And now he was asking Zach to let her go. To save her.
“Would it work?” Zach barely recognized his own voice.
Kade nodded. “Yes. If she mates before she transforms.”
“Then we still have a few days to try Cara’s solution.”
The Were nodded. “But what if that doesn’t work?” He swayed again and looked away. “She has feelings for you. I know it. If you were Sabre...”
“What difference would that make?”
Kade’s eyes snapped back to his. “You could form a triad with whomever she chooses.”
A triad? With another male Sabre? Zach’s rejection was immediate, but then his heart grabbed hold. It would mean he could be with Jessie.
But he wasn’t a Sabre. “But I’m not,” he pointed out.
“No. You’re not.” A muscle jumped in Kade’s jaw. “And it’s a Sabre thing.”
Zach’s mind raced. “What if I took the blood?”
Kade’s eyes widened. “Not sure it would work with you any better than it is working with her,” he said. “Not enough to transform you. Unless it was fresh. Maybe then.” He grimaced. “We just don’t know. The blood thing is too new.”
Zach was cast adrift. Struggling to find a way. Would he sacrifice what he was for her? When he looked back to Kade, the Were assessed him with eyes that flashed gold. Was there a glimmer of respect in that gaze?
Then Kade shook his head. “The only sure way is a bite. The virus is strongest in the saliva during the full moon. But the biting is kinda part of the mating thing.”
Zach shuddered. Being injected with the blood was one thing. Being bitten is quite another. Especially by a male Sabre. Or rather, by a certain male Sabre.
His mind groped for alternatives. “There’s Kitani,” he said.
Kade’s eyes widened. “You would be bonded to her. Did I not mention it’s part of the mating thing? Cody would shred you. Then Ryan would eat what was left.” The Were shrugged and grimaced. “To be part of a triad with Jessie, you would have to be infected by whichever male she chooses. Or by her once she is transformed.”
Zach stared at him, his mind flying through possibilities. Could he do this? Become a Sabre and then be part of a triad with Jessie? Share her with another man? A beast, at that?
Jessie was going to become a beast, too.
Zach’s confusion and pain projected in waves, making Tucker crouch and tremble beneath him. Kade frowned and smoothed the hair on the back of his neck before gesturing impatiently. “I need you to focus. What you decide to do or try isn’t the point of this discussion. This is about Jessie. Unless she can break Braden’s hold, she’ll end up with him. And you turning into a Sabre, even if we found a way, won’t happen in time to stop Braden.”
Zach’s heart twisted. Tucker made a determined attempt to spin and bolt, and this time, it was a battle to turn the horse back around. Zach was out of breath by the time he managed it.
“So do you have a Sabre in mind?” he asked in a strangled tone. But he knew.
Kade looked away. “It would be up to Jessie. There are so few female Sabres. Some of these males might be interested.”
“And you?”
Kade’s gaze snapped back to Zach. “Maybe. I’m not sure it would work with me. I’ve already mated once. It is supposed to be a onetime gig.”
The surge of jealousangerthat passed through Zach had Tucker snorting and rearing. Zach cursed savagely and held the horse together with sheer cussed stubbornness.
Kade’s eyes had gone molten gold, and the pupils had changed to slits.
“I take no pleasure in this.” The tips of Kade’s fangs appeared.
“I’m sure you don’t.” Zach’s voice dripped sarcasm. “You forget, Were, that I’m an Empath. You can’t lie to me, even if you’re lying to yourself.”
Kade snarled at him before he straightened and made the effort. “My sentiments on the issue do not matter. My worry is that Jessie will not agree to any of this, anyway. Not if she wants a future with you.”
