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“At one time, yes, but with the lunar eclipse, this is our last chance until next year to build our pack.”
“Let me guess, you want samples of my DNA?”
“You will bring forth departed lycans.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Your blood will return more of our dead.”
“Dead?” Rachel swallowed.
“Svetlana’s blood wasn’t as effective. Only twenty lycans were resurrected. You on the other hand are in your prime.”
The idea of being a breeder, repugnant as it was, meant she’d be kept alive to carry out the task of birthing a hybrid. Was Svetlana kept as a permanent blood donor? Or had she been drained? “Maybe my blood won’t work.”
“Back in the Himalayas before your Russian hero rescued you, we tested a sample on some bones. They animated immediately. ”
Her breath hitched. “That’s why you took my blood?” She’d thought the reason was to determine blood type or later test her DNA. Not to cast some weird spell.
“You can’t imagine our relief.”
“How much blood are we talking about?” Her adrenaline spiked, more in fight rather than flight mode.
“Every drop. You, my dear, are special. One of the few Stallo women around with the gene marker. In the past, others died for nothing. Your sacrifice might bring back as many as a hundred lycans.”
“Zombie werewolves.” Calopus should be in a straitjacket, rather than a cloak.
“You don’t understand the art of necromancy. When they rise, I give them a potion that allows them to return to their former selves. Most are angry their alphas commanded their execution, but grateful to have been returned, loyal to their new father and wolf mage, me.”
How had he collected the remains? “So you snuck into a pack’s territory to rob graves?”
He roared a laugh. “I would have been caught immediately.” He patted his beard as if combing it. “My secluded territory is in the oath breaker’s necropolis. A burial ground where all dishonored lycans are buried. Dumped like waste so as not to pollute the grave sites of legitimate packs. A place all packs avoid. When a pack dumps their executed member, they fail to smell us, thanks to a potion that covers our scent.”
“The lycan that bit Lev and caused a festering wound, was he dead?”
“The awakened lycans look normal, but still have elements of decomposition in their system which last a year.”
I need to convince him to keep me alive. “I can help you figure out a better way than needing so much blood.”
“Science may eventually work, but magic works faster.”
Would Lev and Team Greywolf figure out where she was? Or were they searching the globe for some frozen island? “I’m sure your evil plan will be discovered.”
“Even if they figure out our location, they’ll never get here in time to save you. The lunar eclipse begins in an hour or so.”
She met his gaze. “The packs will never join you.”
“Once they realize I’m the new wolf mage, they will submit. If they don’t, I’ll unleash the resurrected to bite as many lycans as possible. Their bite is lethal. Starting with lone wolves, wardens and isolated pre-change packs.”
“Lev was bitten and though it took longer to heal, he healed quite well.”
He shot her an intense fevered stare. “Yes, we know. He is
the exception to the rule. Our mole and Svetlana revealed much about the so-called Chernobyl Werewolf. Trust me, the other werewolves we captured died within days of being bitten by the newly arisen.”
Though Lev’s mutations would never allow her to be his mate, at least it protected him from the formerly dead werewolf’s bite. Maybe even provide an antidote for the poison. Her gaze lowered and she tilted her head. Fascinated by the abnormal visible pulse on his neck, Rachel wondered if he had a heart condition. Or was he reacting to fear. “Chernobyl Werewolf claimed me, he’ll eventually find you, and take revenge.”
“Yes, a delicate matter, indeed. That is, if he and Team Greywolf ever finds us. Once we eat the evidence, no one will ever find you.” Calopus pretended to bite her in a Hannibal Lector, Silence of the Lambs way, and she leapt back.
