Page 54 of Patrick’s Seduction

“The blood must have been contaminated.”

“Why?”

“Because it came back as animal blood, specifically as canine.”

Patrick’s heart stopped for a moment, shock coursing through his body, paralyzing him before he could utter a single word.

“Canine?”

“Yes, like a dog,” Buffy elaborated.

His head was spinning, and in the silence that followed, his gaze drifted from Lydia, who gaped at him with an open mouth, to the bathroom door that now swung open, making a creaking noise that echoed against the bedroom walls.

Fallon appeared in the open door, hesitating, her eyes seeking his.

All air rushed from his lungs, and his lips formed the next words involuntarily, “Or like a wolf.”

He barely heard Buffy’s reply and mumbled something that he couldn’t remember a second later, before disconnecting the call and tossing his phone onto a nearby armchair.

“Run,” Fallon ground out from a clenched jaw, the cords in her neck bulging, attesting to the strength with which she tried to keep control over her body.

Not taking his eyes off her, he gave an order. “Lydia, leave us.”

“Are you fucking crazy? She’ll kill you!”

“She won’t hurt me. Leave! Now!” he urged.

“It’s your funeral,” she grunted, but he heard her retreat and leave the room nevertheless.

Not that he thought that this would be the last he’d see of Lydia tonight. Knowing her, she was already calling for reinforcements to eliminate the threat. He knew he only had a short time until this whole situation would get out of hand, and somebody would really get hurt.

He was determined to defuse this situation by himself because what he saw in Fallon’s eyes was fear. She needed him now to deal with what was happening to her.

“You have to leave,” Fallon pressed out, tears shimmering in her eyes, eyes that were changing with every second that passed to look more and more like those of a wolf.

A werewolf.

“I won’t leave you, baby,” he assured her, making a small step toward her.

She growled, sounding like the beast that was trying to take over her body. But she was still in there, still fighting the change.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” she said, a single tear running down her cheek. She sniffled. “He did this to me, Cameron did this…”

Patrick nodded. Everything made sense now. Cameron had bitten or scratched her during the attack in the lab. He should have considered this possibility after seeing her defensive wounds in the hospital. He should have realized what Cameron had done, and that the full moon tonight would force the change in her.

Fuck! He was an idiot! But he hadn’t wanted to see it. His subconscious mind had suppressed this possibility, fearing that this would make their relationship impossible. But even now, he denied his head to override his heart. Even as he saw her aura change to that of a supernatural being, confirming that she was truly a werewolf now, he remained steadfast in his determination to stand by her. To stand by the woman he loved. Consequences be damned!

“I’m not leaving your side,” he vowed.

“You don’t understand,” she cried, “I’m turning into a werewolf. I remember everything now. Cameron bit me.” More tears streamed down her face now. “He’s a werewolf. And now, I’m one too…” She lifted her arms, showing him her fingers that had turned into sharp claws, the claws of a wolf. “I can’t fight it. Please, Patrick, leave. I don’t want to hurt you… But I can’t control this. I don’t know how.”

Desperation shimmered in her eyes. He noticed how close she was to losing it, to giving in to the wolf inside her, to let it out of its cage.

“You can’t hurt me, baby.”

From where he took the confidence to make such a statement, he wasn’t sure, but somewhere in the back of his mind, a faint memory pushed through: vampires and vampire hybrids couldn’t be turned into different supernatural creatures. They were immune to the bite or scratch of a werewolf that would otherwise transform a human. He hoped that what he remembered from the many stories of his childhood was indeed true and not just fairy tales meant to lull a vampire child into sleep.

“But I can’t suppress it any longer… I have the urge to… to… bite you.” There was a deep rumble in her voice, something akin to a suppressed howl. “You’ll turn into a werewolf… like me… I can’t do that to you. I love you too much.” A sob tore from her throat, and with it, her claws lengthened, and the bones in her face seemed to shift and crack.