As she got closer, he noted that something was off about her appearance, though he couldn’t put his finger on it. She was moving differently and he was sure he detected slight shivers wracking her body. Now what could that be about? His wolf whined in concern and he had to restrain himself from stepping forward and going to her.
Instead, he backed farther into a corner close to the stairwell. Once she was completely inside, he’d have her. The outer door opened. A sliver of bright sunlight fell across the dull terrazzo floor and for a moment, her profile was perfectly silhouetted. He could see the curve of her cheekbone, the fullness of her lips, her cute nose... His wolf slipped through his defences once again and rumbled in approval at her proximity. Yes! We are together again!
“Melody.” Ryne stepped out of the shadows. She started and stared at him in shock.
“Ryne! What are you doing here?” Her voice sounded raspy, but he didn’t have to time to wonder why; she was already backing towards the door.
He moved quickly, grabbing her arm and dragging her towards the stairs before she could reach the doorway. She gave a cry of pain and struggled against him.
“Let me go!” Melody tried to kick him, but he was prepared for the move by now and pulled her flush against him, wrapping one arm around her. She wriggled in an attempt to free herself and Ryne heard her inhaling in preparation for a scream. He clamped a hand over her mouth and manoeuvred so that she was pressed between him and the wall. Her struggles had her body rubbing against his, causing his body to become aroused. Without meaning to, he nuzzled against her, inhaling deeply. Her scent was heavenly, but... He frowned. Something was different. Sniffing again, he tried to place what it was.
Suddenly he gave a muffled cry of pain. She’d bit his palm! Jerking his hand away he opened his mouth to chastise her, but she spoke first.
“What are you doing? And why are you sniffing me? What are you, some kind of a dog?” Melody was pressing hard against his chest. She was breathing rapidly, heat radiating from her, yet at the same time she was shivering, her voice quavering as she spoke.
Grabbing her upper arms, Ryne held her away from him, studying her curiously, his earlier anger momentarily put aside by the new information coming at him from his senses. Her skin was pale, her eyes glassy and slightly unfocused. If he didn’t know better, he’d say she was...
Melody stiffened, gave a cry of pain, and went limp. Ryne reacted without thinking, scooping her up and running up the stairs to her apartment. Shouldering the door open, he laid her down on the couch and then stared at her nonplussed. What was going on? She was unconscious and convulsing slightly. He sniffed again and swore. Damned if she didn’t smell almost like a werewolf, but how?
Not knowing what else to do, he picked up the phone and dialled the number for Kane’s nurse practitioner, Nadia.
“Nadia? Ryne here. I have a question for you.”
The woman was a no-nonsense sort who revelled in the knowledge that she could make even the fiercest Lycan put its tail between its legs. She answered in clipped, impatient tones. “Ryne, I don’t have time for your nonsense. Kane’s just put everyone on high alert and I’m too busy—”
“Too bad.” Ryne wasn’t in the mood for her attitude and had no compunction about throwing his authority around. “Listen to these stats. Female. About twenty-five years old. Unconscious. Giving off heat like a blast furnace. Slight convulsions. Eyes were glassy and unfocused before she collapsed and she seemed to be in some sort of pain.”
“Ryne, I don’t—”
“And she smells like a wolf.”
His last statement stopped the woman’s protests. “Twenty-five, you say? Hmm... Rather old for undergoing her first change... What’s her family background?”
“How the hell should I know?” He ran his free hand through his hair. “Nadia, up until five minutes ago, I thought she was a pure-blooded human, but for some reason her scent’s changed since I last saw her and now it’s distinctly werewolf.”
The woman snorted. “Well obviously, she wasn’t fully human. There must be some recessive were-genes in her background and something triggered them. Did you bite her during sex?”
“No! I didn’t bite her.”
“Was she having sex with another were?”
Ryne thought of Bryan and Daniel, but knew they hadn’t been near her. Hell, if they had, he’d rip their throats out. “No. Just me.”
“Well, something happened. It would take a combination of at least two bodily fluids and sometimes three to activate latent genes.” She listed them off. “You’d need semen, saliva, and or blood; are you sure you didn’t nip each other by accident?”