The Wolf Within (Purgatory #1)(35)

There was something in his voice. A note that made her nervous. She glanced back at him. She and Pate were in her lab, so this was as much privacy as they were likely to get in the facility. “What are you planning?”

He shook his head.

Her gut tightened. “Pate?”

“It’s all about the moon,” he said.

The full moon that would rise with the coming night.

“After that, we’ll see what happens. Who’s a friend. Who’s a foe.”

He stalked toward her. His hand lifted. Cupped her chin. “Don’t take any more of his blood.” A low whisper. “There’s still time for you. I know there is.”

No, there wasn’t. “I can’t go back.”

He didn’t want to admit it, but they both knew the human she’d been had died in that alley a year ago.

On the night when a monster had come for Pate, but had killed her instead. They’d been walking, heading toward a restaurant after watching a movie. Everything had happened so quickly.

A man had appeared and yanked her away from Pate. The stranger had sliced open Pate’s stomach, then gone toward him with fangs bared.

“Do you ever wish you’d let him kill me?” Pate asked, voice quiet and emotionless.

Holly inhaled sharply.

And realized that they had an audience.

“Do you think about that night?” He continued, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the softest of rustles sounded behind them.

Duncan was waking.

“I-I try not to think about it.”

Pate had been on the ground. Telling her to run. Get the hell away! Don’t look back! His shout still rang in her ears some nights.

But he’d always been there for her. So she hadn’t been able to leave him. She’d had no weapon. Just her fists.

She’d jumped on his back. Pounded him. Clawed him. Gotten his attention away from Pate.

The attacker had turned and smiled at her.

She’d screamed. Fangs!

Then those fangs had been in her throat.

“You’re a terrible liar, Holly.” Pate sounded sad. “You should have let me die.”

“No.” Instinctive.

The fangs had sliced deep into her throat. Her scream had died. He’d hurt her, so badly. She’d been the one on the ground then. He’d been over her, surrounding her. Gulping, slurping, making her so sick and afraid.

Then Pate had driven a stake into his back.

“Do you…do you ever wish that I’d put that stake in you, too?” His question chilled her.

She flinched. “No.”

Some of the tension left his shoulders.

She knew how the vampire transformation worked. A vampire’s victim had to be near death. Had to be drained, then given the vampire’s blood. It was a virus. An infection. Science had perfectly explained it to her.

That night, the vampire hadn’t been able to give her his blood. Not willingly, anyway.

The vampire had still been alive after Pate’s attack. Alive, but weak. Pate had sliced open the vampire’s wrist and had forced the guy’s blood in her mouth before Holly could even think of turning away.

You’ll live. You’ll f*cking live.

Only then had he ended the vampire’s life. After she’d gotten her transfusion. She didn’t really remember the specific details. She’d just opened her eyes to find that the vampire was missing his head.

I don’t want to think about that night. She hadn’t been lying about that part.

“It’s over.” Her lips felt numb. “There’s no sense looking back.”

“Sometimes, we can’t go forward until we go back.” His hand fell away from her chin. “I was selfish that night. I couldn’t let you go.”

She grabbed his hand. “And I wasn’t ready to leave you.”

His gaze held hers. They’d been together for so many years. She’d been three when her mother married his father. He’d been ten. A hero in her eyes. When their parents had died in an auto accident eleven years later, Pate hadn’t let her go into foster care. He’d taken care of her. Always.

He could be an * sometimes. Overprotective. Too controlling. But he was family.

The only family she had.

“There is a cure.” His voice shook now. “It’s a virus. You said it yourself. An infection. If you can catch it, you can cure it.”

He wanted to think so.

She just didn’t believe that was the case. The virus changed the body. Mutated it. With that kind of change, all of her research was showing that there was no going back. There might never be a cure. Instead, the best she could hope was treatment—that was what karahydrelene had done—treated the symptoms so that she could function almost normally.

She stepped away from him. “Duncan isn’t going into a cell. I won’t let you cage him.”

Pate’s gaze dipped behind her. “He’ll go if he can’t stay controlled.”

She turned her head back to look at Duncan just as he snapped right through the bindings that held him. In an instant, he leapt to his feet. Hmm…he shouldn’t have been quite so agile after the dosing.

Pate’s gaze said he realized the same thing.

Dangerous.

As dangerous as a vampire. As dangerous as me.