Chosen by Blood (43 page)

“His father was beheaded, or so he thought, and the fate of the clan put on his shoulders. That tends to sap the fun out of a guy, you know.”

Pulling him close, Noella hugged him. Knox buried his face in her neck but could smell none of her clean, musky scent. He thought of the children and how they’d never get a chance to hold her like this.

“I’ll hold them again someday,” Noella said.

Knox started and pulled back. Had she—

She smiled sadly. “I didn’t have to read your mind, Knox. Even now, some things are just obvious. But until I can hold Thomas and Joelle again, they’ll have Bianca to hold. And Felicia as well.”

“How can you let her take your place so easily?”

Again, Noella smiled. This time, however, she backed away from him. “She’s not taking my place, Knox. She’s taking her rightful place. I know you don’t believe, even now. So ask the were.”

Almost choking, Knox scowled. “The were?”

“He knows much about regret and opportunities lost. Now I have to go.” Her lips twisted ruefully, although the joy in her eyes still sparkled. “I’m afraid I’ve used up all the visits I’m allotted. But I’ll be watching over all of you and sharing all the joy you find together. It’s time to wake up now, Knox.”

Knox lunged forward and reached for her. “Noella, no—”

With a final wave of her hand, she disappeared.

 

 

“Noella! Noella, wait.”

Knox bolted awake and sat up. He was still in the compound’s lab, but contrary to his dream, he wasn’t lying on one of its long tables. Instead, he was stretched out on the floor. His head still throbbed, reminding him that Hunt had attacked him from behind. Why, then, hadn’t he tied him down? He had to know Knox would—

“Dreaming of your dead wife? Bad sign for Red.”

Knox stiffened at the sound of Hunt’s voice.

“Still, you really went ape shit when you found Felicia missing. Next time, keep your cool and I won’t be able to sneak up on you so easily.”

Turning his head, Knox stared at the were, who was leaning casually against a wall. Knox got to his feet and gingerly touched the back of his head. The wound had already closed, so his fingers, when he withdrew them, didn’t come back bloody. His head was still tender enough, however, that he had to suppress his first instinct to throw himself at Hunt.

Only Noella’s words stopped him.

“Where’ve you been, Hunt?” Knox asked in a deceptively light tone.

Hunt smiled. “Yeah. Like that. Restraint. It throws most people every time.” He straightened to face Knox squarely.

“Answer my question.”

“Why? Were you worried about me?”

“Worried that you took the antidote with every intention of pawning it to make a few million bucks, yes.”

The werebeast nodded. “Of course. I’d have thought the same thing.”

“You’re saying that’s not what you did?”

Hunt lifted his arms and swept them down his body. “You see any cold hard cash around? ’Cause I certainly don’t.”

“Maybe you had a change of heart. Knew I’d track you down and kill you eventually, so you decided to bring the antidote back and beg for mercy?”

“Yeah,” Hunt sneered. “I begged the way I always do—by bashing you in the head. Did it work? You feeling merciful right now?”

“Where’s the antidote?” Knox asked.

“Where’s your fucking squad of vamp goons?”

Knox stopped circling Hunt and frowned. “What goons?”

The werebeast just stared at him.

“Are you telling me there were vamps here?”

“I’m telling you that when you sent me down that hallway, graciously allowing me to retrieve the antidote for you, there was a gang of vamps waiting for me. They weren’t exactly pleased to see me, either. More like lying in wait to tear out my throat. One of them almost succeeded, too.” Hunt turned his head to show Knox the deep, bleeding scratches on his throat. There were several puncture wounds, too.

“He bit you?”

“Right as I was shifting into wolf form. But you tell anyone and I’ll kill you.”

“That’ll be hard for you, considering you’re going to be dead soon.”

Hunt smiled tightly. “Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t believe me. That’s why I kept hold of this.” Hunt held up a small vial containing a bluish liquid.

Knox kept his body relaxed, fighting the urge to snatch the liquid from Hunt’s fingers. “What do you have there? Looks a little like mouthwash.”

Hunt sighed. “Look, I transformed into a wolf in order to save my ass. Escaped into the woods with this thing in my mouth. You ever try to run with glass in your mouth, knowing if it broke you might be dead a million times over? If this shit didn’t kill me first, I knew you’d get the job done.”

“You haven’t convinced me yet.”

Hunt casually tossed the vial in the air and caught it in his hand while Knox followed the movement and held his breath. “Okay, then how about this? I was injured. Dazed.”

“I didn’t see any blood.”

“Doesn’t mean there wasn’t any.” Hunt shrugged. “Ask the vamps when you see them. Maybe they took the time to clean up. You are a fastidious lot, aren’t you?”

Knox scowled. “Go on.”

“I made it into the forest. Had to go long distance because they were after me. I lost them. I passed out for a while. By the time I came to and came out to find you all, I see a vamp popping in and out with the team. It looked like you, so I figured it
was
you.”

“So why didn’t you come forward?”

“Because then I saw Red and another vamp that looked a hell of a lot like you. I was, to put it mildly, a little stunned.”

Knox took a deep breath. Hunt was right. By the time he’d teleported O’Flare out, his father had ingested enough of Felicia’s blood that his malnourishment had already begun to reverse itself. He had looked startlingly like Knox, which had only confused Knox more. As he’d told Noella, he knew there was no way to turn a human into a vamp without resulting in the turner’s death. What vamp had sacrificed himself for his father?

“Anyway, I saw the dude teleport away with Red. That normally wouldn’t be enough to convince me it was you, except for the fact she went willingly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his chest, oh so close. Mighty strange if the vamp wasn’t you, I figured. But then you showed up, freaking out and running around like you’d just had your heart ripped from your chest. Needless to say, I was a bit confused. I waited until you were distracted and knocked you out, figuring I’d find out whether you were the real Knox Devereaux or not. Turns out you are.”

With those words, he extended the vial toward Knox.

Slowly, Knox reached for it, half expecting Hunt to snatch it back and laugh. Instead, Hunt’s palm didn’t move. Knox picked up the vial and stared at it. He smiled and nearly rolled his eyes. It was labeled, VAMP ANTIDOTE. “It’s probably labeled this way to make us think it’s the real thing when it’s not.”

Hunt stretched his back, wincing slightly. “Oh, it’s the real thing.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I lifted it from the head vamp that was giving the orders to rip my throat out.”

“Head vamp?” Knox said, carefully closing his fingers around the vial before slipping it into his pocket.

“Yeah.” Hunt turned to Knox. “Some guy the others called Prime.”

Closing his eyes, Knox pictured Felicia cutting open her vein to feed his father and his father transforming as a result of that. “So my father was telling the truth.”

And maybe he’d been telling the truth about not being a traitor, too.

“So, we going to go track down this Prime dude?”

Hesitating, Knox fingered the tube of antidote in his pocket. Again, Noella’s voice echoed in his head.

“We’re definitely going to track Prime down. But first, I need to ask you something.”

Hunt planted his hands on his hips. “Ask then, but ask fast.’Cause I’m really burning to show Prime what happens when he messes with this were.”

“I love Felicia, but I have two problems. First, whether or not the antidote killed the scientists, we have to test it. If it really is dangerous, I can’t in good conscience let it be used yet. That means my clan isn’t going to get better. Not for a while. Even without considering that, I still have a duty to make sure it grows in numbers. Second, if by some miracle Felicia survives all this and still wants to be with me”—Knox winced as he remembered how he’d rejected her and, worse, how he’d pushed her down—“I don’t know if making her part of my life would be in her best interest. Not anymore. I can’t believe I’m asking this, but someone I trust seems to think you can give me some guidance. So what do you think?”

“You’re serious?”

“Damn it, don’t make me ask again, Hunt.”

“Okay, okay.” Hunt held out his hand. “Easy with the red eyes. I’m just surprised. It’s not like I’ve had much luck with commitment, either.”

Something in Hunt’s voice suggested the were was downplaying his experience in that arena. Before Knox could ask him to explain, Hunt spoke.

“Okay, look, the whole reason we’ve been brought together is because there’s always going to be someone willing to hurt someone else to get what they want, right?”

“Right,” Knox said slowly, confused by Hunt’s sudden topic change.

“You know that old saw about nurture and nature? Who’s born bad and who’s taught to be that way?”

Knox nodded.

“I believe everyone is capable of turning evil. Maybe it’s a case of good to bad, or bad to badder, but it’s in all of us. A lot of these humans and Others who are stirring shit up weren’t born bad, they’re just responding to a need that isn’t being met.”

“What kind of need?”

“Whatever. In a vamp’s case, maybe it’s hunger. In a shape-shifter’s, acceptance. Or in a were’s case, maybe it’s”—Hunt looked away and shrugged—“maybe it’s revenge. Unmet needs can make a person crazy. Make him do things he’d never thought possible.”

“So how does this help me with Felicia?”

“Felicia’s your need, man.”

Stunned, Knox stared at the were, who smiled tightly.

“Yeah, sorry to get all woo-woo on your ass, but it’s true. Sure, you have lots of needs. You need to love and take care of your family. Same with your clan. You need to lead by example and serve society and do your duty and all that shit.” Hunt rubbed his hand against the back of his neck. “Heck, I think you’ve even needed to be a pain in my side ever since we met. But your true weakness? The one thing that you’ll always need, the one thing that’ll drive you over the edge someday if you don’t have her, is Felicia. And you’re her weakness, too. So what does that tell you?”

“It tells me I’m fucked,” Knox said.

Hunt grinned widely. “Yeah, but if you play your cards right, it’s gonna be in the best way possible.”

K
nox and the other Para-Ops team members, minus Felicia, strode into the Vamp Council’s morning session. They were followed by a group of Knox’s royal guard, stunners at the ready.

There were nine elders in all. All of them stood at their entrance. Knox instantly saw the confusion and fear in Prime’s eyes and smiled grimly.

When he’d returned with Hunt to the Dome, there’d been no sign of Felicia or his father. Knox had sworn the other team members to secrecy, not wanting to upset his mother or get her hopes up until they were able to locate them. Then he’d gathered the guards and filled them in on what was going to happen.

Zachariah Commons, a vamp who’d served on the Council a hundred years before Prime, glowered at him. “What is the meaning of this, Knox? We’re in session, about to sign the law prohibiting nonvamp marriages.”

Knox looked down at Commons. “Good thing I came in time to stop you. Because frankly, such a move would be foolhardy, as well as a complete waste of time, considering I’ll be marrying a human shortly.”

Commons gasped and clutched at his heart as if he could really be struck down by a heart attack. “How dare you? You know your duty demands you mate with a vamp. Or are you saying you’ll marry the human but agree to the mating-pairs?”

“No mating-pairs for old Knox here,” Hunt said, slapping a hand on Knox’s shoulder. “This vamp is taking the plunge dreaded by all bachelors since the beginning of time, which includes the vow of monogamy. Granted, Red’s worth it but—”

Knocking Hunt’s hand off him, Knox growled, “Hunt . . .”

Prime stood but paled and fell back in his seat when Knox moved toward him. He raised his chin, quivering though it was, and struggled to speak. “This—this man found out his father, Jacques Devereaux, is alive. Someone turned him into a vamp and for all we know, it could have been him. He—”

The rest of the Council stared at Prime as if he’d gone mad. Knox, however, just stared at him in amazement. By his own words, Prime had just admitted he knew Jacques Devereaux was alive
and
a vamp. He’d confirmed what his father had accused him of.

Realizing his mistake, Prime shook his head. “I mean—I mean—”

“What’s this about Jacques Devereaux?” Commons asked. “You told us long ago he’d been executed, Prime. And we all know it’s impossible to turn a human into a vamp without dying yourself. Yet here Knox stands before me.”

Knox frowned.
Had
Prime told them his father had been executed, or had they all just assumed the execution had been carried out as planned? Since Vamps couldn’t lie, Prime couldn’t have actually
said
he’d seen Jacques Devereaux beheaded. After all, he couldn’t lie outright. Even now he’d said the turning
could’ve been
done by Knox, which suggested Prime didn’t even know who’d turned his father. Ignorance and evasion, but not outright deception.