My shoulders roll back as I turn to face the brooding Norgsik warrior. “When do we begin?”
Chapter 30
VESSA
Exactly twelve hours later, my training commences. I rise at six o’clock and head straight for the barracks. Much to my surprise, the sparring ring is empty along with most of the aerobic machines. Taking advantage of the privacy, I immediately throw myself into my first routine: five thousand steps on the ladder simulator and twenty minutes of rowing, followed by stretching and meditation in the sauna.
By the time I’ve moved on to shooting, all intrusive thoughts are muffled by the sound of my rapid fire against the cardboard. The series of jumping targets selected by Tesni are especially irritating, the criticism even more so than the cramping in my trigger finger.
“This is nothing. The target figures don’t have shit on the real-time speed of vampires. Another round, Vessa!”
“Always keep your thumb and forefinger in position. Never look down to reload. Not even for a second. Taking your eyes off the target could cost your life.”
Tesni worships the art of repetition. Racing against her stopwatch, I practice swapping rounds over and over until it becomes as mindless as exchanging breaths. Now that I’ve found a style of pistol that feels right at home in the webbing of myhand, my accuracy has improved dramatically. The tighter my bullet groupings get, the more I start to visualize how they might take down a real threat from a substantial distance. Before they can get close enough to compel me.
With aching arms, I lower the weapon and switch on my phone to check the time. Five minutes past nine. The forensic analyst should be arriving any minute now.
After stowing away the pistol and the leftover rounds in my locker, I lace up my black combat boots and trudge through the quad, where a familiar face waits in the courtyard.
The Alpha’s sister winks as she waves to me. “Is that gunpowder I smell?”
Back in the manor, we make for the iron door that conceals the lower chambers. Scanning me up and down, Demi looks impressed, noting my loosely braided hair and black hooded vest over my tight catsuit. “I gotta say, this is a great look for you.”
“That’s what Nell said at breakfast,” I snicker. “Well, actually, she told me I looked like a dominatrix.”
Demi cracks a toothy smile. “Someone’s gotta keep Axe in line around here.”
Nell’s grin stretches ear to ear as the ethereal blonde swings open the door to the same conference room we gathered in over a week ago. She squeals at the sight of Demi’s growing belly, laughing as theirs touch when they embrace.
Nell sighs. “I’ve missed you, Demitrya.”
She strokes the back of the Beta’s head. “I wasn’t about to let you plan the party of the century all alone.”
Axe muffles his laughter as his sister’s smile flattens out. She takes hold of his earlobe, twisting it painfully. “You owe me a fat bull. Ten points, minimum.”
Dr. Caulder clears his throat. “Were we ready to begin?”
Axe nods, motioning for everyone to have a seat.
“As most of you know, a few weeks ago, I came at the request of the Alpha to investigate the evidence of Ludone at Sonic Jungle. I can confirm that based off the residue your medic extracted from Vessa’s clothing, this is a new strain. I also want to share the results of the blood samples I gathered . . . I expect that you will find them just as astonishing as I did.”
Demi cocks an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”
Preston carries on. “I took particles of Ludone from her dress and under a controlled setting, studied the blood’s reaction to the substance. I don’t know how to say this other than . . . that it somehow altered her DNA.”
“Come again?” I blurt.
Axe narrows his eyes. “Are you talking about some kind of mutation?”
Preston smiles gently. “What transpired was more of an activation of sorts.” He turns to face me. “I meant to clarify this at the last meeting, Vessa, but how long do you estimate that the high lasted for?”
I purse my lips, thinking back to the distorted timeline from that night. “Maybe two or three hours?”
Demi’s face scrunches. “The last time we caught humans on it, their trips lasted over eight. Those kids were out of their minds.”
Shrugging, I look to the scientist who slides a piece of glass under the lens of his microscope. “I had a lot to drink that night, too. Eventually, I just dozed off.”
Curiosity shines over Preston’s salt and pepper features. “That’s not supposed to happen. This drug is designed to stimulate you, to attack your mind. To make you more compliant to lycans. I think . . . something in your blood activated at the spike of your adrenaline. I’d wager that, whatever this metaphysical property is, it came to your defense. Whateverscent property the Ludone amplified that night, it wasn’t your second sight.”
