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“No, no, don’t you dare let me turn!” he almost shouts. “Kill me. I won’t be one of them. I’ll die first.”
“Luc.” Vale pales and steps back, his hands covered in blood.
He looks so vulnerable and heartbroken, even I wince.
“No, give me the fucking gun. I won’t turn!” Lucien bellows wildly.
Huh? I look at the bite. Oh, he thinks he’ll turn. Some wolves have the ability to make wolves, but most don’t because it’s against our nature. Wolves are born, and those that are made are never quite right so we don’t often do it. However, it would take a lot to turn a human. Most don’t survive the change. Sniffing deeply, I confirm my suspicions.
I could let this play out—one of them will end up dead, maybe all—but for some reason, I find myself turning back to human form as Lucien grabs for weapons.
“You won’t turn.” My voice drops into the room, turning the chaos into silence.
They all turn. Vale kicks the cage, but I ignore him, my eyes on Lucien.
He sits up, pushes Jai away, and staggers to me, falling to his knees before the cage. “Are you lying, Quinn?”
“What?” Vale snaps.
“You know its name?” Jai demands.
I ignore them, meeting Lucien’s worried eyes, seeing the panic there. He’s afraid. I can taste it, and it’s delicious. Another plan comes to mind, so I move closer and smile softly. “May I?—”
He jerks back, and Vale points a gun at me.
I roll my eyes at him. “Do you want me to help your brother or not?”
Lucien ignores him, moving closer. “Quinn, please.”
Ignoring Vale and the weapon pointed at me, I slide my hand through the bars, slowly so as not to spook them. I don’t need a bullet through the head, thank you. Pulling the gauze aside, I slide my fingers into the wound, and as he grunts, I pull back, quickly dodging Vale’s arm which snaps down to break mine.
Tugging it back through the bars, I suck the blood from my fingers, sorting through the tastes. Jai gags as Lucien pales, watching me. “You won’t turn.” I nod. “It takes a certain type of saliva to turn. Something in our blood recognises that in you, and we actively have to pump it out, like a snake and venom. He didn’t want to turn you. He wanted to kill you. The bite doesn’t have the venom, so you won’t turn. You will always be this weak human.”
He slumps, resting his head on the bars. “Thank you,” he croaks.
“Don’t believe it,” Jai snarls.
“We can’t trust what she says,” Vale says slowly, “but let’s just see how it goes.”
“However, that wound is already infected.” Lucien’s eyes widen as I sit back, watching him. “Ferals have diseases, a lot of them. He spread whatever infection he carried into that bite. If it isn’t healed properly, and it’s not going to be by human medicine, then you will die from the infection, not the bite.”
Jai and Vale burst into angry speeches, but I ignore them, keeping my eyes on Lucien. “Believe me or not, I have no reasonto lie. I gain nothing from it. Lucien offered me kindness, so I offer it back. That wound is infected. You are going to die unless it’s healed.”
I change back and scurry away. Lucien watches me, even as they lift him back to the table.
“Ignore it. It’s trying to get in your head,” Vale snaps. “You’re fine. You’ll be fine.”
Jai quickly washes the wound and gets to work, but Lucien keeps his eyes on me, and in his gaze, I see the truth—he knows he’s going to die.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Jai and Vale do not leave his side. I almost soften at the show of comradery and friendship. Despite everything, they truly love each other, and it’s obvious they are worried. Vale paces a lot, still wearing clothes with Lucien’s dried blood. He’s been cleaned, and the wound is dressed, but his eyes are moving behind his closed lids, restless even in sleep.
He’s clammy and burning up. The infection is already setting in. I can smell it on him.
His sickness is in the air, polluting his blood.
As the night goes on, they begin to realise the same. He won’t wake up, won’t drink or eat, and even their human noses can smell the infection. “Let’s go get some antibiotics.” Jai hesitates because both know this isn’t a human infection, which means it’s not going to be treated by human medicine. It’s hunter basics for sure.
