Cara twirled one of her long braids around her fingers. The tinkle of crystals didn’t do much for the knot twisting in Jessie’s gut.
“He’s giving you space,” Cara said. “Because you have a decision to make.”
Zach was giving her space? “What do you mean?” Jessie was fairly certain she wasn’t going to like this.
“The blood injections are not working. At least, not fast enough. They have been too weakened by the freezing process, and Braden’s virus has had too long to establish.”
Jessie’s heart froze. “What are you saying? That you can’t stop Braden from claiming me?” Somehow, it hadn’t occurred to her that they might fail. That she would transform and be enslaved to that bastard forever.
She was too shocked to even dredge up a single expletive. There had to be another way. “What about fresh blood?”
“It would have to be drawn when the virus is active, during the full moon,” Cara reminded her. “I wouldn’t want to be experimenting with you at that late stage. We need to be sure what we do will work.”
“You have another idea?”
“There is only one thing that might stop it.” Cara’s gaze remained steady. “You have to be bitten by a Sabre.”
Bitten? “That will stop Braden?” It shook Jessie, and her mind spun.
“Not stop, no. It will supersede his claim on you. If Braden manages to mate with you, nothing will stop it.”
Jessie stared at her, confused.
“A bite alone on the day of the full moon will just give the Sabre a stake in you,” Cara explained gently. “If two Weres bite a female, then whoever mates last with her before the thirty-hour period is up, will bond with her. It is a little different in your case because his bite has resulted in your transition to Dire. To stop another claiming you with a bite, he has to mate with you before you shift. That would permanently cement the bond.” Cara’s mouth straightened. “In the old days, this biting thing had the potential to become chaotic, as you can well imagine. Since its inception, the council has regulated such behavior. But with the scarcity of Dire females, there are rumors that things are going astray once more.”
Jessie listened with wide eyes. Chaotic? Effing hell. With all that biting, how did the females survive? Maybe there was more than one reason they were scarce. “But if the female transforms after only a bite and without being mated—”
“Because you weren’t born a Dire, once you transform, only those that have bitten you can mate with you to form the bond. In this case, because the injections haven’t been strong enough, you would be linked to Braden until he consummated the bond.”
“But if Kade bites me during that full moon period, he would have the same chance of forming the bond as Braden?”
Cara nodded. “Then it would be a matter of which of the two mates with you last before you shift.”
Jessie twisted her fingers together. “Do I have to mate with a Sabre? Can’t one just bite me? When I transform, it would mean either could claim me...”
“But you would be vulnerable to Braden, as long as you are unmated. The only way to be safe from him is to bond and mate with a Sabre. Once you have done that and transformed, Braden can do nothing to get you back.”
“Safe.” Jessie said. “But mated to a Sabre.”
“Yes.”
Jessie swallowed. On some subconscious level, she’d known. In the dream, she’d figured out that the injections weren’t enough.
And that Kade was offering himself as a solution.
But Zach—her heart twisted painfully. Cara said he was giving her space.
“Zach knows?”
Cara nodded, the crystals softly chiming. “I’m so sorry about this. If we got to Braden and killed him—but he’s elusive and well protected. Which means your choices are Braden, or another Were.”
Jessie’s eyes stung. Her interlocked fingers turned white. “I think I love Zach, or I might? I’m not sure, yet.”
Cara’s mouth pulled into a grim line. “There is nothing Zach can do to help you right now. You know that, right? He knows it. That is why he is making himself scarce.” The older woman shook her head, but Jessie read pain in the blue gaze. “If he were to become a Sabre, it might be different. He might potentially form the third leg of the triad. But he can’t do that in time to save you.”
“There’s no way?” Jessie thought a knife had been stabbed straight through her heart. “Can’t Kade bite Zach?”
“It’s complicated.” Cara softened. “Perhaps it is something you can eventually try. If Zach and Kade are willing. Regardless, it can’t help you now. You need to focus on the issue at hand, which is ending Braden’s claim—he will stop at nothing to get you.”
