Sealed With a Curse(59)

Danny coughed into his fist. “I’m actually fascinated by anything supernatural. I’ve studied magic dating back to—”

Liam growled. “No one cares, squirt.”

Bren growled. Danny was his best friend. The only one who could mess with him was Bren. I placed my hand over Bren’s chest. “We care,” I told Liam flatly.

Emme dropped what she was doing and rushed to Danny’s side. “Don’t be mean, Liam.”

Danny stood. “I don’t want to cause any problems.”

I kept my hand on Bren, but spoke over my shoulder. “You’re not, Danny. Please don’t go.”

“Liam. You owe Dan an apology.”

My head jerked in Aric’s direction. His tone, while casual, meant business.

Liam gawked at him in disbelief. “What? Why?”

Aric smiled in my direction. “Dan is a friend of theirs. And you’ve insulted him in their home.”

“Sorry, human,” Liam muttered, but then caught Emme’s attempt at a scowl. “I mean, sorry, Dan.”

Dan sat slowly. “Ah, sure. No problem.”

I released Bren when his muscles relaxed beneath my hold. He’d still change in a blink and tear out throats if he interpreted a threat against us or Danny. But for the moment, he seemed satisfied with the apology.

Aric met my appreciative smile with a wink and a grin that transformed me into the goofy vulture from the Bugs Bunny cartoon. My face reddened, and it became harder to continue staring at him.

Bren pulled me close and chuckled in my ear. “Damn, kid. Are you in trouble.” That was bad enough. His next comment was worse. “Don’t worry, Aric. Celia and I don’t have sex as much as we used to.”

My elbow to his ribs had him doubling over. Aric raised his chin in the way most males did before brawls involving bashed heads and bail money. “You two are together?”

Bren coughed out a yes, at the same time I said no. Shayna, of course, just had to come to my rescue. “No way, dude. Celia is totally single. She hasn’t had a date in what, two years?”

I buried my molten-lava face in my hands. Oh…God.

“Do you kill all the infected vampires you find?” Dan asked quietly.

Aric tore his attention away from me for the first time since I’d come downstairs. I welcomed the distraction like an all-you-can-eat buffet. “What else would we do with them?” he asked Danny. “They’re too dangerous to keep.”

Danny rubbed his thighs hard, careful not to make direct eye contact with Aric. I could see the wheels turning in that brilliant mind of his, but his insecurities and shyness held him back. “What are you thinking, Danny?”

Danny rubbed his thighs again. And that’s when I knew for sure he was onto something. “Danny?”

Danny tried to smooth back his hair, but as usual his fingers tangled into his thick, messy curls. He shuffled his seat closer and whispered, knowing the wolves could hear, yet feeling more confident if he pretended I alone listened. “I’d like to examine the infected blood—you know, test it to see if I can find anything.”

Aric and Gemini exchanged glances. “Examine it for what exactly?” Gemini asked.

“Danny’s a biochemist. He’s done a lot of research with blood-borne infections,” Emme explained from near the stove.

Aric rested his arms against the table. “What good will that do? Are you trying to find a cure?”

“Oh, no. A cure, if possible, would take decades to develop—especially if magic is the underlying component. I’m thinking if I could get a sample of infected blood and compare it to the blood of a healthy vampire, I may be able to find a link, or at the very least something that can help.”

Aric thought about it. “Based on what Celia has said, I don’t expect the plague to end until we find the cause. All were clans have been ordered to hunt and kill all infected vampires. But…if we catch one, do you have a way to preserve the blood? I won’t keep a bloodluster alive just to use as a lab rat.”

Danny tapped his fingers on the table. “I have several blood tubes with varying preservatives. One of them should be enough to keep the blood from turning to ash—at least for a little while. Do any of you know how to draw blood from a vein?”

Koda shook his head. “No. But it’s not necessary. We could probably bite off a wrist and just pour the bloodlust into the vials.”

Liam shrugged one shoulder. “Yeah. No problem. Or sever part of his neck if the fucker gives us any problems.” He smiled at Emme’s blanched face. “Sorry, Emme. I didn’t mean to swear.”

Gemini acted like we were playing a round of Monopoly, not discussing ways to drain a vampire of his or her nastiness. “Where will you get healthy vampire blood?”