39. Patient B
Chapter thirty-nine
Patient B
(Epilogue)
Julian
I peeked into the library—her favorite place in our new home—to find my bride sprawled out on the floor with files, charts, and three laptops fanned around her like the petals of some chaotic scientific flower.
She scribbled furiously on a notepad, then typed something on one keyboard, then another.
Her brow was furrowed in fierce concentration.
All the while, she was blaring Celtic Christmas carols at a volume that would have made the dead rise. Again.
“Darling, what are you doing? We’re going to be late for the charity gala.”
Nicolette’s gorgeous head popped up, curls bouncing, eyes bright with the kind of excitement that always made my barely beating heart feel as though it could race just for her.
“Something has been bothering me ever since the incident.”
The incident.
She made that day sound almost innocent, like she’d accidentally called the mayor’s wife a gossiping cow to her face. Not what it truly was. The day I’d thought I might lose her. The day my world had nearly consumed us both.
I stepped fully into the library, careful not to disturb any of her research, and lowered myself onto the antique throw rug beside her.
“What’s wrong?”
Nicolette pointed to the nearest laptop screen. “Patient B.”
I let out a heavy breath. “I thought we agreed it was for the best not to pursue your mother’s research for a cure.
” I had made my peace with remaining as I was—at least for now.
I tried not to think about Nicolette aging or the possibility of having to say goodbye to her. Those were thoughts I could not bear.
“It’s not a cure,” she whispered. “Remember when Luc . . .” She stuttered over his name, hating to say it aloud.
I didn’t blame her. Even I shuddered at the memory. Until him, no vampire had ever intimidated me.
“What about him?”
“He’d been out in the sun when he walked in, and he wasn’t burned. Not even a little. Granted, it was late afternoon, but still—it wasn’t dark.”
I had been too focused on Nicolette to give it any thought. “He was probably taking the plasma therapy.”
Nicolette shook her head. “No. He had no signs of it that day. And . . .” She nibbled her lip. “I preserved some of his blood off your shirt and tested it just to be sure. It wasn’t ideal, but it was enough. Please don’t be mad,” she added quickly.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “You are asking for trouble, love.”
“I was just making sure I wasn’t crazy,” she said.
“There are formulas in my mother’s research I still don’t understand.
What if they weren’t for the cure? What if they were for Luc?
And remember what Simone said about a vampire maker?
I’m wondering if those formulas might have something to do with that. ”
“Are you saying there might be a lab-made vampire out there?”
“I don’t know,” she breathed out. “I thought maybe it was Patient B, so I started digging more into his files. And . . .” She hesitated, her voice thinning.
“Julian . . . if I’m reading my mother’s notes right, whatever she was working on, it didn’t create a full vampire.
It created something hybrid. Part human, part vampire.
But she used the same protein she used for the cure, so I’m assuming it wouldn’t be stable without my enzyme. ”
I ran a hand over my head. “Bloody hell. What are you trying to tell me?”
“Well . . . I think it may be possible to take a human and give them vampire abilities. They wouldn’t be immortal, but they’d have the heightened senses, the strength . . . even venom.”
I thought of all the implications. And for a reckless second, a second I knew better than to indulge, I dared to hope.
“Does this mean you could do the opposite?” My voice came out low, almost afraid of the answer. “Make a vampire human . . . but leave him with his strength and senses?”
Nicolette swallowed hard. “Perhaps. Maybe. I don’t know.
But I think this is the work my mother wanted me to finish for her.
It was her way of trying to protect me from what she knew was out there.
Vampires.” She grinned. “And she had to know that if anyone ever found out about my blood . . .” she trailed off.
There was no need for her to finish. We both knew the consequences.
“This is dangerous, Nicolette,” I warned.
“I know, but . . .” She took my hand and guided it to her abdomen. “Julian, I have something to tell you.”
Coming soon(ish) . . . All’s Not Fair in Love and Blood