“This is me owning my part in this.” Alice looked over the inside of Lizzy’s arms, tapping them in different places. When she found a vein she liked, she tied the tourniquet over Lizzy’s biceps and then prepped the area to be stuck.

  Alice paused and looked up at Cain. “My blood type isn’t the universal donor.” She clenched her jaw. They’d argued many times over the past twenty-four hours until Alice had finally realized that she had no say in the matter. Alice was there to work for him and the US government, and she would do her job, or she would suffer the consequences. Cain had yet to decide what those consequences might be. The discovery that Alice was a gypsy healer had certainly changed things. Okay, it had drastically changed things.

  “And?” Cain stared at her blandly.

  Alice’s eyes narrowed on him. “It means my blood could kill her if we’re not a match. Why not find one”—she motioned to the other dormants—“that is a match?”

  Cain shook his head. “She has the highest amount of dormant blood compared to all the others I’ve tested and is therefore the most likely to be a success. Regardless, her supernatural blood will intervene with that issue. It’s not the same for us as it is with humans. Do your job, Alice. I will worry about the details.”

  “I am doing my job,” she snapped back. “And as a scientist, even the smallest detail can mean the difference in success and failure.”

  Cain glared at her. “The only failure you need to be concerned about is yours. And the only way you can fail is by refusing to do what I ask when I ask.”

  Alice looked at Lizzy, and Cain followed her gaze. He was surprised to see the girl’s head was relaxed back, and her eyes were closed. She looked like she was about to get a massage instead of undergoing a procedure that could not only potentially kill her but change her life completely if it was successful. Humans were so strange.

  “Lizzy, are you ready?” Alice’s brow rose.

  “I’m in my happy place.” She sounded drowsy. “Do your worst.” She held up the hand that didn’t have a tourniquet on it. “Wait. Actually do your absolute best. I have no idea why ‘do your worst’ is even a saying. It’s ridiculous.” She lowered her hand, her eyes never having opened. “Okay, I’m done. Carry on.”

  Lizzy hated needles. And the fact that she was about to get stabbed with one was freaking her out. Okay, maybe that was a little irrational, considering what was about to go down. Perhaps Lizzy should have been a little more worried over having vampire blood shoved into her veins. Not to mention the scientist’s. Who the hell knew what that woman was. What if Alice is a siren? Were sirens even a thing? If vampires and werewolves were a thing, then there most definitely had to be sirens. Right? But if she was a siren, wouldn’t she be able to make Lizzy want to do what Alice wanted? Wasn’t that a siren sort of talent?

  Regardless of what she is, Lizzy mentally shrugged, she wasn’t excited about sharing any bodily fluids with the scientist, either. But Lizzy had watched so many addicts shoot up over the years that she had developed a fear that was, admittedly, a tad irrational. Yet seeing the junkies ruin their minds and bodies for a tiny ounce of liquid in a syringe left a lasting effect. In her mind, needles represented the ugliness that drugs brought out in people. They were the method in which people chose to slowly kill themselves, or, sometimes, quickly killed themselves, with. She wanted no part of the needle. But what could she do? She was a nineteen-year-old girl up against an ancient vampire. Maybe she should have watched more Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes when she’d been in foster care. Perhaps then she’d be able to have a chance in hell of getting herself out of this situation. Okay, that was a lie. It didn’t matter how many times she watched Buffy kick a vampire’s ass, Lizzy was SOL. The way the other four vampires had easily subdued her proved that. And this guy was the king. She could only assume he would be even more powerful.

  She could feel Finn pushing at the walls in her mind, and Lizzy wanted so badly to drop them and let him in—to find comfort in his presence through the bond. The absolute rightness she had experienced communicating with him over the past several days had changed Lizzy. Now that she had experienced the connection with Finn, Lizzy felt more alone than ever when she blocked him. She needed him.

  She didn’t want to, but she did. Lizzy didn’t want to need Finn because she knew that needing him meant that he could hurt her. Or that she might be hurt because of him. After all she’d endured in her brief life, Lizzy knew better than to make herself vulnerable. She also didn’t like the idea of Finn being hurt, which was surprising. She had been concerned for the welfare of others at one time, but that had been a long time ago. Lizzy knew it would hurt Finn if he knew what was going on. From what he had described about the bond, true mates could actually experience the powerful emotions of each other. So he would be required to go through this experience with her, and he wouldn’t be able to do anything to help her. In the short time she’d gotten to talk to Finn, Lizzy had realized without a doubt that he was a good man. Maybe he was a little skewed in his worldview, considering he’d come of his own free will to help the vampire. But hey, who was she to judge? She had also hopped her happy ass onto the team vampire train with a wink and a smile.

  “Lizzy!” His voice barreled into her mind at the exact moment she felt the prick of a needle in her arm.

  She gasped and squeezed her eyes tightly closed. Seconds went by, and Lizzy drew in several deep breaths, trying to shove her fear and anxiety back into the box from which it had just exploded.

  “Lizzy, Lizzy, Lizzy.” Finn’s voice repeated in her head. She was surprised at how much it helped her calm herself.

  “Okay, try not to freak out,” she told him when she was finally able to gather herself.

  “That’s not really the way you start a conversation when you don’t want someone to freak out,” he growled. She felt waves of frustration and anger flood through her but also an oversized measure of his comfort.

  She took several more deep breaths and let them out slowly. The needle sliding into her arm almost sent her back into a tailspin. But the emotions Finn was hitting her with like a hurricane won her attention, distracting her from the cold, thin steel entering her body.

  “I’m in the vein, Lizzy,” Alice patted her hand. “No more sticks.”

  “Fabulous,” Lizzy said dryly. “Knowing I might be dead in a few minutes is so much easier to handle now that I don’t have to worry about being stuck again.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” Finn snapped. Lizzy heard panic in his voice.

  She sighed. “Again, you’re going to have to tone that crap down, dude. I can’t handle your stress while I’m trying to figure out if this blood is killing me. Let me focus.”

  “You want me to let you focus on whether you are about to die? How can I… I can’t…”

  Lizzy mentally rolled her eyes at him. “I’m sorry, Finn. I can’t really explain all this right now. A little too much is going on. I appreciate your concern over me, but I’m a bit… preoccupied right now.”

  She felt a hand on her face and knew it was Finn using their bond. “I forbid you to die.”

  A burst of laughter bubbled out of her.

  “Is she okay?”

  She ignored Willis. “Not exactly what I was expecting,” she told Finn. “But I am so glad to know that you can totally keep me from dying by simply forbidding it. And to think, I’ve been worried about this vampire killing me for weeks. All this time, you could have just prevented me from dying.”

  “I just found you, mate.” His voice was filled with vulnerability that she would bet he wasn’t used to feeling. “How can I lose you now?”

  The emotions coming from Finn through the bond made her body tremble. This man wanted her. And not because of what she could give him, or that she could satisfy some physical desire. Because of the mystical bond, she actually knew why he cared for her because she could read his thoughts. And honestly, it terrified her.

  Lizzy’s palms were sweaty, and her stomach roiled. But other than the physical effects Finn’s emotions were causing her, she didn’t feel like she was dying. Sadly, at nineteen years old, she was pretty certain she knew what it felt like to die, or at least to wish she would die. Living without protection as a teen in an unforgiving world and managing to keep from being raped, stabbed, or kidnapped wasn’t exactly an easy feat. She’d been beaten to within an inch of her life but still hadn’t died. She’d coughed up blood before and felt the gurgling in her lungs. None of that was happening. Thank goodness. Though she also knew that death could be silent and still. She’d seen druggies simply drift away, looking as if they had just fallen asleep. At times, she had been envious of the peace they finally had. But none of the things she’d experienced or seen were happening. She just sat there, her heart beating a little faster than usual.

  “My Lizzy.” Finn called to her, and the hand she’d felt on her face seemed to nudge her a bit. “Your thoughts are killing me. Please tell me you are well.”

  He seemed slightly calmer than he was a minute ago, although she could feel his pain and anger over what he’d no doubt just learned about her life before Cain and her current situation. “I’m pretty sure I’m not dying. So that’s good.”

  “Can you show me your surroundings? Who is with you?” Apparently they weren’t going to address all of the crap she’d just unleashed from her memories… which was probably a good thing.

  She didn’t want to open her eyes. Lizzy was afraid that if she looked at the faces of the three people in the room, she’d lose her shit. Not just because she was angry at them for being selfish pricks, but because she was mad at herself. She’d managed to stay alive, though not unscathed, for quite a while on her own, and yet she’d marched right into the lion's den, or actually vampire's den to be more accurate. Looking at their faces was a reminder of how stupid she had been to trust Cain. Lizzy had allowed herself to get into this situation in the first place. She should have just stayed on the street. Eventually she would have figured out a way off it. Or she would have died. It was really a toss-up every single day. But at least that kept things from being boring, right?

  “That’s no way to live,” Finn said. “I should have been there to protect you. Everything I’ve seen in your mind is abhorrent to me and my wolf. You should never have had to endure that.”

  “You can’t blame yourself for my past, Finn. There’s a reason I came into this life as I did and a reason that I had to grow up the way I did. I don’t know what the reasons are, at least not yet, but I don’t believe I went through it all for nothing. I’m not going to say it doesn’t suck. But I can’t change it, and dwelling on it won’t do any good.”

  “Lizzy.” She felt Alice’s hand on her arm. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like a vampire.” She shifted in her seat but kept her eyes closed.

  “Really?” Willis’s voice was giddy.

  “No, you overgrown man-child.” She huffed. “How the hell should I know how it feels to be a vampire? I mean, seriously, what do you think being a vampire feels like?”

  “Thirsty?”

  “Okay, in that case, yes. I am thirsty.”

  “Do you think it matters which blood type you drink?” She could hear Willis shuffling next to her.

  Bloody hell, this guy can’t really be a scientist. Lizzy pressed her head back into the seat. “I’m thirsty for a cola, not B negative.”

  “Smart ass.” The sulkiness in his tone made Lizzy smile. It brought her joy to annoy anyone who cared so little for hurting others.

  Cain folded his arms across his chest and rested his chin on his fist. “You feel nothing different?”

  “How exactly am I supposed to feel?”

  “Well, irritated, grumpy, thirsty, and hungry.” He listed the things off like he was checking off items on a grocery list.

  “Um, so like I always feel?”

  Alice chuckled. “She’s not wrong. That’s pretty much any chick’s emotional checklist.”

  Lizzy didn’t like agreeing with the woman. She didn’t want to feel any comradery with the female who, like the other scientist, was so easily willing to cause another person harm.

  “Do you still feel like you’re not dying?” Finn interrupted her focus on the ridiculousness going on around her.

  “I’m annoyed. I want to bite someone, but I can’t tell if it’s because I’m part wolf, possibly part vampire, or simply an irritated woman.”

  She felt a flash of humor through the bond, which was a breath of fresh air from all the turmoil that had been coming down the line. But it faded quickly with worry.

  “Lizzy, open your eyes,” Cain commanded.

  Her jaw clenched when she felt the sudden urge to do as he told her. Oh, hell no. There is no way I am going to be controlled by this walking blood bag.

  “Lizzy.” Cain said her name again, and she felt something that she could only describe as a compulsive push against her own will. It wasn’t the same thing she felt through the mate bond. This felt invasive and unwanted.

  “I don’t want to… and you can’t make me.” Lizzy almost laughed at how childlike she sounded.

  Cain chuckled, and Lizzy didn’t like that sound at all. “That’s where you’re wrong, Lizzy Fairchild. You have my blood running through your veins. I am the one who has sired you, and that makes you mine. You’ll have no choice but to do as you’re told.”

  “And you, sir, have just underestimated my level of stubbornness.” Despite her words, a trickle of fear flooded her mind. She didn’t want to be controlled. Not by a mate bond, not a vampire bond, not by any kind of supernatural bond. Lizzy had fought her whole life to keep from being controlled by anyone, though there had been many times that she’d had no choice. One of the wonderful perks of being an orphan child is not having a choice in who controls you. “I will not be controlled, commanded, or otherwise bossed by an egotistical, self-serving, arrogant, entitled person of any race—supernatural or otherwise.”

  “I don’t want to control you.” Finn sounded horrified that she would think such a thing.

  Lizzy didn’t have time to address him. Her body was suddenly on fire. It felt as if a flame licked all over her flesh causing her blood to heat inside her veins. “Okay, that is not cool… literally,” she bit out through clenched teeth. “You didn’t mention being set on fire.”

  “What are you feeling?” Cain asked, as if he didn’t know. Maybe he didn’t.

  Lizzy leaned forward. She fought the roll of nausea that grew even stronger. She hated vomiting. “Like I’m being burned, and my blood is boiling. When you were turned into a blood-sucking parasite, did you feel this way? I’m pretty sure it’s cooking my organs.” She groaned and gagged but managed to swallow a mouthful of bile before it could spew from her lips. Ugh, that was disgusting. Stomach bile was not designed to be introduced to the taste buds. If it was, it would taste like chocolate. “Do you smell burning flesh?” She coughed. “Because I’m pretty sure I smell burning flesh.”

  “No to both.” Lizzy thought she detected worry in Cain’s tone. “It shouldn’t hurt at all.”

  Alice's face was etched with worry as she spoke. “I'm sure it's a little more uncomfortable for her. You're mashing together our genetic material, three distinct and separate sources of DNA, and forcing them to adapt. It must be agony.”

  “And you didn’t freaking think about telling me this beforehand?” Lizzy snapped as she opened her eyes and narrowed them on the woman.

  Alice looked slightly remorseful. “I didn’t want to add to your anxiety.”

  Lizzy snorted. “Right. Because you’re so concerned with my well-being. Good one, Doctor Evil.”

  The scientist raised her eyebrows. “Believe it or not, I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Too late.” Lizzy tried to suck in air, but her lungs wouldn’t expand. She was suffocating while her blood boiled. “Finn!” She called out to her mate. She didn’t know what else to do. Although she didn’t want to need him, she did. She needed him more than she could have ever realized.

  “LIZZY!” His voice was the last thing she heard before darkness took her under.

  Finn threw himself at the door over and over, calling on every ounce of his wolf’s strength. He had to get to his mate. He had to save her. People had been letting her down her whole life. He wouldn’t be one of those people. Finn hadn’t been able to be there when she needed him most, when she’d been a vulnerable child and should have been protected above all else. Now, he was stuck in a damn cage while she suffered at the hands of a madman.

  Finn's wolf wanted to reach out to his beta through their pack bond, but Finn quickly held the beast back. He had been taking precautions to keep the bond closed until he was certain that what he was doing would be of benefit to the entire pack before exposing them to the situation. Think about this, he told his beast. Our pack is small. We don’t have the numbers to take on Cain and calling them now would be a death sentence or, at best, lead to their capture, as well. The wolf inside him raged. It loathed feeling powerless. Finn was no better, but they had to be wise. They couldn't act recklessly. When Finn thought back to why he’d even really felt compelled to agree to Cain’s offer, Finn had to admit that it was partly because of what the vampire had said. Finn didn’t want to bow to another. He was dominant, an alpha, and the idea of being beholden to another didn’t sit well with his wolf or the man. He wondered now if it had been his true mate’s pull, perhaps her soul calling to his, that actually made him so willing to go without asking additional questions, not to mention without giving his pack more information about his departure. No, he could not bring his pack into his mess. He was going to have to ask for help from someone who might have a chance at rescuing him and his mate without getting themselves killed.

  Finn hoped he was making the right decision as he accessed the powerful bond he and all wolves had with the alpha of his kind. A bond he had resented in the past but now found himself in desperate need of. He silently prayed his request wouldn’t be denied.