Dark of kNight (32 page)

Daniel and Jason looked at one another for a long moment. Jason looked at me then back to Daniel again.

“I think I see where you are going with this.” Jason began. “One of us could turn into a Lycan and bite Casey and inject the anti-venom into her blood.” He considered the option and he looked to Daniel. “Daniel, I think it might be the best chance we have.”

“What if it does not work?” Nathaniel shot in. “Then what happens?”

“Casey turns into a werewolf in three days.” Daniel replied flatly when he noticed the increasing agony on Thomas's face.

“Look, we can do this.” Jason began. “Draw the blood before the bite, then draw a second batch afterwards. Send it to the clinic in Scotland. They process it and call us with the result of their findings. We will have at least one day to make any decisions or prepare for the worst.” Jason said now standing up looking at Daniel.

“Wait!” I jumped in. “My father has a clinic in Chattanooga. It’s about a forty-minute drive. There’s a lab in the back of the clinic. It’s where he and Dr. Miller worked on several different occasions. He took me there one weekend while I was working on my research paper in college. ”

“All right then, do you have your medical kit?” Daniel asked Jason.

Jason nodded. “In the car. I wanted to be prepared either way.” He quickly left to retrieve the bag.

Daniel looked at me. “Julie, I know your father’s computer system is linked to the one in Scotland. Do you know how to access it from the clinic?”

“I’m not sure. We’ll find out.” I replied softly.

Jason returned with a black medical bag. Sitting it down on the coffee table, he opened it. Pulling out the necessary equipment, he prepared for the extraction of Casey’s blood.

Wrapping the rubber band around her arm tightly he waited a moment. It was as though everyone thought the same thing when they turned and looked at Nathaniel.

“Um, is this going to bother you?” Jason asked as he held the syringe in his hand preparing to draw the vial of blood.

“I will be fine.” Nathaniel returned as his body stiffened.

Jason injected the needle in Casey’s arm and drew the blood into the vial. Daniel made the label for the vial. Jason handed the vial to Daniel. Holding a cotton type tissue to her arm, he applied pressure. Daniel capped the vial and placed the label over it.

“Okay, Daniel it’s your turn. Your DNA matches Casey’s; you should have a better chance at this than I would.” Jason removed the blood spotted cotton from her arm.

“All right, we’re going to need a little more room. Someone is going to have to hold her while I do this.” Daniel explained.

“I will do it.” Nathaniel walked toward Casey.

Jason and I moved the coffee table out of the way while Daniel prepared for the change. In an instant, he changed into his wolf form. Nathaniel gently picked up Casey in his arms.

Nathaniel and Daniel centered themselves in the large living room. Daniel walked slowly toward Nathaniel and tilted up his large wolf head.

“Nathaniel.” I spoke quickly, hearing Daniel’s thoughts. “He doesn’t have a good angle for the bite. It has to be preciously where the werewolf bit her.” I walked over to them.

Gently I pressed her head against Nathaniel’s neck leaving the exposed bitten area accessible. Nathaniel tilted his head to the side to allow a clearer contact of the exposed skin.

“Perfect.” I stepped away from them.

Daniel moved closer and bore his sharp canine teeth. Nathaniel winced when Daniel’s massive head neared Casey. I watched Nathaniel carefully, noticing the battle inside of him. Daniel’s teeth bore down on his sister.

Nearly trembling myself, I felt what Daniel did when the venom from his teeth flowed into her flesh. My eyes darted back to Nathaniel. His lips pulled back exposing his vampire fangs. I knew the scent of her blood drove him mad. Nathaniel did well to control himself, I was very proud of him.

Daniel backed away from Casey. Jason grabbed my arm and we retrieved the sofa back to the center of the room. Daniel burst forth in his human form again and robed himself quickly. With a mixture of concern and agony, Nathaniel gently set Casey down on the sofa.

Walking toward Nathaniel while he backed away, allowing Jason to finish his work. I touched him lightly on the shoulder, his eyes lifted to mine.

“
You did a wonderful and brave thing Nathaniel
,” I whispered.

“I do love her,”
he whispered back. “
More than life itself. If that means anything to a vampire.”
His voice broke in the whisper. The tone in his voice reflected a moment of pain from Daniel’s previous comment about how could a vampire love.

“Love is a powerful thing. It holds no boundaries, not even for a vampire.”
I assured him in a soft whisper.

A gentle smile crossed his beautifully pale face. He knew I understood. In that moment, a softer side came to the surface. I understood why Casey had fallen for him.

Ironically, there was an odd sense of how much they were alike. Ironic, Who would have ever guessed; a Lycan and a vampire? However, as different as they were physically, the personalities were the same.

“We need to get her to the bathroom and cool her body down with ice. She is burning with fever.” Jason stated.

“Upstairs.” I motioned while Nathaniel moved quickly to pick up Casey again.

We all stood and watched while he gingerly and tenderly picked her up in his arms. He turned toward me while I headed up the stairs. We entered the guest room which was the closest to my bedroom. Nathaniel laid her body across the bed. Giving him a gentle smile, I touched his arm.

“She’s going to be all right.” I tried to assure him. “I need to clean her wounds. They’re not healing properly.”

“Julie!” Jason yelled. “We need ice!”

“Ice maker in the freezer!” I shouted back.

“Not enough!” Daniel yelled.

Nathaniel stood, immediately he pulled his shirt off over his head. My eyes widened when I got a good glimpse of his pale body. No wonder Casey was crazy about this guy.

“My body is cold enough to chill her body.” He stood before me completely undressed.

Climbing into the bed, he pulled her body to his. Wrapping his arms around her, he laid motionless.

“Never mind the ice!” I yelled back to Jason. “Problem solved!”

I ran into my bathroom, grabbed the towels and wash cloths. Passing by an antique pitcher and washing bowl, I stopped. I grabbed the pitcher and bowl. Running back to my bathroom I rinsed the pitcher and bowl out and then filled the pitcher with water. I returned to the bedroom to find Nathaniel still holding Casey close to his body. Setting the bowl on the nightstand, I filled it full of the warm water and saturated the washcloth.

Gently I wiped the blood away from her face. The darkened bruises, didn’t tell complete story of how badly she had been beaten. Rinsing the washcloth, I wiped away the blood from her neck and shoulders around the bite wound. A type of liquid oozed from the bite mark. Leaning forward I sniffed the yellowish goo.

“Ugh.” I jerked my head back and place my hand to my nose.

“What?” Nathaniel’s tone had become tense again.

“It’s the werewolf venom. Apparently, the idea is working. It’s weeping from the bite wound.” I rinsed the cloth in the water again. Glancing over to Nathaniel, he remained motionless as a statue.

Cleaning her body to the best of my abilities, I removed her clothes. Nathaniel and I managed to slip her into one of my nightshirts. I pulled the sheet over both of them.

Glancing toward him again, Casey was safe in the arms of her vampire lover.

“Nathaniel, can you tell when her body temperature becomes normal?” I asked softly. He nodded. “Get some rest for yourself.”

His eyes never left Casey. “We don’t sleep. You can turn the light off if you wish. I’ll stay with her. If there’s any change during the night I’ll let you know.”

“All right.” I considered the new fact, vampires don’t sleep, how interesting.

I walked back down the stairs and noticed Jason prepared the two blood vials for transport. Exhaustion took its toll on me. My stomach tied into a knot from the lack of food not to mention the remembrance of the foul werewolf flesh. Trembling I sat down on the sofa.

Thomas left, returning home to check on Charlotte. Daniel was in the kitchen. The sliding glass door opened, Heather and the vampires entered the house. Each of them appeared to have a shocked look on their faces when they saw me for the first time in the light. An uneasy feeling swept over me when I saw the surprise in Richard’s eyes. I tried to force out a smile but my stomach suddenly became unsettled.

“Are you all right?” Richard asked.

“Just exhausted.” I replied.

“You probably need to eat something. It will help.” His was voice soft and charming. The deeper tone was sexy and very appealing.

“Of course.” I pushed myself from the sofa.

The room went black and without notice, the floor move from underneath my feet. In an instant, I felt cold arms around my body as I was eased back on the sofa. Gently Richard released me and then dashed to the opposite side by the fireplace.

“I’m sorry,” I placed my hand to my head.

“I’ll get you something,” Heather ran toward the kitchen.

Daniel returned with Heather, carrying a tall glass of the vanilla smoothie. His eyes narrowed when he noticed Richard. Daniel seated himself beside me while he placed the glass in my hands. I took a drink. Yes, just as I remember. I turned up the glass and drank the entire contents. Wiping my mouth with my hand, I handed the empty glass to Daniel.

“Another,” I said.

Richard appeared to be amused by the way I devoured the milky liquid. Already I felt the effects on my body.

“Amazing,” Richard breathed out. “What were you drinking?”

“Oh, it’s something that Daniel and Jason came up with. It tastes like a vanilla milkshake,” I spoke nonchalantly.

“I can actually see the difference. You were a little green there for a moment. Now I see the color has returned to your beautiful face.” His voice carried a seductive tone. His eyes darted to Daniel when he entered the room to bring me another glass.

Keeping my focus on the glass, I ignored Richard’s comment. I tried to contain my thoughts to prevent any further conflict between the two of them. Richard’s interest in me was obvious. It was also obvious to Richard that I was Daniel’s mate. After seeing how Richard handled the werewolves tonight, I really didn't want to think of what would happen if he and Daniel went into a battle.

Half way through the second glass, I felt much better. The nausea dissipated. Jason returned to the room. The Irish whiskey must have put him in high spirits. The smell of it lingered across the room.

“Well, I believe we’re gonna take a shower and get a wee bit o’shut eye. Daniel?” Jason looked toward Daniel.

“Yes, it’s very late. Where is Nathaniel?” Daniel looked around the room.

“He is upstairs with Casey. Apparently, his body is cold enough to bring down her fever.” I spoke softly hoping Daniel wouldn't be upset.

“Really?” Jason inquired.

“Yes, our bodies as you have determined are cold to humans and,” Richard paused looking at Jason, “Lycans. It is probably the best for her. Nathaniel can determine when her fever goes down and remove himself from her.”

“He might fall asleep and forget,” Daniel shot out.

“We don’t sleep,” Richard replied. Something about his voice bothered me. Apparently Heather noticed it too when shot a strange glance toward me. “She’ll be completely safe with him.” He looked around to his brothers. “We should go.”

“Richard.” I stood.

His lifted, watching with curiosity as I walked toward him. His body stiffened at my approach as if I had frightened him. I extended my hand to him. “I want to thank you again for saving my life.”

Richard paused a moment looking at my hand, unsure whether to touch it or not. Slowly his pale hand went to mine. There was a slight electrical current that shocked my hand when I felt the cold hand grasp mine. My eyes widened in surprise. His lips curled into a wicked grin. Taking my hand to his mouth, I heard the gasps behind me.

He gently pressed his cold hard lips on my hand, “The pleasure was truly all mine.” Turning he left in a flash out through the patio door, his brothers in tow.

Turning around, I found Daniel glaring at me again, Heather’s mouth had dropped open, and Jason’s eyebrow was raised.

“What?” I breathed out.

“Clearly, you don’t know when a man’s flirting with you,” Heather admonished.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, he’s not a man,” I huffed as if I hadn’t noticed anything.

“The hell he’s not!” Daniel snorted.

I shook my head and walked toward Daniel. It was late, I wanted to take a shower and go to bed. My hand brushed over his face while I walked by him. Sending him a quick thought, he jumped up from the sofa and followed me up the stairs.

“We’ll see you in the morning,” Daniel trailed behind me.

The evening ended with victory. The pack of werewolves that terrorized our area had been defeated with the help of our new friends. I shook my head in disbelief of the strange events that had surrounded my life the past few weeks.

The house remained quiet again. Heather and Jason retired to bed. Daniel was already asleep when I walked into the bedroom. I decided to check on Casey before going to bed. Quietly, I walked into the bedroom. Nathaniel was dressed and sitting on the bed beside her. Intently, he watched her every movement.

“
How is she doing?”
I whispered.

“Her body is fighting the werewolf venom. It’s still coming out of her body. The smell is not as strong as before. Her fever is down for the moment.” He spoke softly as his eyes never left her. I knew he truly loved Casey.

“I’ll see you in the morning then. Good night, Nathaniel.”

My heart was touched by the amount of love he showed for Casey. Walking back to my bedroom I eased into the bed. I laid my head on the pillow and pulled the sheets over me. Closing my eyes, I felt Daniel stirring next to me. His arm went around me while his body crept closer to mine. Soon he was asleep again. I closed my eyes and let my mind clear while I drifted off to sleep.