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They all glanced back and forth at one another; each seemed to expect
someone to come up with a better idea.
 What about&  The slim young man on the floor paused.  Oh, never mind.
They ll know a decoy before it gets into the building.
 You re right. Wil stood there looking more authoritative than she d ever
seen.  We ve weighed all our options and it seems that our only choices are to let
the sister die or this.
 We could just not get involved. An older woman in a gray suit stood by the
window.  She s not lycanthrope. She s not even powerful. She s just  She shot
Aly a better-than-thou look.   She s just human. It ll look like we re declaring
war on them over her.
Wil nodded.  I ve considered that. However, I think it s just postponing the
inevitable. They re here to stay unless we drive them out, and if we attack now
they ll be weaker.
The man in the wingback leaned forward, propping his elbows on knees.  Say
Torin agrees to perform the cicatrice on her.
 He s already agreed.
Aly shot Wil a look when he said it. What in hell was a cicatrice, and why
didn t it sound like something she d enjoy?
 All right, say he marks her. What s to say that it will keep Nocturne from
taking her? I mean, it s a power thing, right? Maybe she s stronger than he.
Chris broke in this time.  That s a real possibility, but I think our alpha has
considered all the possible outcomes. This is the best hope we ve got. If Nocturne
takes Aly, she could increase her power exponentially.
Aly arched a brow.  How?
Wil shot her a look that said, Don t question us in front of them, and then
answered.  Your family has a line of metaphysics that is more defined than most.
The way you fight not to have it, you ve made it stronger, but untamed. I ve felt it
and you re strong. If she gets into your head and can control it, you ll have no way
to stop her because you ve ignored it all these years.
She turned her back to the group and walked toward the stairs. Great. Not
only could she become a walking corpse before this was over, but she could also
round out her freakdom with a nice helping of psychic to go with it. Why had that
not seemed an important thing to mention before now?
 She definitely doesn t need to then. The man said, sitting back in his chair
again.
Aly heard the others agree as she reached the top of the stairs.
 There s no choice. We re going in at eleven. Wil left no room for rebuttals,
but she didn t hear anyone trying either.  Chris and Shane will lead groups at
separate entrances. I ll lead most of you in the door that she ll be driving into.
Any questions?
No one indicated confusion, and she opened the door to Wil s old room. She
closed it just as Wil said,  All right then. We ll meet at the docks. I m sure they ll
have scouts, but it won t really matter. They ll know we re there before we attack
either way. Just remember not to let them know what you know.
* * * *
The sun loomed over the trees, casting an orange glow across Wil s bed. Dust
glittered in the air. Aly sat on the floor in the corner with her knees pulled to her
chest, her eyes locked on a picture of Wil in a high school baseball uniform. The
person was younger, but still had that same melting smile.
Hours of rethinking the plan hadn t shown an upside. The plan was good, but
something was out of place. She didn t like the thought of entrusting her life to
Wil and the guys, but that wasn t it. She couldn t quite put her finger on it, but
she knew that they weren t considering something. She could feel it.
Knuckles wrapped on the door, before Wil peeked around the edge and
slipped inside.  You okay?
 Yeah. She didn t look at him.
The door clicked shut behind him.  You re terrified.
There was no reason to lie; Wil would know either way. Aly nodded and hung
her head.  Why didn t you tell me about the power issue?
 I didn t want to scare you.
 And the cicatrice? What is that?
He swallowed hard.  Same reason.
 Wil, what does it mean?
He exhaled slowly.  It means he ll bite you. It s a bloodmagic thing, sort of like
making you a servant. He put up his hands.  But he s not going to enforce it.
 What? She sat up straight and glared at him.  Are you out of your mind? I m
not letting another one of them bite me, at least not when I have something to say
about it.
Wil moved closer and knelt beside her.  I knew you d react like this, that s why
I didn t tell you earlier. One hand reached for hers and she jerked away.  But we
don t have much of a choice. You don t stand a chance without this.
 And he has to bite me?
 That s how it works.
 Why doesn t he just go with me? He s a big, bad vamp too, right?
 Yeah. But if he comes in, it will become a battle over territory. If he wins, he
takes this city. If he loses, she gets it fair and square.
Aly took a deep breath and nodded. Of course, she didn t want to do it, but Wil
knew this world and she didn t. She d have to trust him.  Will it hurt?
 Probably not. Torin s kin are notorious for addictive bites. He let out a small
laugh that sounded like it took more effort than it should have.  Don t think I m
going to let him bite you again when this is all over. I don t want you to become a
biberon de sang. She shot him a look and he smiled.  It s a term for someone
who lets them drink regularly, basically means blood bottle. They re kind of like
bite junkies.
 I promise you, we ll make this work. He put one arm around her shoulder.
 I m not going to lose you. She fell into his arms and nuzzled her face against his
chest. He was warm and smelled of cologne. Then the power inside him rolled
down her body and tickled the part that Nocturne manipulated so well.
 Just make me like you, a wolf.
He sighed and pulled her close.  No. I m not doing that.
Aly pulled back to see his face.  Why not?
Wil turned away.  I don t want you to be this way. It s not something I would
do to my worst enemy.
 So you d rather trust a vampire to make me his slave? Isn t there something
you can do? Can t you mark me?
He squeezed her tight.  I m doing all that I can without making you one of us.
You don t want that.
Aly hugged him close. If the chances of his plan working were as bad as the
group thought, they were screwed. Still, Wil was determined to save the day.
Since she didn t have a better idea, she d shut up.
 I wish it didn t have to happen this way. He tucked his chin and looked
down at her.
Aly craned her neck upward as Wil leaned down until their lips met. He
squeezed her and let his power flow over her. Something stirred inside her and
then it sparked. The passion flared to life and she pushed him onto the floor. She
fell with him, then her legs climbed up to straddle him, and their lips pressed
hard against each other.
Wil pushed her back with one hand.  They re manipulating you again. I feel it.
Cut it off or you re just feeding her, right?
 I smell vamps, Chris yelled from the hall.
Aly leaned forward again to kiss him and Wil growled,  Get it under control. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]