Bitter Blood (Blood and Moonlight Book 3)(49)

“For him to bleed?” Garrison’s cheeks were nearly as red as his hair.

“Yes,” Annette said simply. Then she handed him the knife. “Take this to the ME, Dr. Bob Heider. Make him run his tests on the blood. Tell him I know he ran a test when Paris first woke, but he needs to examine this sample.” Because if Paris’s scent was changing, then maybe other things were, too. She thought quickly, then said, “Get him to compare this blood to Jane’s.” Because she knew he kept samples of Jane’s blood on hand.

Jane’s blood.

Aidan’s blood.

Carefully, Garrison took the knife from her. “Shouldn’t I like…bag this or something?”

Annette rolled her eyes. “This isn’t a crime show, wolf. I don’t have freaking plastic bags on me.” They weren’t included in the everything she had contained in her oversized purse. The purse was for her weapons and her magic. She generally left science to others. “Just be careful with the knife. Move as fast as you can and get that blood to Dr. Heider.”

Garrison nodded and made his way to the door, moving with slow, mincing steps.

Her breath huffed out. “You can go a bit faster than that!” Her gaze stayed locked on him until he left the back room and then…

Awareness slowly edged up her spine. Her gaze slid back to Paris. A very awake Paris.

Oh, damn. Annette glanced at the floor. The line of dirt still circled him. Good. She would just make absolutely sure not to pass that line again. When I sliced his hand, I passed it. Foolish mistake. But she’d had to know…

His nostrils flared and his gaze slowly slipped over her face. When his lips parted, she caught sight of his fangs.

“Don’t even think about it,” Annette whispered. “I’m not on your menu.”

But he smiled at her. “Love, you are the menu.” Then he leapt to his feet and charged right at her. The chain that fed into the top of the wall broke—the stupid chain that had been manacling both his wrists—as he lunged to attack. So much for the new chain Vincent had brought to use.

In the face of Paris’s attack, Annette didn’t move. She didn’t flinch. She didn’t back away. She waited.

Paris slammed into the invisible force field created by the dirt of the dead and by her power. He howled. The sound was very, very wolf-like. So his beast is still there. Good to know. She’d been afraid that his wolf was dead.

Not so.

“What…is…happening?” Paris yelled. He shoved his hand against a wall that was there—one he couldn’t see.

“You’re being restrained,” Annette told him simply. “Until you’re more…yourself.”

He snarled.

She picked up a bag of blood and tossed it to him. The blood sailed right over the line of dirt. “Drink up,” Annette urged him. “Because I need my Paris back.”

Greedily, he grabbed the bag. He tore into it with those razor sharp teeth and started to guzzle the blood. He guzzled and guzzled and… “Don’t watch me,” Paris whispered.

She stiffened.

His gaze held hers. “It…shames me.”

That was her Paris talking. He was coming back. Bit by bit. “You don’t need to be ashamed with me.” She reached for another bag and tossed it toward him.

He caught it. Still stared at her.

“It’s going to be okay,” Annette whispered to him.

But Paris gave a sad shake of his head. “No…now I’ll never be good…enough for you.”

Her heart hurt. “You are good enough. Monster or man, it doesn’t matter to me.” It had never mattered. “But next time, don’t be so slow making your move, got it? You want something, you want someone, you act.” Because life was too fragile. Too quick. And even her magic couldn’t stop all the bad things in the world. “Paris…” Annette sighed his name. “I won’t let you go.” That was her shame. That she needed him so much, that she’d come to care for him so much, that she would make any deal, use any dark trick, to keep him with her. I won’t lose you to death.

No matter what it took.

***

Garrison rushed into the ME’s new lab, and when the doc saw him—

Dr. Heider jumped to his feet and put his hands into the air. “Don’t hurt me!”

Garrison frowned at the guy, but then he realized Heider was staring at the bloody knife he gripped in his hand. Humans. “The voodoo queen told me to bring you this.” He dropped the knife onto the doc’s desk. “It’s got Paris’s blood on it, and she wanted you to test it.”

Heider inched closer to the knife. “Test it? I ran exams on Paris’s blood earlier. The results were clear…the guy’s a vamp.”

Garrison’s jaw hardened. “Run new tests. Using this sample.”

“It’s probably contaminated to hell and back.” Heider sniffed. “I mean, you were just running around town with the sample…”

Garrison growled. He might not be an alpha, but he was still a wolf. “Run the tests.”

“Right, tests.” Heider nodded. “But it’s not like the results will change. Not like someone can go back from being a vamp.” Hider pulled on a pair of gloves.

“Annette also said…” Garrison cleared his throat. “She wants you to compare the results to Jane’s blood.”