Bitter Blood (Blood and Moonlight Book 3)(8)

“I-I need to get the blood off me.” No, what she needed was to get away from Paris for a few moments because Jane didn’t know what to say to him. She turned away. “Excuse me a moment, would you?”

“Stop taking his blood.”

Her hand grabbed the bathroom’s door frame. “You know I can only take werewolf blood.” She’d tried to drink human blood—both bagged and from a live source. She’d vomited it right back up. Jane licked her lips. “You’re right. Aidan’s blood did change me—it altered something inside of me so that I crave werewolf blood.”Not human blood. “If I didn’t get it…” Her hold tightened on the door frame. “I would die.”

Silence.

Then, after a tense moment, Paris asked, “Will any werewolf’s blood work? Or is it just Aidan’s that you crave?”

Would it? Jane didn’t know. It wasn’t as if other werewolves had been offering up their blood for her to try. She hurried into the bathroom, shut the door and made certain not to look at herself in the mirror.

The whole mirror-avoidance routine wasn’t because of the old legend about vamps not having a reflection. She still had one.

She didn’t look because she was afraid she’d see a monster staring back at her.

With a quick flick of her wrist, Jane turned the water on in the shower. Aidan had one lush bathroom—and the shower was certainly big enough for two.

But she didn’t linger to enjoy the hot water. She showered briskly, watching the blood turn the water red before it disappeared down the drain. Paris’s words had gotten beneath her skin. Changing Aidan.

Was it even possible for a vamp to change a werewolf? She had no clue. But Jane knew someone who might be able to answer that question…

Too bad that someone was the vampire who’d broken her neck a few days before. Vincent Connor. He was a powerful born vampire who she really didn’t want to see, not ever again.

Unfortunately, he was the only man who might have the answers that she needed.

She dried off and opened the nearby closet. Aidan kept her clothes in there—his, too, of course. He had to keep extra clothes on hand because when he shifted into the form of a wolf, well, his shirts and pants had a tendency to shred.

And when your lover was a werewolf who had incredible strength…my clothes tend to shred when he takes them off me.

So…extra clothes.

She pulled on fresh jeans and a loose shirt and after sliding her shoes on, Jane hurried back to face Paris. He was standing in front of Aidan’s desk, a wooden bullet still cradled in his fingers.

“I don’t want to hurt Aidan.” The words came from her, stark and desperate and so very true.

His head lifted. “I know.” He’d rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt. “That’s why you and I are about to have a little experiment.”

“Experiment?” Jane didn’t like the sound of that. She shook her head. “No, I have to go. I need to get out there and do damage control on those bodies—”

“Aidan will make them vanish. We both know he’s good at cleaning up paranormal messes.” He’d rolled the sleeves of his shirt all the way to his elbows. “Your genetic tests showed that your blood cells looked like Aidan’s. That you were a vamp with wolf power flowing through you. Aidan thought that you could only drink from werewolves because you needed the blood of your own kind to survive.”

“And I have been surviving on his blood.” Just his—only Aidan’s. The idea of biting someone else wasn’t exactly appealing. Actually, that idea made her nauseous. Having a blood diet was bad enough. Letting her teeth sink into someone else?

No, thank you.

Though technically, she had bitten one other werewolf, but the guy had met a fast and brutal death shortly after that bite. So…

Paris cleared his throat. “Well, let’s see what happens when you take my blood.” He stepped toward her. “Because I can’t have you endangering my alpha. I can’t let you change him anymore.”

Her gaze darted down to his wrist. When she concentrated hard enough, she could hear the racing thud of his pulse. Paris was nervous. So was she. “I don’t want your blood.” It was true. She didn’t. She hated drinking blood, but at least when it came from Aidan, she could tolerate it.

“Jane…” His face was hard. “There is more at play here than you realize. You want to protect Aidan, don’t you?”

Always.

“Then try my blood. Because I would damn well rather you change me than him.” He offered his wrist to her.

Jane’s hand flew up and her fingers curled around his hand. Her fangs weren’t even out. Take his blood? Every part of her rebelled against the idea. He isn’t Aidan. He isn’t.

And…she only wanted Aidan.

“No.” Jane shook her head. “I can’t.”

“Jane.” The faint lines near his mouth seemed to deepen. “I have to see what you’re doing to him. I need to feel the changes myself so that I can help him, too. He’s my best friend. I can’t have him walking through fire alone.”

Wait…in that little scenario…was she the fire?

Before she could tell him that she was not damn fire, the office door opened. Jane and Paris turned together, with her still holding his hand.