Blood Pool

Chapter Eight

“Shit!” Jade screamed. The feline jumped, all four claws extended, lunging toward Raven, hissing and spitting. With one swift move, Raven grabbed Jade by the arm and shoved in the needle, emptying its contents.

Jade went limp within a few moments. Raven caught her before she fell. Raven’s form shimmered somewhere between human and Lamai. Her strength had tripled. She backtracked down the stairs and out into the night.

Gingerly placing Jade on the floor of the boat, Raven untied the lines and pushed off. She turned on the ignition while the boat drifted into the open sea. Jade would be out for a few hours, which was more than enough time to get her back to town. As Raven hurried back, she could see in the distance another boat heading toward Hannah’s Vineyard. A Porsche Fearless.

Laroque.

“ Tracy…” Raven said into her cell phone against the wind. She prayed her phone reception was strong enough.

Tracy sounded as if she were talking into a tin can. “Raven, where are you?”

“How’s Bo?” she yelled above the wind.

“We’ve given him the transfusion, but thus far, no change. No results back from the tests yet, either. His temp’s up a bit and he’s still unconscious-plus we’ve got another patient in with the same symptoms. Another shifter-one of Solaris’s employees.”

Raven’s head began to throb. “Damn. I’ll be there in half an hour.”

“Your father is out looking for you, Raven.”

“I’ll see you soon.” She signed off.

After mooring the boat and leaving the keys for Caleb in the boathouse, Raven carried Jade to her car. She rushed to the hospital, knowing it was only a matter of time before Laroque made his way back to Mirabelle Cove. He would be furious. Raven made two quick calls from her car, first to Solaris then to Julianna, asking them to use their magick to create shields for hiding Jade’s whereabouts. Her next call was to Tracy.

“Don’t ask why, but can you bring a hospital bed to autopsy room one? I’m going to need restraints, too.”

Tracy was silent on the other end. Finally she muttered, “Ah, yeah. Sure thing.”

Raven pulled into the parking lot, entering the hospital through the rear entrance. She brought Jade to the M.E.’s office. She kicked open her office door and plopped her sister onto the couch.

Jade was the only hope for helping Bo and the others. Raven wasn’t too thrilled with having to threaten her, but her options were limited. For Bo, she would do whatever she had to in order to save his life.

A sudden chill filled the air. Raven sensed that her father was there. He burst through the doorway. His gaze went directly to the couch where Jade lay unconscious.

His silver eyes widened. Fury enveloped him. “What did you do?” he yelled.

Raven was just as fierce in her reply. “I’m trying to save Bo. I saw no other way. Laroque will have to give me the antidote, or else…”

Tobias towered over her. His eyes bore into her. “What? You’re going to kill her?”

Suddenly, inner peace filled her. “No, I’m going to infect her. It’s called karma.”

Tobias’s expression was stern. “I guess you are your father’s daughter after all.”

She stared at him. “I suppose I am.”

“What are you going to infect her with?”

“Lamai blood.”

Tracy walked in. “The gurney’s in the exam room,” she said, stopping as soon as she caught sight of handsome Tobias Strigoi.

Raven’s father lifted Jade and carried her into the exam room. He placed her on the bed as Tracy strapped her in the arm and leg restraints.

“She’ll be out for another hour or so. Can you stay here while I go check on Bo?” Raven asked her father. He was staring at the young woman, no doubt amazed at her likeness to Nicolette.

“Of course,” he answered.

His guard was down and Raven could read him. He secretly wished Laroque would show up, and then they could settle this score once and for all. He did not have to keep his word to Nicolette any longer. And to protect his daughter, he would do anything. Raven smiled to herself. It figured her father could feel certain emotions, but was unable to verbalize them.

Raven walked down the hall and through the double doors into the quarantine critical care unit. Her throat tightened as she caught sight of her beloved lying in the bed, hooked up to monitors. His once bronzed skin appeared chalky white. Mat, Bo’s grandfather, sat next to him on one side, and Frank stood on the other side.

“Raven.” Frank approached and embraced her. “I’m so sorry.”

Raven swore to herself she would not start to cry again. “He’s going to be fine, Frank. I’m not going to let anything happen to him. We’ve come too far. How are you, Mat?” Raven asked as she approached Bo’s grandfather. She gave him a tender hug.

She sensed the magick in the room. The smell of sage and the power of the stones and feathers that Mat had placed around Bo’s bed for healing filled the air.

Dr. Odin entered. “There you are. I’m afraid the transfusion’s not working as we’d hoped. Tracy ’s been working with Nat trying to come up with the antidote to what this is. Something that can reverse the effects of this…virus. The other carrier is dead. They found him in an alley a little while ago. But he’s already infected more than a few in our community. A siren washed up on the shore, dead. Davis did the autopsies. I assisted. The cause was an unknown virus, different from your original sample. I assume it’s mutated.”

He updated Bo’s chart as he spoke. “Mordred is responding to the treatments. He’s had three transfusions, his temperature’s normal and the original symptoms are gradually disappearing. Perhaps Bo will show some improvement after another transfusion.”

Raven decided it was time to tell Ian Odin what she feared the virus was, and who created it. She began by explaining the spaghetti-like strand found in Derrick Bly’s cells.

“That’s why the fae are less affected by this virus-plus Mordred is half-human. The virus is thought to be zoonotic and therefore deadly to shifters, sirens, or other animals. Ian, have you tried giving Bo type O negative blood from a human? Perhaps if we flood his system with human blood…”

Ian reassuringly placed his hand on Raven’s shoulder. “That’s our next step. After that, I don’t know what else we can do. Nat is working on a few things. We’ll come up with an alternative.”

Tracy rushed over to the window of Bo’s room, holding up a piece of paper. On it was written: You were right. It’s a recombinant virus, altered Ebola.

Raven’s world came crashing down.

Raven stood by the foot of Bo’s bed, thinking back to the first time she’d laid eyes on him. It was over ten years ago. Gosh, time flies, she thought as threads of hope unraveled.

Raven was eighteen and had finished her first year of college. It was time for the celebration of spring’s arrival on Mirabelle Cove.

It was May Day Eve: April thirtieth.

She’d completed all her tests early, and she had the entire summer off.

Tobias had purchased for Raven a small cottage for her summers on the island as a birthday gift. That tiny cottage was now her two-storey Victorian-style home, complete with wrap-around porch and four bedrooms-a home she insisted on paying to renovate herself.

And she did.

She settled into her cozy new home and even started a part-time job at Nigella’s parents’ farm. Raven was ready to celebrate May eve with the rest of the town.

As twilight fell on that balmy spring night, the bonfires blazed and the minstrels played. That year it was exceptionally warm. The stars were brighter than usual. At least that was how Raven remembered it.

She was such a young, innocent Lamai back then. She stood in the moonlight wearing a sheer cotton camisole dress and sandals with laces that snaked up her calves. Eyeing those who danced around the fire, she spied Bo, but not before he caught sight of her. The excitement caused her skin to prickle. It was instantaneous. The magick that sparked between them swirled, causing the flames to leap higher into the night sky.

He was tall and brawny. His bronze skin glistened in the firelight. As he moved closer to her she barely noticed that she’d already begun to move toward him. His eyes glowed golden for a moment, then flashed back to black.

All she heard was his voice as he spoke. “My name’s Bo.”

His seductive, full lips mesmerized her.

A mild breeze blew a lock of hair across her cheek, and his hand grazed her soft skin as he pushed it out of her eyes. His touch sent waves of heat through her body. Raven felt a hunger building that wasn’t for blood.

“Raven…Raven Strigoi,” she said, finding her voice, lost in his eyes.

“I haven’t seen you around, Raven Strigoi. Where have you been hiding?” He smiled and his face lit up, putting the fire to shame.

Raven became uncharacteristically shy. “College. I’m attending Harvard and just finished up for the year.”

“Harvard. Not too shabby. I went to the University of Colorado.”

They walked under the stars and into a copse secluded from the rest of the celebrants. Pines, hemlocks and junipers scented the air with heady fragrances. Daffodils of many varieties dotted the landscape with punches of vivid yellows, ochre and bright whites. A row of forsythia hid the couple from those still dancing and singing around the bonfire.

A crunchy, brown pile of the previous autumn’s leaves lay scattered underneath the pines, creating an inviting palette for the two to rest upon.

Raven hadn’t noticed until then that Bo was carrying a blanket in his muscular arms. He spread it on the ground and sat upon it, patting a spot next to him. She joined him, not knowing what to say next.

Should I just blurt out that I’m a virgin? she wondered. No, that would send him running for the hills.

“I’ve heard the name Strigoi. Your father is a powerful Lamai,” he finally said. “One of the oldest, too.”

“Yes, he is. I don’t get to see him often, though. He travels a lot. And what’s your last name?” she asked, noticing the easy way he acted with her. She liked that he seemed quite comfortable in his own skin.

“Wasake,” he answered.

“Ah, yes, the shape shifter clan. Have you lived on the island long? I-I never noticed you before, either.”

When he smiled, two delightful dimples appeared on either side of his tempting mouth as if poised for a kiss. “No. I’m fairly new to the island. I received an offer to join the police force. Technically I was transferred here.”

“Oh. Where did you live before moving here?” She couldn’t take her eyes off him. He is the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.

Bo picked at a blade of grass. “ Colorado.”

“That makes sense since you attended the University of Colorado. Was it a mutual switch in locations?” Feeling her skin radiating heat at the nearness of him, she was a bundle of nerves. It being the holiday for making love, she had preplanned to lose her status as a virgin that night.

At eighteen, she had waited long enough, and her body agreed. It hungered constantly for either blood or lust. If she didn’t find the right mate she would wait, but that seemed to be a moot point now. He was supremely delectable. She licked her lips in anticipation of his kiss. The feeling seemed to be mutual as Bo obviously struggled to focus on the subject of their conversation. He was a vision, an Aztec god come to life. Her marble-like skin contrasted with his deep copper color and shimmered with an opalescent glow. The sight of him caused her body to react on a most basic level. Desire. She wanted desperately for him to press his lips to hers.

The line of his neck was strong, and his rapid pulse beat erratically. Her dress slid over her shoulder, revealing more skin. His gaze traveled down to her ample bosom. He gently touched the locket nestled between her breasts. She could feel his hunger- to possess her-and her desire grew by the minute. Raven wanted to be possessed by him.

His gaze fell to her tiny waist, then to her hips, all visible through her sheer dress, leading to long, slender thighs. He appeared lost in the thought of her secret garden. Beads of sweat dotted his upper lip. Bo leaned in to kiss her, but pulled away. Taking a deep breath, he nervously sighed.

Raven thought he was bored already with her company. Think of something intriguing to say, she berated herself.

He found his tongue. “Yes, it was a mutual move. Someone here wanted to transfer to Colorado. My grandfather has lived on the island for over twenty years. He asked me to see if I could transfer here.” He inched nearer to her. “I moved to be closer to him.”

Thank the Gods she didn’t have to be witty. “Do you like it here?”

His finger traced the pattern on the blanket as he seemingly tried to make a clever remark.

“Yeah, very much,” was all he said.

He wasn’t making this easy. “I’m glad you like it here.” She smiled. Oh, what a conversationalist.

“Me, too.” He leaned over to her and gently kissed her lips. When he met no resistance, his kisses became more urgent. She couldn’t explain it, but she felt that this man belonged with her-to her. Was it the heat between them, or the energy of May Day?

Raven wasn’t sure. The sounds of other couples making love in the dark certainly added to the seductive ambiance. It was the holiday of fertility.

She focused her energy on him. His thoughts were identical to hers. She psychically knew it. Bo wanted to possess her in a way he’d never experienced before. She smiled inwardly, happy to find she wasn’t alone in her feelings.

Raven balked when she read his memories of past lovers. At twenty-six, he’d bedded many women, but she was different to him. With many of them, he had to control his desires in bed, unless he was with another shape shifter. Even the fae he’d been with feared what his true passions could unleash. Her gift was a blessing and a curse as she was presented with a visual montage of his sexual adventures.

Still, he instinctively knew he had to be gentle with Raven. Uh oh, he knows I’m a virgin. She cut the psychic bond.

“Did that answer most of your questions?” he asked.

For a Lamai, Raven turned an admirable shade of apple red.

She answered him with a kiss. Her arms wrapped around him as she pressed closer, her breasts rubbing against his chest. The fabric’s sheer quality left nothing to his imagination. He cupped her breast, and she let out a lusty moan. Her eyes, icy silver now, gazed into his golden ones. Her hunger was taking control.

Kneeling before him, she pulled down the top of her dress. His eyes drank in her innocence, and in an instant he kissed her throat. She held his neck close, feeling the pulsing of his arteries. The nearness of him sent her reeling with desire.

He laid her down upon the blanket, raised her skirt and removed her panties. His strong hands caressed her. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear he had bewitched her. Bo had a magick all his own. Sex appeal.

All magickal species enjoyed sex. Bo was no exception, but Raven psychically felt new emotions flooding his mind and heart. He seemed to want to protect her. As if he wanted her to be his mate-he was easy for her to read-something he had never before considered about another woman.

She radiated freshness and purity, though at that moment her thoughts were filled with many things, none of which were pure.

Raven writhed underneath him.

He leaned over her. The weight of his body sent sparks of heat through hers. “The desire between blood and lust is strong,” he whispered. Her hands stroked across his back, igniting a fierce fire.

“I don’t…I mean…I’m not like this, really. There’s something about you-like I’ve known you forever,” she whispered.

“Shh…it’s okay, I feel it, too.”

She reached for the waistband of his pants, unsnapping them, freeing him of the hindrance of the material. Raising her hips, she attempted to guide him inside her. He murmured words in a foreign language as he entered her warmth. A groan of satisfaction passed his lips.

He suddenly stopped. “You…you’ve never…you are a virgin.”

Bo must have seen the pain on her face. He was a large man, and she looked at him with wonder. He smiled as if to calm her for fear she’d run off into the woods and live out her days as a spinster Lamai.

She held onto him when he tried to pull out. “No, please. I want you… Don’t stop,” she whispered.

“Are you certain? I-I don’t want to hurt you, physically or emotionally.” He buried his head in her hair and kissed her neck. “Hmm, but I do want you so very much…” By the end of this night, he was going to have her. And she was going to let him.

“I want you, too,” she murmured.

He took his time as he gently eased his way inside of her. “Tell me if I’m hurting you…”

Then the world around them dimmed, and they were lost in each other’s energy. Her moans of slight pain turned to pleasure and filled the night air as they made love. Although she’d just met Bo, she felt she had known him for eons.

He nipped at her breasts and neck, gently breaking the skin and drinking her blood. She let him. She would let him do whatever he pleased. She wanted him to explore her.

As he rocked within her, he held back his long black hair, exposing his neck. “Taste,” he offered. His eyes flashed to golden orbs.

“Are you sure?” Raven wondered if he knew that for her kind this was an act of marking a mate.

“Oh, yeah,” he groaned.

She moaned in the throes of an orgasm.

The moment her teeth dug into his flesh, he let out an ear-piercing howl as he came inside of her. Worlds collided between shifter and Lamai, man and woman, and neither would ever be the same.

They lay in each other’s arms, staring at the stars, catching their breath.

“I’d say we did our part to welcome spring and celebrate the season of mating,” he mused then sighed with the sheer contentment of satisfaction.

Talk about a dose of reality. “Yes. I suppose we did. I-I’d better go,” she said, beginning to dress while pulling the dried grass out of her hair. She cursed herself for thinking this was anything more to him than a ritual. That he felt the same emotions she did. How stupid could I be?

Bo’s eyes widened as he noticed the blood on her thigh. He gently touched between her legs. There on his fingers was her blood. He wiped it on newly sprouting wildflowers.

“A gift to the Earth Mother,” he said with a wink.

She could feel her ire growing. “Yes. It was my pleasure to give up my virginity to…the Earth Mother,” she said between gritted teeth.

Raven slid into her bra and panties and pulled on her wrinkled dress. Any idiot could see this man was trouble. Too good looking, with a body to shame the gods and enough confidence for ten men. Oh, Raven, you fool.

“Nice to meet you, Bo. Good night,” she curtly said. She couldn’t help but feel insulted by his casual reaction to her lost virginity. The thought that she may have simply been one of many he’d had sex with that night turned her frosty cold. To imagine she gave him her most precious gift. What was she thinking? Obviously, she wasn’t thinking, in the throes of passion.

His jaw dropped open. “Wait…don’t go. The night’s still young.”

This man was at a loss for words. Okay, confidence level dropped to five men. His eyes betrayed his disbelief that the night would end so quickly.

He reached for her. “Please don’t go. There’s so much more I want to know about you. We’ve only just begun…”

Raven cut him off. “I’m sure there are many other young maidens who would love to share your blanket.” She turned and walked away, leaving Bo speechless and fumbling to dress.

What she would not know, until years later, was that he would spend the rest of that night-and the weeks that followed-looking for her.