Unquenchable Desire (18 page)

Valerie’s gaze met her dad’s. He
quickly looked away. Darn him, he was as wary as Brian. Why? Didn’t he trust
the serum? She focused her gaze on Brian. His face looked if it were etched in
stone. He was doing this for her. He wanted the cure, yet his tight expression
suggested he still resented being the guinea pig.

The doctor cleaned the vein at the
bend of Brian’s arm with alcohol. From a vial with deep green liquid, he slowly
filled a syringe and laid it on a stark white towel.

“You know you don’t have to do
this, Brian,” Valerie said through the constriction in her throat.

“I know.” He looked at the liquid
warily. “I’ve always liked green.”

His deep, brave tone brought tears
to her eyes. She blinked them away. Why was she letting him do this? What if
that green stuff killed him? Without conscious forethought, she grabbed the
syringe and shot the serum into her own vein.

“Valerie, No!” Dad shouted.

“My, God,” the doctor said. “Do
realize, young lady, that you’ve just shot an overdose into your bloodstream? That
dose was based on Mr. Jones’ height and weight. You’re much shorter, lighter.”

“Valerie, what were you thinking?”
Brian said. “Didn’t you think I could handle this?”

Valerie wanted desperately to answer, but couldn’t. She couldn’t focus.
The world spun crazily. Her body jerked as though slammed with shock paddles.
 
She rode lightning through the epic center of
an earthquake while her body switched repeatedly and painfully between wolf and
human. Her heart thundered in her chest.
 
A whirlwind of activity and commotion bustled around
her. She hit and clawed at clutching arms. Strong hands strapped her down. No! Don’t
do this to me! She screamed but heard no sound come out.

****

The doctor continued to shout
directives to his staff. Damon hated that they’d had to strap his baby girl
down to treat her, but she was a wild animal, strong and ferocious.

She twisted and jerked in the
throes of body-racking spasms. Then, suddenly, she went deadly still and a
ghostly she-wolf escaped out of her mouth.

Dear
God in Heaven, the serum worked, but will it kill my beautiful, impetuous daughter?
Damon prayed harder.
Lord, please let
her live.

Brian’s eyes
widened,
his expression incredulous. No doubt he’d never seen a ghost-wolf exit a body
before.

“Stand over by the windows out of
the way,” Doctor Frankston
ordered,
his voice tight,
angry. “We need room to work.”

Quickly, he and Brian moved to the
outer limits of the room. A tight-faced redhead tech in her forties shot
something into Valerie.

“What’s that?” Brian asked with
alarm in his tone.

“Probably
something to dilute the deadly dose.”

“Probably!”
Brian said in a choked voice. “Good God. Why don’t you call the paramedics and
get her to a real hospital?”

“These are all qualified medical
people.”
He hoped
. He didn’t know the
two recently-hired lady techs. But he’d hired the males, Butch and Hutch
himself. Right now he glared at them for being so rough when they held Valerie
down. The mousy looking tech hooked her up to two monitors and then Hutch and
Butch tucked plastic bags of ice chips around her. The doctor took her pulse
and watched the monitor screen with worried eyes.

“Can you guarantee they’ll save
her?” Brian
asked,
his voice tight. “Why don’t you get
her to a hospital?”

“You should know the answer to
that. It’s one of the disadvantages of the curse.” Damon began to pace in a
tiny rectangular space. “No one outside our circle of secrecy can know about
her, or what has gone on here today.”

“I’ll kill you if she dies.”

“You won’t have to. I’ll kill
myself. But she won’t die. Now shut up and pray.”

Damon knew Brian was only striking
out at the nearest target. The poor kid dropped down on a wooden straight
backed chair and put his head in his hands.

Damon wanted to blame him for
making Valerie love him so much that she’d willingly risked her life. But he
couldn’t. Then, he tried to blame Angela and Victoria for standing up against
him. But that wasn’t fair. This was Valerie’s own decision and he prayed it
wasn’t her last. She’d risked her life and for what?

Her interference ruined the test. He
didn’t know if it was her sacrifice for Brian that rid her body of the curse or
if the serum was responsible. He still needed someone else to test the serum. But
since Valerie had risked her life to stop Brian from participating, he couldn’t
go against her. Besides, without the wolf inside her, perhaps no one could
better protect her from a werewolf than another wolf.

Damon slammed one fist into the
other. Damn, Damn. Valerie’s reckless act was such a bad move. Didn’t she
realize that until Reeves was destroyed, that without the wolf inside her, she was
more vulnerable than ever?

Then it struck him. Even if the
serum worked, it wasn’t safe to give it to anyone in, or close to, the family
until Reeves was destroyed. They would be too vulnerable…too defenseless. He
had to fix his whole focus on the destruction of his evil half-brother. And for
that he’d need Brian’s and Hugh’s help. Maybe Rick could help, too. The Indian
in him was a good tracker and he could ride his Harley like the wind.

Damon bowed his head. Right now he
just needed to pray.
“God, save my baby
girl and get me through my moral dilemma and forgive me for my past sins and
those I must commit in the protection of my family….”

****

Brian’s eyes shot open when the
early morning sunlight fell across his face. He blinked, trying to focus.
Valerie’s bedroom took on a surreal brightness as it hit him
how close they had come to losing her. Valerie’s hair, no longer wild, spilled
across the pillow like golden threads. She appeared so tiny, so pale,
so
worn-out. Her lovely breasts barely rose and fell with
each faint breath. He ached to gather her into his arms and breathe extra
oxygen into her lungs.

He heard a
soft cough and glanced toward the sound. It was Damon, looking exhausted but
still awake.
He, Damon, and Victoria had kept an all-night vigil,
dabbing ice chips against Valerie’s lips, watching and fervently praying for
her.
For a while the whole family was there, but when
Valerie’s fever broke, Damon insisted that Angela, Hugh, and Rick get some
sleep so they could take over in the morning. He’d tried to order him out, but
to get rid of him he would’ve had to wrestle him out the door.

He’d tried
to stay awake, but apparently the silence, darkness, and fatigue must have
gotten to him. He figured he must’ve fallen asleep around three a.m. As he
stared at Valerie, he realized that the emotionless loner-goals he’d had when
he’d left
Trona
had changed drastically.

Although
acting impulsively and foolishly, Valerie had risked her life for him. No one
had ever done that before. Now, he wanted nothing more than to be with her at
whatever cost to himself. And rather than remaining emotionless, he’d weakened
into an emotional bundle of love and hope. Loving so deeply hurt like hell. But
it gave him a driving a reason to live, and a compelling incentive to risk his
life to keep her safe.

He’d held
her hand all night and his arm was sore from the awkward position, but he
couldn’t let go. It was his lifeline.

Damon glared at him with narrowed
eyes.

Brian wanted to shift under his
searing gaze, but he didn’t want to disturb Valerie. “As soon as Valerie is
completely out of danger, I’ll take that test.” Maybe Damon would hate him a
little less if he pushed to move the project forward. He wanted his respect
even if he couldn’t have his friendship. More importantly, it would help
Valerie’s twin, her uncle, and countless others who might be trapped in
werewolf hell.

“It’d be better if you wait until
we identify Reeves’ host body. I think you should keep your lycanthrope gene a
while longer. It might give you an edge if you have to fight werewolf to
werewolf again.”

“You’re right, Sir. I just wanted
you to know that what happened to Valerie didn’t scare me off.”

Damon almost afforded him a smile.
“Whatever faults you may have, you’ve proven that cowardice isn’t one of them.”

“I’m glad you see that, Sir. For
Valerie’s sake and the benefit of your whole family, I’m prepared to do
whatever it takes to identify the host and destroy him.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that. Because
that’s what we all want. We’ll join forces and do it as a team.”

Brian felt Valerie squeeze his
hand. His heart lurched.

She opened her eyes and he felt
overwhelming relief… She was back.

“How can I keep you safe if you
keep volunteering to risk your life for me?” Her words were barely a whisper
but nevertheless revealed her undefeatable spunk.

He kissed her hand as love gushed
out of him. “Don’t worry, I was raised a fighter and a winner.”
And I can’t mess up—that would leave you
more vulnerable.

Chapter Fifteen

Victoria
glanced down at Rick’s magnificent,
muscled legs and matched her running pace to his. “Do you think I should do
it?” she asked, smoothly, not even slightly winded.

“Do what?”

His tone sounded gruff, distracted.
Or, did he know she was talking about taking the serum and simply not want to
discuss it? Her dad was entirely against it. To her consternation, Rick often
agreed with him. They were more alike than she’d imagined. But faults and all,
she loved them both.

Without missing a step, she wiped
the sweat from her forehead with a rag.

Rick shook his head. “I told you we
needed to get an earlier start. The sun is heating up fast.”

“You’re right, but I couldn’t leave
until I felt sure Valerie would be okay.” In the distance to the East, purple
peaks dotted with an early snow. “Anyway, see that snow? Cooler days are ahead.”

“That doesn’t help now.”

“Quit being
negative.
This is still great.” Along the narrow path were towering
tangles of mostly green overgrowth, thickened and blessed with color by the
last two heavy downpours. She loved the rhythmic sound of their feet hitting
the dirt and the hum of insects. The wolf in her valued running free through
the hills, the woman in her loved it, too.

“Are there any wild areas and
running trails near our new home?”

“Not sure, but there’s a great park
only two blocks away and a motorcycle racing track nearby. Our new place is
perfectly situated, close to everything, including my office.”

“That’s really reassuring,” she snapped, not bothering to dilute her
sarcasm. She scanned the uphill terrain ahead. Good or bad, this hilly acreage had
always been a part of her home. God, it was so peaceful here, so beautiful. The
path’s winding borders were alive with giant sunflowers. She noted that they
always turned toward the sun, symbolizing power, deep loyalty, and consistancy.
She had all that and magic in her love life, but since learning that the serum
might be ready for market and actually cure lycanthropy, she’d come to want
more. She imagined what it would feel like to hold their own baby in her arms. If
she took the correct dose of serum, probably she wouldn’t experience the
terrifying reaction Valerie did, and she could have her very own baby…maybe
two.

Unfortunately, after what happened
to Valerie her chance of getting her dad’s approval were worse than before. And
it would be nearly impossible to get the serum without his okay.

Beyond the bushes, she heard four
feet hitting the ground, matching their stride. Nearby branches trembled and a
dry limb snapped.

“Rick, do you hear that?”

“What?”

“I think someone or something is on
the other side of the bushes keeping pace with us.”

Rick grabbed her arm and drew them
both to a stop. He reached for his pocketknife and stepped in front of her. “We
have to find out. We can’t leave ourselves open to a surprise attack. Grab onto
my belt and stay close behind me.”
 

The sound of the running steps on
the other side of the bushes ceased. There was only the muted howl of the
westerly wind. Victoria stiffened. Tension hung in the air.

When they stepped through the
bushes, they saw a flash of black and then the wolf disappeared.

“The footprints look more human
than animal,”
Victoria
said. “It was the killer werewolf.”

“He must’ve expected you to be
alone.”

“I don’t think that’s it. Maybe he
was listening to us talking, maybe to gain information to help him with his next
attack. The only thing I said that might’ve helped him is that Valerie is going
to be okay.”

Rick shook his head. “That’s not
it. How could he even know she was in danger? It’s more likely he thought I
couldn’t keep up with your feral pace and you’d leave me in your dust.”

Valerie shuddered. It was a good
thing she hadn’t challenged Rick to a race. If she had, she would’ve made sure
she out ran him by at least a mile, leaving her vulnerable to deadly violence.

She had thought she and Rick might
make love in one of the cool, dark caves ahead. Now all she wanted was return
to the safety of the mansion.

****

Valerie’s stomach knotted. Everyone had left the room except for her
dad. He’d been sitting by her bed just staring at her. She forced herself to
remember how she’d ended up in bed with everyone so concerned. She closed her
eyes and brought forth the memories.