Thinking back to the last time they’d had sex, Ryne replayed the scene. He’d dragged her into Armand’s office. She’d been drunk, almost playful at first before they’d started to argue. When Melody had tried to leave, his wolf had taken over. He’d pulled her back and they’d struggled before... A groan escaped his lips when he realized he hadn’t used a condom.
“We had sex and I didn’t use a condom, but I’m sure I didn’t bite her.”
“What about in the period following? Could there have been an accidental blood exchange in, oh, say—the next twelve hours? As long as there were traces of semen in her body, a blood exchange could still trigger her recessive genes even without saliva.
Accident? The word had Ryne swearing under his breath as he thought about the bar fight. He recalled falling and landing on top of Melody. His nose had gushed blood everywhere and later on, hadn’t he noticed Melody with a bloody cloth on her arm? Was it possible that his blood had seeped into her wound? Picking up her arm, he pushed her sleeve out of the way. A faint scar marred the creamy surface of her forearm. When he sniffed the area, he had his answer. Damn!
“Nadia, the mystery is solved. I know how it happened, now what the hell do I do about it?”
“It sounds like her body is trying to adapt to the cellular and chemical changes it’s experiencing. That’s tough on anyone, but since it’s the full moon tonight, her body is also trying to undergo its first transformation and she’s not ready for it.”
He tightened his grip on the phone. “So what’s going to happen?”
“She’ll have bad spells like this, interspersed with moments when she feels relatively fine, but in the end she’ll either live or die, depending on how much her body can handle. There’s nothing you can really do about it. If anyone were to ask before attempting this type of thing, medical advice would strongly discourage any genetic changes during a full moon. It’s way too risky.”
“Yeah, well, this wasn’t exactly planned.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “So I just watch her and twiddle my thumbs? That’s the best advice you can give?” Ryne stared down at Melody’s pale face, hating the helpless feeling that was washing over him.
“Pretty much. Try to keep her calm. Cool cloths for the fever. Aspirin not Tylenol—that stuff’s going to be deadly to her from now on.”
“How long before I know if she’s going to make it?”
“It depends on the individual and how many generations back the connection is. Best guess is between two to five days from the initial introduction of the triggering agents.”
Ryne did the mental math. The fight had been Wednesday night. It was now Saturday morning. About two and half days. He sighed heavily. “All right. Thanks, Nadia.”
Nadia’s voice softened slightly. “I hope it goes well for your friend. Does she have anything to do with the alert Kane has placed us under?”
“Yeah. Sort of.” He hung up the phone without further explanation and started to pace the room. Shit! Now what was he supposed to do? Melody was turning into one of his kind, but how would she react to the news? Ryne knew of instances when those recently changed embraced their new life while others refused to accept it, eventually going rogue and having to be terminated for the good of the pack. What category would Melody fall into? And did it really matter? She’d already betrayed them.
Ryne sat down beside her and brushed his fingers over her soft lips, tracing her brow and marvelling at her long lashes. Perfect. She’s just perfect for us, his wolf murmured. He ran the back of his hand over her cheek. The skin was hot to the touch. Yes, she might be perfect for his wolf, but what about the pack? He had to think of them first. She was the source of their current predicament.
His earlier rage surfaced. He’d told her there was to be no interview yet she’d expressly gone against his orders. Defying an Alpha, betraying the pack... Curling his fingers around her slender neck, he considered his options. It wouldn’t take much to end all this, just a quick twist and...
Ryne could feel her pulse fluttering against his fingers. His own heart was beating heavily, his pulse drumming in his ears, blocking out all other sounds. He licked his lips and stared at her lovely face one more time before bringing the image of Kane’s pack to mind. The good of the pack took precedence; he knew the fact as well as he knew his own name. One last time, he caressed her soft skin with his thumb and then watched with detachment as his fingers started to tighten...
No! He couldn’t do it! Pulling back his hand, his shoulders slumped in defeat. Hell, what kind of a weakling Alpha was he? The safety of his pack came first. But she was his female! The argument bounced back and forth. There had to be another solution. The pack could run, hide... No. If the humans found nothing, they would keep searching; rumours would grow, rewards offered... He and Kane had discussed it in detail. Only by finding something, would the searchers truly believe the supposed ‘lead’ was a hoax.