“Back off, Jennifer,” Koda snapped.

The werebear retrieved the container from beneath the car and doused Aric with more salt. I placed my hands over one of his, cringing as the salt sizzled and bubbled against his flesh. The edges of his skin that had started to seal closed ripped open with a loud tear. It was all I could do to stay vertical. I’d seen a great deal of suffering. But never like this. And never involving Aric.

The were didn’t stop until he emptied the entire container. He gave him the once-over and nodded. “Okay. I think we’re good.”

Thank you, Jesus.

I hurried into the backseat of Koda’s SUV, wanting to be close to Aric, and knowing he was in no condition to sit up. The wolves laid him so his head rested on my lap. I cradled one arm across his chest while the fingers of my opposite hand stroked his hair gently.

“Hold on to him as I drive,” Koda instructed.

I nodded, and pulled Aric closer. He didn’t complain, and nuzzled against me. Gemini tossed the keys of his Infiniti to another wolf and slipped into the front passenger seat. Koda drove off, his speed fast yet showing care around the bumps and curves. “We’ll get you back to the Den.”

“No.” Aric cleared his throat. “They won’t let Celia in. I want her with me. She’s a nurse. She can take care of me.” He tilted his head up. The film around his eyes swirled like moving clouds. “Is that all right with you?”

I brushed his saturated hair away from his hot brow. “You know it is.” He squeezed my hand. I couldn’t help noticing the weakness of his grip. God, his condition terrified me. I borrowed Koda’s phone and rang my sisters, telling Shayna everything I’d need to care for Aric—bandages, towels, antiseptic—

“Salt,” Koda interrupted.

He had to be kidding. “Excuse me?”

Koda’s grasp tightened on the steering wheel. “Salt water will continue to keep the wounds open, but will also help irrigate the gold’s impurities. If done right, Aric should be functioning by tomorrow.”

I chewed on my bottom lip. “Then let’s hope I do it right.”

Gemini gave me a quiet smile. “We’ll talk you through it,” he promised.

I disconnected with my sisters and caressed Aric’s arm as he shivered. “Can you tell us what happened, Aric?”

Aric coughed, his throat obviously dry from the fever. “I was on my way to meet you when I saw an ambulance and an EMT truck driving toward me in the opposite lane. The windows were down. I caught the scent of the vampires as they passed.”

Koda’s storm-dark gaze narrowed in the rearview mirror. “What the hell were vamps doing in service vehicles?”

“Hunting.” Aric cleared his throat again. Talking seemed to be getting harder. “They were dressed as EMTs. I turned around and tried to follow them but initially lost them. I finally caught their scent and tracked them into the development. That’s when I heard the girl scream.”

Gemini turned around, his almond eyes sharp. “What girl?”

“A young teen. She and her date appeared to have pulled into the development looking for privacy.” Aric sighed and swallowed several times. “There were four vampires, draining the male from the vessels of his wrists, neck, and groin. The girl sat huddled in the car, screaming.”

“Shit,” Koda growled.

I never thought I’d miss the days when only infected vampires lurked the streets of Tahoe. “They were healthy vampires, weren’t they?”

Gemini nodded when it appeared Aric drifted off. “The bite marks were sealed, just like the bodies of the men inside the mill. The amount of blood they took suggested they’d gone long without feeding.” He rubbed his goatee, his dark eyes registering something he’d miss. “And if they overindulged to the point of draining a human, they probably expected more time would pass until their next feed.”

Koda let out a string of swearwords. “Those goddamn leeches are in league with the demons.”

Yup. I’d figured as much. I smoothed back Aric’s hair, slicking my palm with his sweat. I knew what I had to say would piss off the wolves, but I also realized it wouldn’t be right to ignore Koda’s suspicions. “There may be a vampire-demon party, but no way is Misha or his family involved.”

Koda’s jaw snapped as he clenched it. I thought my defense of Misha had angered him, and that I’d have to argue his innocence.

His comment threw me for a loop. “You’re right. That a**hole is definitely not involved. He isn’t stupid enough to risk aligning with dark beings, especially now that he risks his soul.”

My spine ached from my rising tension. Evil flat-out sucked eggs. “So another master—one without a soul—summoned the demons?”

“I’m not sure it’s that simple, Celia.”

I rubbed my eyes as my brain thudded hard against my skull. “Believe me, Gem, I’m not suggesting any of this is easy.”

Gemini turned to face me once more. “What I mean is the vampires who attacked Aric may not have a master. If they’re left over from the dismantled clans, and masters in their own right, collectively, they could be strong enough to resist Misha’s pull.” He thought about it. “But given Misha’s power, any resistance would be temporary. And the longer they defy him, the more they risk destruction at his hands.”

I crinkled my brow and grimaced; even that small effort hurt. “Are you suggesting those vampires are . . . homeless? I’ve never heard of that.”

Koda shrugged. “Like Gem says, their true master usually kills them for trying to run or sends us after them. Otherwise there’s no one to keep them in line while they’re out on their own.”

Gem stroked his jaw. “I wonder if it’s possible for the demon lords Dan spoke of to take the role of a vampire’s master.”

Koda’s head jerked in his direction. “It could explain the vamps’ actions.”

“And also the attack on Emme and Liam,” I added quietly. Aric groaned beneath me. I brushed his hair again, wanting so badly to kiss him.

Gemini adjusted his position. The growing tension between the wolves thickened the air. “If our theory is correct, and a demon lord does exist, he could be sending the vampires to hunt for his food.”

Aric shook beneath me, this time from the growl that formed deep within his core. “I should have been there tonight to protect you . . . and every night before this.”

My shoulders slumped. Aric resembled nothing short of death on wheat toast and still he wanted to account for my safety. That was my wolf, protector of all. I leaned close to his ear. “No worries, baby. I managed to kick a little ass without you.” I kissed his lobe. “I’m more concerned about you and your wounds.” My fingers skimmed the length of his arm before I righted myself and stared out the window. The smell of the cursed gold hit my nose with every breath and fueled my urgency to reach the safety of my home. But then a disturbing thought occurred to me. “Aric . . . what happened to the young girl?”

Aric stirred, keeping his lids shut. “One of the vamps was armed with gold bullets. He shot me the moment I charged. When he realized what I was, he shot me a few more times. The vamp in the EMT truck hauled the girl out of the car and drove off with her while the others tried to immobilize me. I told the first weres who arrived. Hopefully they’ll reach her in time.”

We drove in silence for several long seconds. I supposed everyone needed time to come to terms with the not-so-fun parts of the night. No one said it, but we all realized the weres wouldn’t find the girl in time. Especially if the demon lord was hungry . . . or seeking to breed. Koda accelerated as we reached the long, straight stretch of 89. “What was up with that damn gold hook?”

“There were two welded into the side wall of the ambulance. They tried to fasten me to them.” Aric paused. “I didn’t let them.”

The acid in my stomach rose to volcanic proportions. “The gold hooks anchored inside the ambulance . . . the vampires wouldn’t have needed them for a human.”

Gemini clenched his fist against his leg. “No. They were probably prepared to catch a were. Our blood regenerates faster. Four vamps could feed on a were for several weeks—months even if they provided the were proper nourishment. All they would have to do is clean out the gold from his system and tranquilize him to keep him subdued.”

My mind latched onto the dead raccoon on my doorstep. “Is it possible the wereraccoon was a victim of a botched hunt?”

Gemini leaned back in the seat. “Perhaps. But it still doesn’t explain why he exploded. Or what he was doing following you.”

No. It didn’t. Good Lord, what a night. I leaned over Aric, protecting him with my body as growing anger tightened my chest. He could have been food. My hand clutched his. But then his stomach lurched.

“Koda, pull over!”

Koda veered to the side of the road. I pushed open the door and hauled Aric over my lap. I wanted to rub his back, but not enough skin remained. The salt had expanded the bullet wounds into gaping craters. The sight would have sickened most. Yet it only made me feel deep sadness, mostly because I hadn’t been there to save Aric like he had saved me.

I wiped my tears with the back of my hands. Thankfully, Gemini and Koda gave me the courtesy of turning away. Aric gulped deep breaths of air, but nothing happened. “I’m all right,” he said after a few moments.

No. He wasn’t. I’d have preferred him to hurl. Vomiting would have expelled some of the poison. I hoped Aric hadn’t fought the nausea on my account. But something inside me told me that’s exactly what he’d done. I pulled him back into the car and shut the door, wrapping myself around him as he trembled. I fought the urge to change. My tigress wanted to enclose him in our warmth. Except my beast was too big and the last thing Aric needed was a fur blanket with legs on top of him.

“Hang in there, baby. We’re almost home.”

Koda couldn’t get back to my house fast enough. The minute we pulled into the driveway, my sisters and Liam rushed out to meet us. “Son of a bitch,” Taran muttered when she saw Aric.

“Yeah. Pretty much,” Aric mumbled.

That was bad enough. But then Emme and Shayna screamed when they saw his coloring. In their defense, his gray tone appeared worse in the light of the family room. I ignored their shrieks. “Is the tub ready?”

Emme nodded while keeping her hands clasped tightly over her mouth. I hurried upstairs as the wolves lifted Aric off his feet. I burst into my bedroom and through the double doors leading to my five-piece bath. The steam from the hot water slowed my steps, signaling the torture to come. I stopped next to my Jacuzzi tub, filled to the brim with water. Salt water.

Koda tugged off the blanket around Aric’s waist and he and Gemini lowered him into the water.

And that’s when his roars began.

CHAPTER 14

The water boiled from the effects of the cursed gold leaving Aric’s body. Eventually Aric’s body gave out. He stopped thrashing and fell limp. It scared the hell out of me, but it allowed me to clean his wounds with a scrub brush Koda handed me while Gemini kept his head abovewater. My hands moved quickly, wanting to be thorough yet desperate to be done.

“What would have happened if Aric hadn’t been found?” I didn’t want to ask except it remained a passing question that continued to gnaw at my skin.

“With the hook and the bullets out, and no intervention, it would take his wolf a few weeks to excrete the poison.”

“What if the hooks and the bullets remained?” I asked quietly, wondering whether I truly wanted to know.

Koda tightened his jaw. “The gold would have stopped his heart over time.”

My throat tightened. “How much time?”

Koda shrugged. “Two, maybe three weeks.”

I stopped scrubbing just to take a few slow breaths and rub my face against Aric’s. His stubble scratched my cheek and moistened my skin, but I needed a moment—just one moment. Not caring who saw me have it. Two to three weeks—violently ill and in pain. Only to ultimately die. I sighed. Death by cursed gold seemed the most nightmarish way for a preternatural to go.

Aric’s lips opened and closed briefly. I interpreted it as him urging me on and returned to my work, saving the gaping holes from the hook for last.

Koda handed me a toothbrush straight from the package. I closed my eyes as he gave me instructions. “Scrub and twist all the way through. Don’t be afraid to be too rough. It will only help him.”

I kept my eyes closed when I asked my next question. “Do I—” I beat back my nausea, but just barely. “In order to clean the bullet holes, do I have to dig the brush through his chest and out his back?”

“No. Aric dug the bullets out fairly quickly. The salt water should be enough.”

I opened my eyes to catch Koda watching me carefully.

“The gold hook was lodged in his shoulder for more than two hours. It’s what did the most damage and kept his wolf from healing him.”

I thought I heard wrong. “Aric dug the bullets out . . . himself?”

“The others found a long screwdriver with Aric’s blood on it when they arrived.” Koda turned his back, facing away like he was afraid to continue. “He used it to push them through his body.”

I pictured the six bullets hitting Aric’s chest and getting lodged within. It made sense to push them through rather than to attempt to dig them out. The gold would have burned a path straight to the other side. I understood the logic. And the desperation. But that didn’t mean I liked it. I made a silent promise to Aric. If I found the surviving vamp, I’d kill him myself.