Before Jessie could process that, the rage radiating from Zach distracted her. He rounded on the big Were. “You were there?”
“It’s okay, Zach,” Jessie insisted. Zach’s brows dropped over feverish green eyes, and the muscles jumped along his clenched jaw. He looked angry enough to do something dumb, like taking a swing at the Sabre.
“What about this can possibly be okay?” Zach was trying to keep his voice down. He wasn’t succeeding.
“Out of the way, you idiots.” Cara shoved past Kade. “There’s more testosterone flying around her than at a Wyvern’s mating ritual.” She waved at Kade. “Out with you.” She pointed at Zach. “You too.”
The two men glared at each other and didn’t move.
Jessie stared at Cara in astonishment. “Um... isn’t a Wyvern a type of dragon?”
“Yes. They have nasty tempers.” Cara straightened, focused her gaze on Zach, and narrowed her eyes. “I said out. Now.”
Zach ducked his head and glanced at Jessie. “Are you okay?”
Dragons danced through Jessie’s mind, but she gave a smile her best effort. “I’ll be fine.” She waved her hand in the air. “This gives an entirely new dimension to dye jobs.”
His eyes raced from her bright-red hair to the dark fur on her hands. One corner of his mouth twitched.
Jessie smiled at him. “Thanks for the rescue.”
A snort from closer to the door made Jessie turn to Kade. “And you too, Kade. If you hadn’t shown up when you did... well, thanks.”
That seemed to satisfy Kade as he turned to leave. The spike of resentment from Zach made Jessie wince. He did, however, follow the Were out the door.
Cara shut it behind them. “That’s better,” she sighed.
Laura’s gaze was now riveted on Jessie’s hands. “Does it hurt?” she asked in a strangled voice. Her expression was odd—half repelled, half fascinated.
“No,” Jessie said. They were still her hands, the fingers still flexed much as before, just not as quickly. “Feels a little strange, but it doesn’t hurt.”
Cara settled on the cot near Jessie. “Shall we have our first lesson in shifting back to normal?”
Jessie examined her hands. The hair on them was black and curly, but if she looked closer, a faint countershading of spots appeared.
Cara picked up Jessie’s hands in her own and rubbed her thumbs over the hair.
“Spots,” Jessie noted.
Cara sighed. “Yes. Kade’s influence is showing.”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
Cara didn’t respond right away, but then she smiled at Jessie. “Let’s see if we can get rid of the spots, shall we? And the hair and claws while we are at it.”
“Does this happen often? We’re still four days away from the full moon.”
“It’s a bit early. But partial transformations are common for a few days coming into the moon.”
Partial transformations? Jessie couldn’t imagine getting angry or upset at work and having this happen. “This would have been inconvenient in the emergency ward.”
Cara nodded. “One reason infecting humans to turn them into Weres is forbidden.”
As Jessie zeroed in on the crux of the issue, Laura listened with wide eyes.
“Will the council go after Braden for this?” Jessie asked.
The older woman sighed. “In the old days, yes. But now the council is losing its grip on the Cryptids. And the Dires have influence. Most of the council would like this to be swept under the rug, but I don’t think it will stay there for long.”
