“Humans! Humans are infecting my keep!”
I glanced at Danny. He gripped the counter with white knuckles. Misha scared him stupid. And he wasn’t even in the damn room. “That’s what we’re thinking, but we don’t know which ones or how many. Misha…is there anyone you trust whom you and your family can feed from? A priest perhaps, or a friendly neighbor…possibly a nice librarian?”
“I’ll fly in my mistresses from Chicago, Montreal, London, and Paris.”
I gawked at my iPhone. “Okay, I guess that can work. What happens when you run out?”
He paused. “I have enough mistresses to last us…awhile.”
“Oh. Okay. Don’t eat until they get there.” I hung up when I saw Aric disconnect.
Aric placed his hands on my shoulders. “I’m needed back at The Den. I’m sorry, but I have to go now. Dan, could you drive Celia home?”
“Yeah, yeah. We can leave right now.” Danny grabbed the vial of Misha’s blood and dumped it in the sink, instantly destroying any evidence that might linger. He then grabbed his keys and we followed him out.
Aric opened the passenger door to Danny’s Prius for me. “I’m sorry about this. I’ll call you soon. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Danny pretended to fumble with an old road map while Aric brushed his lips against my forehead. “Good night, sweetness.”
“Good night, wolf.”
I was watching Aric speed away when Danny touched my shoulder. “Celia, we have to figure out who’s behind this. If the bloodlust is a virus, that means it can mutate. If that happens, even the weres won’t be enough to save us.”
I froze upon seeing the blond she-wolf on my porch as Danny drove off. She ambled down the steps, her pompousness lost despite the perfect hair and the black designer suit she wore.
She crossed her arms. “Are you and Aric together?”
I fell into a crouch, ready to pounce if she attacked. I didn’t know what Aric and I were. But I wasn’t about to tell her that. “You need to take that up with him.”
She played with the edges of her angled bob. “I prefer to take it up with you. Especially since he refuses to see me.”
I narrowed my eyes. “That’s not my problem. Get off my property and stop trying to drag me into your drama.”
“I’m pregnant. It’s his.”
Her words hit me like darts shot out of a cannon. My heart screamed. “You’re lying.”
She tightened her hold around herself protectively. “Am I?” I watched her as she circled me. “Our pack hates you, Celia. They don’t want you tainting Aric’s sacred bloodline.” She scoffed, meeting my gaze full force as tears trickled down her cheeks. “But I don’t care about that. What I do care about is the child we conceived together.” She clasped her hands over her mouth and jerked away. “I beg you. Please don’t come between us and our baby.”
CHAPTER 26
Dawn remained an hour away. I lay in my bed, reviewing the texts Aric had left on my phone over the past week.
Sorry. I’ve been busy. I’ll call you soon.
Still hunting. Will call soon. Miss you.
Yeah. Right.
When he finally did call he left several messages.
“Hi, Celia. I’m sorry it’s taken so long. My responsibilities as a pureblood are more extensive than the average were’s. Call me. I’d like to see you.”
Extensive responsibilities? Wait till the baby comes.
“Celia. It’s Aric. Call me. I want to talk.”
His final message was the kicker. “I haven’t heard from you. If you’re mad, call me and we’ll talk things through.”
I rolled over, exhausted from lack of sleep, but unable to relax knowing wolves lay in my sisters’ beds. Not that I believed they’d hurt them, but more out of longing to have my own wolf in my arms. Despite my feeling a hotter-than-hell connection to Aric, my wish to get to know him had been pulverized to dust. The she-wolf’s pregnancy disclosure rocked my world and ruined my chances with Aric. My temper ran deep and fierce, yet my morals stayed tried and true. I didn’t interfere with relationships, and I sure as hell wouldn’t come between a male and his child.
I flipped onto my side, hugging my pillow tight to suppress the guilt gnawing at my chest. I had punched the she-wolf in the stomach at the fight at Misha’s. Were or not, I could have killed her baby. The moment she’d left, I erased Aric’s number from my phone and made my sisters promise to stop mentioning him. They didn’t understand until I shared the couple’s happy news. And, God, they fell so silent, I knew I wouldn’t have to insist any further.