Logan glanced from mother to son and back again. “So, what are the damages?”
“Nothing serious. He killed a rogue vampire and would have killed a farmer and his family if Sheree hadn’t stopped him.”
Logan glanced at Sheree. “How did you do that?”
“I’m not sure,” she replied, staring at the werewolf. “Somehow I knew what he was doing. I saw him in my mind, not clearly, just vague images, but enough to know what was happening.” She lifted one shoulder and let it fall. “I begged him not to hurt anyone.”
“What about the vampire?” Logan remarked. “Anyone we know?”
Mara shook her head. “It was self-defense, in any case. And if Derek hadn’t destroyed him, I would have. He was on my turf.”
Logan grunted thoughtfully. Vampires were notoriously territorial. Just because Mara hadn’t been to Romania in a hundred years or so didn’t mean another vampire could waltz in and claim the land for himself.
Sheree gestured at Derek’s shoulder. “Is he all right?”
“The wound has already healed,” Mara said.
Whining softly, the werewolf stretched out in front of the fireplace, his head resting on his paws, his gaze fixed on Sheree’s face.
He didn’t look any less ferocious lying down. Chewing on a corner of her lower lip, trying to tamp down her fear of the beast, Sheree walked slowly toward him.
A low growl that sounded almost like a purr rumbled in his throat as she knelt beside him. Stroking his head with a tentative hand, she whispered, “Thank you for not killing that man and his family.”
The werewolf’s tail thumped against the floor.
Sheree smiled faintly as she reminded herself it was Derek, but seeing his eyes in the werewolf’s face was beyond bizarre.
The werewolf growled when someone knocked at the door.
“What the hell?” Logan exclaimed. “What are they doing here?”
“You might as well go and let them in,” Mara said with an aggrieved sigh. “They saw the whole thing.”
Sheree glanced at the door, wondering who on earth would be coming to call so late at night. Her eyes widened when the two old ladies she had seen in the Den preceded Logan into the room. She noted they were careful to keep a good distance between themselves and the werewolf.
“Pearl, Edna, this is Sheree, a friend of Derek’s. Sheree, these are old friends of the family.”
Sheree didn’t miss the sarcasm in Mara’s voice as she introduced the two elderly women.
“So,” Mara said, “how’s the serum coming along?”
The taller of the two, Pearl, shrugged. “There’s really no way to tell.”
“After what you saw tonight, do you still think it will work?”
“I am seventy-five percent sure that it will be effective.”
“And if it doesn’t work, how will it affect my son?”
“I am reasonably certain that it won’t do him any harm,” Pearl said. “Of course, there’s no way to cure him of being a vampire, since he was born that way.”
“He was also born a werewolf,” Logan remarked.
“True. And that was where we made our mistake before. We were trying to cure the werewolves and the vampires using the same formula. Naturally, it didn’t work,” Pearl said. “We’ve learned a few things since then. As I told you before, this new serum should destroy the werewolf gene. . . .”
“Or at least weaken it so that it will no longer have any power over him,” Edna interjected. “We’re quite certain it will work after what we saw tonight.”
“Yes,” Pearl said. “Even though he was compelled to shift, he seemed to be in control of the wolf.”
“Thanks to Sheree’s influence,” Mara said.
Pearl and Edna exchanged glances. “What do you mean?”
“Sheree managed to communicate with him. She asked him not to kill the farmer or his family.”
The two elderly vampires focused on Sheree, studying her as if she were a bug under a microscope. It was most disconcerting.
“Has he tasted her blood?” Pearl asked.
Mara nodded.
Edna looked at Pearl. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Pearl nodded. “We need to add her blood to the serum right away. I have a syringe and a vial in my jacket,” she said, reaching into her pocket.
Sheree scrambled to her feet and backed away. “No way! I’m not letting you take my blood!”
“If you want to help Derek, then I’m afraid it’s necessary, dear,” Pearl said.
Sheree glanced at Mara for help that she knew would not be forthcoming. If she refused to willingly let them take her blood, they would just take it by force.