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“No more dangerous than anything else we’re doing. Fallen-bloods have been taking care of their own for longer than most of us have been alive; I doubt they’ll be opposed to policing their packs when we bring them in. What’s even more important is that we’re taking a weapon from the Upper Council.Again.”
Because Barimuz had voted against the war, demon support had been pulled. Elias had, as well, which had stopped pretty much all of the blessed-blood wolves from joining in on the fighting. Realistically, our remaining choices of allies were angels, vampires, and witches, and the last two were generally unreliable as those.
Or they had been in every other conflict, at least—both factions were inherently self-absorbed to some degree, always swapping sides or surrendering when they ended up losing.
“We already know the cure is finding your mate, though,” Sariel added. I checked our bond just to find him in turmoil, pain, and anxiety echoing back at me, but I felt the support underneath it, too.
He would back me if this was what I wanted, and that support made me even more confident this was the right decision. If the twins had already presented this to Auren before, then there’d been a reason. Having heard the stories of how frightening they could be, I personally refused to risk them going completely insane and wreaking havoc on us one day.
“Just like sex was the only way to seal the bond?” I pointed out, and he frowned. “No. There’s another way, and we have to find it. We want to say we’re better than the Upper Council? This is how we prove it. Nobody cares about hybrids, but fallen-blood wolves suffer every single day with no relief because the Council totes it as reparations for our ancestors’ sins. It’s bullshit—and it’s our way in socially. If we help them, it proves we’re worth hearing.”
Atlan smirked, Zuzanna was all but beaming at me, and Johnny looked almost smug for some reason, but everyone else was largely unreadable.
Finally, Auren let out a long sigh, shaking his head. “I think it’s an unnecessary risk.”
“Put it to a vote, then,” Kiyomasa suggested, hands folded on the table as he smiled between Auren and me.
“All in favor of helping the fallen blood wolves?”
I counted as hands came up.
Kiran, Atlan, Zuzanna, Johnny, and Sariel. Kiyomasa surprised me by raising his hand as well, chuckling when Auren rolled his eyes at the display.
“And all opposed?”
Marilyn, Reese, and Neo.
I beamed, and Auren let out a long sigh before speaking again. “Alright. Let’s go grab the wolf, then.”
So, the nine of us split—I and those opposed to enlisting the fallen-bloods decided to get the lab ready rather than venture out to collect the feral wolf.
I couldn’t even blame them, honestly. It was a huge risk to work with fallen-bloods. But this? Finding a cure? That was the right thing to do.
“I’m not a doctor, but I know how to draw blood,” Marilyn said with a sigh once we had everything in order.
I’d never seen the lab before since Reese had been sworn to secrecy about whatever weapon Auren was working on, but it was smaller than I’d expected. It was nothing more than a glass observation room and a small clinic right outside, which was fit with very few tools I actually recognized.
“We should probably start getting samples from all the fallen-bloods we can—hybrids included,” Reese mumbled, digging in a drawer for some needles. “Marilyn, do you think you could freeze Tyler when they bring him in? I should probably get a sample from him for whoever they decide to put in charge of this.”
“Auren was already making calls when they headed up the hill,” Neo informed her.
She nodded, looking uncomfortable at the interaction. I furrowed my brow at Marilyn, but she just shrugged, clearly as out of the loop as I was.
“Which means they’ll probably be here any minute,” she deduced, soon flinching when furious snarls cut into the peace and quiet of the room.
Tyler was being carried in by a bed of crawling vines and branches, and despite being unnaturally still, his teeth were still bared in rage.
A woman I’d never seen before came scampering in behind them.
“This is—” Tyler growled and interrupted Auren, which earned the feral wolf a glare. “This is Dr. Vasille. She’s going to be working on this… project.”
The elderly woman gave us all a cheerful smile, then turned to Reese. “Mind if I steal those, dear? I want to go ahead and get a sample from the cranky one there before we continue on.”
Reese handed it over. I was surprised by the speed and ease at which the old woman moved—until I saw her teeth, and then it clicked.
“You’re a vampire,” Johnny commented, sounding amused, and Marilyn rolled her eyes. “A vampire doctor? Like Twi—”
“Johnathan.”
