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“No, you won’t,” Bryce growls at her.

“They’re my friends, Bryce,” she argues with him.

“You’re pregnant. You’re not going to the vampire site.”

My mind races through every possibility, but I keep coming up empty. We can’t kill Alicia, but we also can’t just let whatever they’ve ingested kill them. “What about the hospital?” I ask. I look at Paul. “Could they find what it is fast enough?”

“Maybe.”

But that’s too uncertain of a term. What if they can’t find it in time? I’m not willing to entrust Kayla’s life to a what if, but I don’t know that I’m willing to entrust her life to the vampires either. I realize that Bryce is still talking to Garrett, but I tune them out. I think about how Kayla’s life is tied to Alicia’s, and I turn away from the group and stride over to Alicia.

“Jackson!” Garrett’s voice thunders behind me.

“I’m just talking,” I send back.

Ransom and Lucien are at my sides a moment later. “You know what you’re doing?” Ransom asks in a low voice.

“No, not at all,” is my only reply. I stop several yards from Alicia; I don’t trust myself not to rip her head off if I get too close.

“Did you need something?” she asks sickeningly sweet.

I force my wolf down, but it’s hard. I want so desperately to give him the lead to kill her. “Let’s make a deal.”

She throws her head back and laughs. “Oh, you’re more delusional than I thought.”

I keep very still and force a blank expression on my face. “You take Kayla but let the other females stay.”

She huffs out a laugh. “And why would I do that?”

“Because I’ll go with you in their stead.”

She laughs really hard this time, but it quickly changes. “You must think I’m incredibly stupid.” I don’t respond. “I’m not bringing you with us; you’ll just go on a killing spree.”

I’m not naive about what goes on in these vampire sites. She might not have been at the one where I was kept, but I was held captive there for an extended period of time. I know what they’re like. “You can use me, use my blood. You can do anything you want to me; you just can’t kill me. And you will give me the same vampire serum you gave Kayla, so it ties me to you. That way, I can’t kill you.”

“Jackson!” Ransom hisses, but I ignore it.

She stares at me, and I can practically see the wheels turning. “You wanted rogue wolves before. Well, now you have one.”

“Two,” Ransom adds.

“Three,” Lucien says.

“One,” I say in a low growl, ignoring the two idiots on either side of me.

“Deal.” Her eyes dance with delight, and I resist the urge to show any form of relief on my face. “Kayla and the three of you.”

My relief fades. “One; I said one.”

“Sorry, Wolf, they volunteered.” She gives me a cheeky smile, and I have to close my eyes and physically force my wolf down.

“What about the other females?” I ask. “How do they get the antidotes?”

“They still have to come with me.” I growl at her. “I wasn’t lying when I said the antidote is at the vampire compound. But once we get there, I will give them the serum and then drop them off. Only then will I let the wolves know where they can get them.”

“That’s not part of the plan,” I growl at her, stepping forward.

“Take it or leave It." She stares up at me, and I close my eyes a moment. “That’s what I thought. Do we have a deal?”