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She stared at hirowing disquiet
"You’re wondering how it’s possible," he said, still in that low, captivating tone "You see, Shadoe was fatally wounded You were a huntress even then Adrian loved you so much, he couldn’t bear to lose you I’d already discovered that I could share iht you tountil she felt the drops hitting her chest
"I didn’t hesitate," he went on "I began the process of Changing you"
"Into a vaave a soft, huht I could heal you without Changing you You were too far gone for his blood to do the trick, but he’d heard that the Change took individuals to the very precipice of death, and he thought I could pull you back from it Which I could, but as a vampire When he realized what you would becoh the heart"
She flinched i what that would have cost Adrian--to kill the woman he loved in order to save her But she understood it, too Like her, every blow he’d been dealt in his life had come from a vampire Of course he would rather lose his love than have her beco creature
"But it was already too late You were a naphil, one of the nephalier than a el’s, but without the weakness of wings I’d given you just enough of my blood to immortalize that inhuman part of you before Adrian killed your body So you’ve returned again and again, always in a different vessel but still hter"
Still the woman Adrian loved A woman that wasn’t her
Her spine straightened "A pretty s-story, but I don’t believe you"
"Why would I lie?"
"To turnnoise "On the contrary, I can give him back to you Fully, completely I know you want that I can see howto his feet, he stepped closer "I can finish the Change, Lindsay I can give you immortality and reawaken the soul in you that Adrian loves I can take away thecan be what it should have been"
She laughed, but it came out a broken and painful cry "Of course Take Adrian’s woe for the loss of your wings It must kill you to see those cri reminder of how he mutilated you"
Syre was unfazed by her venomous outburst "I didn’t expect you to believe me Will you believe hi?"
"Call hiemstones "Ask hiates of the Navajo Lake pack entrance pass by the rear s of the black Suburban he was in He couldn’t shake off the coiling apprehension rippling through hi held responsible for Lindsay’s abduction--which had technically happened under the Sentinels’ watch--he’d been i allowed to assist in the hunt for her All of Adrian’s pack was being sent to the Lake and a new pack was being formed
The extreme scope of that act spoke of deep suspicion Lindsay had been taken from the Point, whichthe lycans appeared to be the first step in the atte the precariousness of his own situation, Elijah’s greatest fear was for Lindsay Once he’d learned the identity of the vamp she’d attacked, his sto him because of the blood in Shreveport; then Lindsay had been spotted with hi an attack of her own No matter how he looked at it, it looked bad for his friend Real fucking bad He doubted Lindsay would survive the day, if she wasn’t already dead
And he was states away, unable to help her The beast inside hi its desire to be slipped free of its leash If he weren’t an Alpha, he would have lost control hours ago As it was, he was debating h friends to callously disregard losing one, and Lindsay was special to him--she’d already proven she would die to save his ass He had yet to return the favor
The Suburban rolled to a stop in the center of the outpost Elijah climbed out A half dozen full-sized vans pulled up in a line behind the SUV, and the rest of Adrian’s pack eot here quickly Good I’ve narrowed the suspect pool to six individuals One of theht like to question thelasses, instantly put on guard by the show of camaraderie Jason saw little value in lycans They were occasionally useful, but always expendable--treated worse than dogs at times
The Sentinel patted hiht you’d be pleased Instead you’re scowling aton, Elijah twisted away fro shown off as a lycan as els than he was to his own kind That hy they’d had hiled out by Jason now Elijah had thought they were keeping hiht, just not in the way he’d expected
Moving back toward the otherhim with defiance and determination
Rachel stepped forward and hissed "Do you think you’re one of the you andall of us"
Jonas stepped closer "You’re Alpha, Elijah What are you going to do about it?"
The i fence around theo where?" Elijah challenged
Rachel’s eyes glittered "I don’t knohat you’re afraid of, El But you’re going to have towith Don’t let Micah’s death be in vain"
"You can’t put that on me"
"It’s all on you," she said coldly "More than you know"
He opened his mouth to retort, but she shifted and howled The rest of the pack altered their for him in a blatant show of subservience The Sentinels nearby unfurled their wings, their eyes aflas curled forward in the familiar battle-ready pose "Elijah--"
The pack responded to the iated--by lunging forward in a writhing sea of multicolored fur
Shouts shattered the els took to the air Lycans in lupine form poured from splintered doorways and shattered s in an endless wave Shots rang out and howls rent the air
Elijah stood in theinto pools of blood and fur and feathers Screa in his horrified mind
A bullet pierced his shoulder, the tiny bit of silver in it sizzling his flesh like acid The lycans grew more frenzied and ferocious in reaction to the smell of his blood With the choice taken fro to save as many lives as he could