The Wolf Within (Purgatory #1)(41)

Duncan froze. Then he turned and gave Shane a glare that would have singed most men. “You f*cking won’t.”

Shane gulped. “Uh, right…I meant…” He straightened quickly. “I’ll keep her safe, promise.”

Duncan held his gaze. “You’d better.”

Then Duncan was gone. Pate was gone. Elias hurried after them.

Holly found that she couldn’t move.

“He’ll be okay,” Shane said, voice soft.

Her gaze cut toward him. Shane could play the carefree card pretty well. He’d done it plenty of times, but she knew there was a whole lot more going on beneath his surface. He had his share of deadly secrets, too. Most of the agents in the Para Unit did. It took a certain type to hunt monsters.

“He’s strong. If any man can hold back a beast, it’s him.” Shane exhaled on a rough sigh. “You get your gear together, and when you’re ready to go, you just tell me.”

Holly shook her head. “I’m not leaving.”

Shane winced. “How did I know you’d say that? Shit, does this mean we’ll both be bunking down in the lab tonight? Because those gurneys make for crappy beds.”

She wouldn’t be bunking anywhere. She’d be keeping an eye on Duncan.

“What is it with you?” Shane asked as he came a bit closer to her. “Shouldn’t you hate him…you know…seeing as what you are?”

That had her gaze flying right back to his.

“Your secret’s out,” he murmured. Then he tapped his teeth. “And when Duncan kissed you a minute ago, your fangs came out, too.”

Horrified, she slapped a hand over her mouth. She hadn’t even felt the burn of her teeth. How had that happened? She’d been so careful, for so long.

“Don’t worry,” Shane assured her. “You’re not my first vamp. I figure if you haven’t gone for my throat by now, you aren’t going to.”

She shook her head. “I-I’m not.” Her fangs had come out. The karahydrelene definitely wasn’t in her system any longer. If it was, her fangs would have stayed in check. Without the drug, she’d have to learn normal control—well, normal vampire control, or she’d give herself away to more than just Shane.

His gaze searched hers. “How long ago did you change?”

“It’s been a year.” It felt like so much longer.

“Is that why you’re here?” His hand lifted and waved around the room. “Hiding with the monsters?”

“The prisoners are—”

He laughed then, a rough sound that she wouldn’t have expected from him. “Who says I’m talking about the prisoners?”

She could only stare at him in surprise.

“The agents…why do you think we’re taking the cases?” He stalked toward her, closing in. “You should look beneath the surface more often, Dr. Young.”

His eyes…the color seemed to deepen as she gazed at him.

She also realized that his southern accent—the South Carolina drawl that sometimes dipped beneath his words—was gone.

And then he flashed his own fangs.

Startled, no, terrified, Holly jumped back. She opened her mouth to scream, but had no chance. Shane had shoved his hand over her lips.

“Now why would you want to do that?” Shane whispered. “I would have thought that you’d be thrilled to find yourself with one of your own.”

His right hand was over her mouth. His left wrapped around her body and pulled her close against him.

His body was strong. Powerful. And his teeth…those were the fangs of a vampire.

One of your own.

She swallowed back the lump of fear and stared up at the vampire who’d worked beside her for months.

***

Duncan marched into the holding room. The lone light shone down from above. Bright. Stark.

“It’s just for the night,” Pate said from behind him.

Duncan looked back at him. “Unless I go crazy…” Psychotic. That had been Holly’s word.

Pate waved away Elias. The other agent’s face tensed, but, with one last, regretful glance at Duncan, he eased away. Pate waited until that agent had vanished, then he said, “Do you feel the wolf inside?”

Yes. Clawing to get out. Duncan nodded.

“When you were a wolf before, did the man inside have control, or was it the beast that ruled?”

“The man.” He’d still been there, no, he’d been the beast. They hadn’t been separate.

Maybe they never had been.

My brother. If his brother was a werewolf, if his father had been, then didn’t that mean the beast had been in him the entire time? “I am the wolf,” he muttered, clenching his teeth.

“And what does the wolf want?” Pate’s question was careful, emotionless.

Duncan realized he was staring at his clenched hands. He looked up and saw Pate staring back at him with hard eyes.

“Do you want revenge? Blood?” Pate demanded as he stepped closer. “Or do you want her?”

He wanted it all. “Connor will tell me about my family.”

“You sure you want to know? Maybe some things are better left in the dark. Knowing that your brother has been killing for years, with no remorse—”