“Triana’s mother, Gemma, put us on the right track,” Lana said. “When Triana asked her if she’d ever heard of a poison that could hurt a werewolf, she mentioned an old folktale about Aconitum lycoctonum.”
Max frowned. “What’s that?”
“Wolfsbane. It comes from a very poisonous plant that has been used for millennia to kill people—and wolves. Once we knew where to focus our search, we were able to figure out that the poison in those bullets is a synthetic and highly concentrated form of the juice from one of the lycoctonum subspecies that grows on the high plains of Europe. We think it’s been genetically engineered to make it especially deadly to werewolves, even in tiny amounts.”
“So you have an antidote?” Max’s face brightened. “Something you can give to Zane right away?”
Lana hated to disappoint him, especially when he was obviously so desperate for good news. But she couldn’t lie to him.
“Nothing yet,” she told him gently. “But we’re moving in that direction and hope to have something we can try soon.”
Max took a deep breath and slowly let it out, his eyes glowing bright yellow-gold, his control teetering on the edge. Lana rested her hand on his chest, standing there with him and matching her breathing to his until the glow faded from his eyes.
“How the hell did these hunters stumble on this damn poison?” he finally asked.
“Dr. Saunders doesn’t think they stumbled over it,” Lana said. “The poison came from an engineered species of the plant. That means they have scientists growing, testing, modifying, and retesting over and over until they get the effects they want.”
Max eyes narrowed. “You mean these hunters have been testing this poison on werewolves? That they have werewolves in captivity somewhere, injecting this crap into them?”
It was horrible to think Max was right and they were dealing with people who were so demented they’d actually experiment on werewolves to figure out how to kill them more efficiently.
“There’s no way we can know for sure,” she said. “But Dr. Saunders thinks it’s a good possibility.”
Max cursed, then fell silent for a moment before tipping her chin up with gentle fingers. “I’m sorry I brought all this trouble into your life,” he said quietly. “Werewolf hunters and poison bullets are a lot of baggage to ask anyone to deal with.”
Lana caught his hand and held it. “This isn’t your fault. If you remember, the hunters came after me, then followed me here from Austin. So if anyone should apologize, it’s me. If I wasn’t a werewolf, Denise would still be alive. If I hadn’t led the hunters here to Dallas, we wouldn’t all be looking over our shoulders. If I hadn’t decided I needed to go to pick up that stuff from my parents’ house because I didn’t want Brooks going through my panty drawer, Zane wouldn’t be in a coma down there in that bed.”
His brow furrowed. “You aren’t responsible for any of this, Lana. There was no way we could have known those assholes would show up at your parents’ house again. And as for coming to Dallas,” he added, his expression softening, “if you hadn’t, we never would have met, and neither one of us would have found The One we’re meant to be with for the rest of our lives. Speaking of which, I should probably explain the significance of what that means, even though this isn’t exactly the most ideal setting.”
He was right. It wasn’t. But something told her Zane would be the first to be happy for them.
Giving Max a smile, she said, “Lacey and Triana already told me about the legend of The One. I only wished someone—no names mentioned—would have clued me in on it earlier. It would have helped explain all this crazy whirlwind of emotions I’ve been dealing with since we met.”
Max let out a soft chuckle. “Would you have believed me that first night we met if I’d told you we were magically connected and destined to be together?”
She considered that. “Probably not that night, but after that night you drove me down to Austin, then spent hours afterward talking with me about Denise, I think I would have been open to it, since I’d already figured out you were something special.”
He pushed her hair back from her face. “I was worried I’d chase you away if I told you too much too soon.”
“It took a little while, but we have each other now,” she said. “And I’m not going anywhere.”
He bent his head and kissed her. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?”
Lana’s breath hitched, her heart doing little pirouettes. She’d been fairly certain he loved her, but hearing him say the words to make it official made her feel warm and gooey inside. “I have a pretty good idea,” she whispered with a smile. “Since, if it’s anything close to the way I feel about you, it’s like you can’t imagine being able to breathe without the other person in your life.”
His mouth curved. “That puts it into words better than I ever could.”
“Hearing you say you love me is what matters to me,” she said, going up on tiptoes to kiss him again.
Max wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. “Then I love you, Lana Mason.”
“And I love you, Max Lowry.”
His mouth covered hers for another long, lingering kiss before the murmur of voices downstairs made them take a step back.
“It sounds like Gage is here. We should go down,” Max said. “Hopefully, he’ll have something on where to find those damn hunters.”
They found the SWAT team commander outside the double doors of the OR, talking quietly with Dr. Saunders and Trey.
