Hunter's Blood Special Edition (Cursed by Blood Saga) (9 page)

“Pretty much, but that’s only because
I know you better than anyone else. So what are you going to do about it?”

Lily’s hands dropped to her lap. “What
do you mean?”

“You do realize he’s a Were, right?”

Lily exhaled. “I know, and I feel as
if I’m betraying everything I set my mind to ever since you were killed. Like
I’m being disloyal—not only to you, but to myself and to everything I promised
to set right—especially since it turns out that it was his brother that
attacked us both.”

Terry floated up to standing. “His
brother! Are you kidding me?”

“No, I’m not. But there’s more. It
turns out there’s some kind of pathogen that’s infecting his kind—some kind of
a mutating virus or something. It takes ordinary individuals and turns them
into crazed beasts. His brother had it and supposedly that’s the reason why we
were attacked. Sean told me all about it, or rather he showed me.”

“He
showed
you, how?”

“He let me into his head. I saw it
all, Terry, how they live, how they are. They truly aren’t so different from
us, and they try very hard to coexist. They were hunting the beast at the same
time I was, and that’s how it all came about.”

Terry’s eyes narrowed, but her gaze
was soft. “So how do you feel about all this?”

Lily sighed. “To be honest, I truly
don’t know.”

The Shade nodded her head, the small
movement causing her hair to glimmer against her shoulders. “Yes you do. I know
you better than you know yourself, and this one’s gotten to you. The minute he
opened himself up and let you into his head he had you hook, line and sinker.
No guy has ever showed you that kind of trust before. And don’t kid yourself,
he’s smart—he knows you were hunting that night even if he hasn’t pressed the
issue. He’s accepted you. And I happened to have found his last question both
interesting as well as intuitive.”

Lily shot her friend a look. “What are
you talking about?”

“When he asked you what you would do
if you found out you had been changed. But what you don’t seem to realize is
that you’ve already been changed. You’ve fallen for him, Lily, and it’s scaring
the hell out of you.”

“Don’t say that. You’re dead wrong,
Terry.”

“I may be dead, but I’m not wrong.
Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so upset.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Terry floated to the side of the bed.
“Of course, you don’t. That’s half the problem. Why else would you be running
around the woods in the middle of the night looking like a refugee from a
terrorist camp? Every time something happens you react in extremes. Every time
some guy starts to get too close, you cut him off at the knees. Of course, with
the others it was only figurative; with this one, I’m not so sure.” She reached
out with her hand, and let it drop. “Tell me Lily, what’s going on? Why are you
too scared to go with what you feel?”

Lily crossed her arms in front of her
chest. “I have my reasons.”

Terry frowned, crossing her arms as
well, mimicking Lily’s defensive posture. “Is it just because he’s a supe?
Because let me tell you, having a shade for a best friend qualifies you for
your own space on the weirdness meter. Lily, you’ve never been a coward before,
so why now?” She wasn’t going to let her friend off so easily.

Lily’s arms unfolded in a huff. “Because!
Everyone I love always dies! Okay? Are you happy now?” she yelled, throwing her
hands in the air. “First my parents in a car crash, then you—I refuse to let
anyone else in, Terry. It hurts too much.” Her voice broke along with her
tears.

Terry sat down next to her on the bed,
her hand outstretched. “You’ve got to let somebody in at some point or you’re
going to end up even more alone than you already are. It’s no way to live Lily,
and it’s no way to die. Trust me.”

Lily wiped her cheek with the back of
her hand. “What do you mean by that?”

“I never let anyone in either. I
always had you, always thought I had plenty of time. I was wrong. Too many
chances passed me by because I was too busy chasing other things. The wrong
things. Now I get to regret it, forever. Don’t shut out a chance at love simply
because you’re too angry and afraid.”

Lily just looked at her friend, her
heart breaking for both of them. “How’d you get to be so smart?” She sniffled.

“I died. But it’s not a fate I’d
recommend for you. You’ll figure it out. You’re a smart cookie Lil, except when
you’re being dumb. Why else do you think I decided to hang around?

Chapter Seven

***

S
ean leaned over
and picked up the digital clock on his nightstand. Sighing in frustration at
the glowing red numbers, he put it down. Five am. He rolled over and bunched
the pillows up behind his head, but even its soft support couldn’t ease his
racing thoughts. He was torn, something he’d never been in his entire life. His
duty and doing what was required of him was never a problem. Until now. He’d
run each scenario, posed every
what if
he could envision. Yet it all
came down to just one question. What if Lily was infected?

Sighing, he closed his eyes. He
thought about Rissa and what she was going through, and also about the people
in his clinic, terrified of the mandatory blood tests and what they might find.
So far there had been only a handful isolated cases, but the virus was
spreading quickly.

He knew he didn’t have a choice, and
he wondered how many others would be faced with the same dilemma as the
sickness became epidemic. Volkmann’s estimates had half their population
decimated if a cure wasn’t found soon. The Hunter’s Council was going to be
hard pressed if it came to that—brother having to kill brother. It was a living
nightmare, and it was just beginning.

Frustrated, he got out of bed and went
into the bathroom. Turning on the shower, he stepped into the hot spray,
letting the water jet on his shoulders and back trying in vain to alleviate
some of his tension.

Lily’s scent was still on his skin,
and the steam swirled it like a caress, teasing his senses.

Leaning his forehead on the tile, he
pictured her in his mind, the feel of her skin, the taste of her mouth. The
images combined with her scent had his balls aching for release. He groaned,
and his cock jerked as if in agreement.

With the water cascading over his
skin, he wrapped his hand around his shaft and squeezed, running his palm along
his corded flesh. Why did he want her so much? What was so different? His body
tensed, his hand moving steadily over his sensitive head, over and over again
till he came, one name on his lips—
hers.

With one hand on the wall and the
other still on his cock he knew the answer. He had fallen for her. Now the
question remained, could he kill her?

***

Lily knew she was dreaming. She was in
the woods, but she was watching herself. She was alone, and it was dark;
however, she seemed to know where she was going. The moon played behind the
clouds, and its light dappled as it shined through the mists. It was cold, and
she saw her breath as she moved, striding effortlessly through the underbrush.

The wind picked up blowing her hair,
and she smiled, catching the scent of something warm. She ran toward a
clearing, and as she stepped through the trees, a howl pierced the silence and
a beautiful wolf walked out of the woods into the moonlight.

A slow smile spread across her face as
she stepped toward the wolf. She knelt in the soft earth and he sniffed her
face and neck, licking her skin, a low growl rumbling deep in his throat.
Reaching up she ran her hands through his thick fur, relishing its softness,
and rested her head against his. She could see his mind, his love, his desire,
and his pain.

Suddenly she knew. He howled, and the
sound was pitiful. She got to her feet, but it was too late, the clearing was
surrounded as other wolves closed in on them. The wolf at her feet turned to
face the others, growling and snapping, its teeth bared. He turned to look at
her and in his eyes she saw death.

Lily woke with a start. “Terry!” she
yelled.

“What? What’s the matter?”

“We’ve got to get out of here.
Now…right now! I saw everything; they’re planning to kill me, they’re just
waiting to see whether or not my blood is of any use to them against their
pathogen—otherwise I’m dead.”

“Lily, you’re overreacting. It’s
probably just a by-product of what we talked about last night.”

“What, did they grant you some
posthumous degree in psycho-babble? I’m telling you, I ‘
saw’
it!”

“Maybe you’d better talk to Sean about
this.”

“Talk to me about what?” Sean asked as
he stepped into the room. Walking straight toward the bed, he leaned over and
brushed Lily’s lips with his own.

She turned her face away. “Don’t you
ever knock?”

He straightened, looking at her a
little perplexed. “…and good morning to you to,” he said trying to read her
reaction. “What’s the matter?”

Crossing her arms in front of her, she
just huffed. “I’d like to go home, today. Right now.”

Sean shook his head, baffled. “Wait a
minute. Would you please tell me what’s going on here?”

Throwing back the covers Lily got up.
She came around the edge of the bed and faced him. “I know all about it Sean. I
‘saw’
it. I know you plan to kill me if I’m infected with that pathogen.
All those vials of blood! It all makes sense now. Routine tests my ass! Go
ahead, deny it. I dare you.”

“I can’t. On the other hand, it’s not
that cut and dried, not anymore. It’s true that I was the one charged with
destroying anything and anyone infected—and you’re right, that would include
you too. But things are different now.”

She glared at him. “Why? What’s
different? Haven’t got the stomach to kill me now that you’ve slept with me?”

“Lily, please. Things are different
because of you. Because of the way I feel about you. I think I’m in love with
you.”

Lily opened her mouth to retort but
then froze. “What?”

Giving her half a smile he ran his
fingers gently across her cheek. “I said I think I love you.”

Lily just stared at him. As his words
registered, her face fell, her eyes wet with tears. She sucked in a breath, and
the sound was between a choke and a whimper as she walked into his arms and
rested her head on his chest. “This sucks, because I think I love you too.”

His hand came up to rest on her back,
and she felt him chuckle. “This isn’t funny Sean, what if I am infected? Will I
turn into some kind of crazed beast like your brother?”

He sobered instantly. “I don’t know.
It could go either way. Our lab is supposed to have their latest results ready
this morning. I’m supposed to be at a meeting in the clinic, but I wanted to
see you first. Maybe you should come with me, now that you know. You might as
well hear everything from the doctor first hand.”

***

Lily couldn’t help her nerves as they
entered the clinic. Biting her lip, she could feel everyone’s eyes on her as
she walked in with Sean’s arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders. There
were already five people in the reception area, including Mitch, Rissa and
Stephanie. The room was quiet, but the tension thick, as the doctor hadn’t yet
arrived.

“Uncle Sean!” Stephanie squealed
running up to him. “You did it! You hung up my picture! See it! It’s on the
wall by the desk!”

“I know sweetie. I hung it there
myself.”

Stephanie looked up at Lily, her
curious eyes noticing the way her Uncle had his arm around her. “Who’s this?”
she asked.

Sean smiled down at the little girl.
“This is my friend, Lily,” he said, sliding his gaze sideways toward the woman
tucked under his arm. “Lily, this is my niece, Stephanie.”

Lily smiled, taking in the girl’s
pretty strawberry curls and inquisitive eyes. “Hi, Stephanie,” she said. “Your
drawing is beautiful. Horses are my favorite animal, too.”

Tilting her head to one side,
Stephanie studied Lily for a moment. Her drawing forgotten, she seemed to study
the pretty dark haired lady standing so close to her uncle. Lily stiffened.
Waves of power flowed in and over her mind while clumsy, little jabs, probed her
thoughts like ten sticky, little fingers.

The sheer magnitude of the power
Stephanie possessed was unbelievable. Too stunned to react, Lily scrambled,
trying to close the little girl out of her mind. Lily’s memories were hard
enough for an adult to bear, let alone for a child. But it was too late.

Backing away, Stephanie’s eyes filled
with fear. “You’re bad. You’re not our friend. Uncle Sean, come on, come
on…she’s bad…that lady hurt my daddy!” She insisted, tugging on Sean’s arm,
trying to pull him away from Lily.