle of the night and I’m all alone. Other times I can see that I’m not only what circumstances made me. I feel the same as I always have.
Will Caroline feel the same as I do? Or will she hate me for this nightmare I brought down around her?
“What will happen to her now?” I asked.
“If she survives the change, she’ll be a werewolf.” Liam’s gaze burned the top of my head. “She’ll join the pack.”
“If she decides she doesn’t want to be part of the pack?”
