Kade glared at him. Having that pure, predatory gaze focused on him was intimidating as hell. Kade’s default was impressive enough. Add anger, and he became scary in a hurry.
Zach set his jaw and glared back. No way he was yielding to a bloody werewolf.
“Another bite might do it,” Cara said into the suddenly tense silence. “From a different Were.”
“Wait.Anotherbite?” Jessie’s eyes were huge. “Okay, that’s a no. One was enough.”
Zach jumped in. “I agree.” The thought of another wolfy beast biting Jessie twisted him up inside.
Kade’s gold eyes moved off Zach and fastened on Cara. “Another bite would just bond her to the other Were.”
“Perhaps not a full bite. A lighter dose of the virus might just neutralize it,” Cara said. “I found the old reference to it in the Cryptid grimoire.”
“Most stuff in those references are hocus pocus,” Kade scoffed. “I can’t see it working.”
“The theory is sound,” Cara insisted. “And Were blood has been used as an injection.”
Kade looked uncomfortable. “It wasn’t completely effective.”
“Which is my point,” Cara pushed.
Jessie looked from Kade to Cara. “So... are you saying it is a better option than finding and killing Braden?”
Kade shook his head vigorously, his jaw set. “No. Killing Braden is the top priority. Biting is part of the mate bond. It would be wrong to bite for any other reason.”
Zach just wanted this to be over for Jessie and, he admitted, for himself. Maybe he’d been too quick to dismiss the bite thing.
“If a diluted version frees her from the bond...” What was a more realistic solution? “If it can set her free, it might be worth considering.”
Kade’s eyes flashed. Zach found the glowing eye thing freaky as hell. It was almost worse than the actual transformation, because it happened in a human face.
Cara tugged again on her hair. “The injection might have merit.”
“How long does she have?” Zach’s heart thundered so loudly he was having trouble focusing.
“The next full moon is in six days,” Cara said.
Zach swallowed. Not much time.
The tips of Jessie’s interlocked fingers had gone white. “Does Laura even know about the Weres?”
Cara shook her head, her crystals tinkling. “Not yet. We have to tell her if she is going to have any chance of making it through the transformation.”
Zach couldn’t imagine Jessie’s body writhing and contorting its way to being a beast. But to have it happen without knowing what was going on would be terrifying.
“Does it hurt?” Jessie asked, in a quiet voice.
Zach thought he might throw up. How could changing from one thing to another not hurt? Everything had to shift and move around—his hand slid closer to her. He wanted to offer comfort but didn’t know what to do.
Kade gave a single, brisk nod. “Weres shift before they are even born,” he said. “But it always hurts, somewhat. You get used to it.”
Jessie nodded, but rage boiled within Zach, and he lashed out.
“Bastards.Why the hell are they doing this? Why take human women and bite them if they might die anyway?”
“Because the Weres are dying out,” Kade snarled at him. “And while the Sabres are looking to the council to help with the problem, the Dires are taking matters into their own hands. They are trying to create mates from humans.”
Zach stared at him, putting the pieces together. Disgust warred with anger and erupted into rage.
