“We will take a private boat back toWashington. There’s a hospital nearby and Anna has already called to get intouch with their sickest patient. Her name is Beverly. We already know herblood type and she’s a match for me. Late last night I gave Avery the one bagof blood needed for the healing and by the time we get back, the plasma can beextracted.”
He looked up as I entered the room andnodded to acknowledge my presence. “Anna has talked the patient into doing thisof her own freewill. Which is the only way we will ever do this.” His voice wasfirm and the message settled into us all. No matter how desperate things got weshould never change someone by force.
Shamus took center stage then. “I have afriend who works for the local news station. She will be here with her crew anymoment. She’s agreed to televise the process from a scientific standpoint. Wedon’t want to look like animals who are experimenting. Avery will beinterviewed on the method of the plasma and Kai will be interviewed on thechange itself. She has agreed not to show the change as it can be quite violentlooking.”
“What if she dies?” Jason, one of myfather’s dominants, called out.
My dad met my eyes. “We have it ontrusted intel that this will work.”
Anxiety poured through me. What if Mamawas wrong? The future could always change, right? That’s what my mom alwayssaid.
Jason didn’t hold back. “But if she doesdie …”
My father met all of our eyes. “Then weprepare for war.”
The room fell silent then.We didn’t want to fight the humans. To kill them. But we would. I just hoped itwasn’t going to come to that.
The wolves in the room dispersed then.Everyone had a job to do, and Jaxon and Avery came to huddle in the corner ofthe room with Gavin and me.
“Have you ever seen someone go throughthe change? I heard that Dad has to like rip their throat out and feed them hisblood,” Jaxon told us.
“Oh my God. Jaxon calm down, that’s nottrue,” Avery admonished.
Gavin chuckled. “You guys are the alpha’skids and you don’t even know how to change someone?”
I shrugged. “The rules are pretty strict.Unless someone is dying in front of you. You can’t.”
My dad started walking our way, so wequieted and stepped aside to allow him to step into our circle. He pinned mytwin with a glare.
“You still doing that hacker stuff?” he askedJax.
Jaxon’s eyes went wide as saucers. “No,sir. Absolutely not.”
My dad looked amused, even raising oneeyebrow. “Jaxon, I can tell when you’re lying.”
Jaxon groaned. “Fine, a little. Nothingthat would get me into trouble.”
My father grinned. “Good. I want you totake over that guy’s YouTube channel. The asshat with the wolf mask teachingpeople how to drain and kill our wolves.”
We all collectively tried not to snickerat my dad’s use of the word ‘asshat.’ “Live stream what the newscaster andShamus are saying. It will make sure the media doesn’t distort anything we sayand keep them honest. It will also help us to reach the younger crowd.”
Jaxon looked like he’d been given a newpuppy, eyes gleaming and jumping on the balls of his feet. “You got it.”
With a curt nod, my father walked awayleaving us all in our tight circle.
“This is going to work,” I told myfriends, more so that I could hear it myself.
Gavin’s hand slipped into mine and hesqueezed. As I checked our matebond I was both relieved and shocked. It wasopen and I could sense that Gavin wasn’t feeling well either. He had … aheadache. Werewolves didn’t get headaches. Not unless they had recently beenhit over the head with a two-by-four or something like that.
I looked over at my mate and frowned, buthe just gave me a smile.
‘All is as it should be,’he told me through our bond.
What the?
In that moment, I was terrified of what Mamamight have told him. What was happening to us? My mind raced through a thousandscenarios, none of them good.
‘Are we going to get sick again?’I asked him as my legs started totremble with fear. Was that even possible? The fever-laden dreams were what ledme to my True Mate. He had been so sick that his body took what it needed tosurvive. He had taken my wolf and my Matefinder gift along with it. He had leftme essentially human, a half witch with no animal shape. After going on thevision quest he was meant for, I found my bear. All was well and right and asit should be now, right?
