Chapter 13 Vaelenor #2
Gav cuts the connection and crosses his arms over his chest, surveying the room.
“Caelan. You good?”
Caelan’s eyes snap to Dax, and his brow furrows. “Fine. Why?”
Daxen doesn’t reply, but his eyes pointedly drop to Caelan’s chest, where he’s rubbing his palm in tight circles over his sternum. Caelan follows Dax’s gaze and drops his hand like he’s been burned.
“Just sore from training,” he mutters.
My eyes ping-pong between my packmates. Things have been so tense lately. I fucking hate it. This isn’t like us. We fight, but not like this, and never for this long.
“Looks like you’re stuck with me, Dax!” Silas jokes, interrupting another possible stand-off between the two Alphas.
He stands, trudging over to the fridge where he ducks his head in to survey the contents, surfacing with a hand wrapped around a blood vial.
“Lovely,” Dax replies sardonically. “Maybe while you’re glued to my ass you can learn how to shut the fu—DON’T DRINK THAT!”
Dax launches across the table. I try to get out of his way, but his elbow clocks me in the solar plexus, and I fold over, gasping for air.
“Ass—hole,” I wheeze, shooting him a glare.
He’s not paying attention to me, though. His hands are wrapped tightly around Silas’s, which is wrapped tightly around the vial of blood.
It’s not one of the vials we keep on hand that Silas calls a “Snack pack.” This one is small, almost completely swallowed by his large, tattooed hand.
My packmate is up in his face, fangs bared, a growl rumbling through his chest. Silas’s eyes widen, and he releases the vial so fast he almost drops it.
Dax lunges, catching it out of the air with ease.
“Fates, dude! Sorry!” Silas raises his hands and backs up. “I didn’t realize you were that attached to it. Warn me the next time you go feral over a Snack pack.”
He winces, then mutters to himself, “Damn—I think I peed a little.”
Dax holds the vial up to the light, checking that it’s still in one piece.
“Wait,“ I narrow my eyes. “That’s the blood from the Varenthrall Estate, isn’t it?” My head whips to Caelan. “The one you pulled during recon?”
“Sure is.” Dax smiles, way too pleased with himself.
Or the blood.
Or… maybe the fact that Caelan stole it.
Hard to tell.
Gav scrubs a tired hand down his face and groans. “You put it in the fridge? Right next to the fucking hot sauce?”
“I didn’t want to risk cross-contamination with samples in the lab’s unit,” Dax replies, like that’s the most logical explanation in the world.
I snort in disbelief. “And you couldn’t slap a Not For Consumption label on it?”
“There’s a biohazard sticker,” he snaps back.
Gav turns to Caelan. “Tell me again how you found the blood. Don’t leave anything out.”
Caelan shrugs. He’s barely been paying attention, staring out the window toward the forest, eyes unfocused and distant.
“I found it hidden in Captain Creep’s study,” he says. “There were ten, so I stole one.”
That sounds about right. No apologies. He saw something he wanted, and he took it.
“We don’t know whose it is. Not even what species it came from. It’s currently being tested to scan for… stuff.”
Dax gives him a pretty solid side-eye, but I’m with Caelan. I have no fucking clue what kind of shit Dax would test for. The most any of us know about blood is that it shows up in bags and vials, and we drink it. The more we drink, the better we feel, the faster we are, and the quicker we heal.
Blood from humans doesn’t do it for us. I mean, we can survive on it, but it tastes… hollow, like drinking blood-flavored air. And the effects don’t last longer than a day.
So, we drink blood from other vampires and the random wolven nice enough to donate.
Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of getting too deep into the science part of it. I don’t care if that makes Dax’s heart rate increase.
I mean, it’s not like humans study the biology of every cow they eat, or know the enzyme count of each carrot they throw in their salad.
Do carrots have enzymes?
Actually, now that I think about it, I’m not really sure what exactly an enzyme even is…
“Not ‘stuff,’” Dax huffs, sounding offended.
“Blood Type, RH Factor. The normal tests. I’m also screening for enhancers or suppressants, and a full drug panel.
The targeted run is for genetic markers and proteins to determine Species, as well as sequencing, unmapped genes, or hybrid markers—alleles that shouldn’t be there. ”
He hesitates, chewing on his lower lip. “Mainly because the decay resistance tests were concerning.”
“Decay resistance?” Silas asks, eyeing the blood like it might vanish before his eyes.
Dax nods. “Yeah. Red blood cells break down outside the body immediately. That’s why our shipments only last a week once they’re open. The only preservatives that might show up would be those added to keep blood safe for vampire consumption.”
I roll my hand in a get on with it gesture. “Okay, and?”
“I threw this under a microscope the night Caelan brought it in. It looked like it had just come out of the vein.”
There’s a gleam of awe in Dax’s eyes when he looks at the blood. “I checked it again yesterday, and no change. Checked it again today.”
He holds it under the light again, and I realize that now, I can see a faint shimmer.
“Blood is red. It darkens over time as it ages,” he explains. “The longer it’s out of the body, the closer it skews toward a deep maroon. This blood?”
He tilts gently, giving us a better view.
“It hasn’t shifted at all. And, it fucking shimmers like oil on pavement.
I’ve never seen—I don’t think anyone’s ever seen—blood that stays the same color and fucking glitters.
Even stranger, the red blood cells are still intact.
White blood cells are still fucking moving, which should be impossible.
Those die within hours of leaving the body.
It looks like it came out of someone five minutes ago, not days or weeks ago. ”
“Okay, so the blood in that vial isn’t aging. That’s what you’re saying?” I ask, trying to dumb it down enough to understand.
“I’m saying,” He shoots me a look, “the blood in that vial doesn’t know it’s not inside a body anymore.”
Silence.
“That’s impossible,” Silas scoffs, breaking the silence. “What species’ blood does that? Wolven?”
Dax shakes his head. “No, their blood decays at a rate similar to ours—at a much slower rate than humans. It’s due to the magical properties that allow us to heal faster.”
“So whatever blood this is,” Gav’s arms are crossed over his huge chest as he leans against a cabinet by one of the stoves. “The body it came out of just heals immediately?”
“Not necessarily.” Dax rubs the back of his neck and sighs before standing up straighter. Great. He’s in full professor mode now.
“Okay, so, healing—especially in Supes—isn’t just about regeneration.
It’s about triaging. Our bodies will prioritize more serious injuries first. Heal the torn artery, save the bruises and small cuts for later.
That kind of thing. This blood wouldn’t triage, because it’s still waiting for a command. ”
Gavran grunts in disbelief. “Like it’s not, what, activated yet?”
“Exactly like that,” Dax nods. “That’s why I sent it out for gene sequencing. I’m hoping we can get some answers when those reports come back.”
“Who’d you send it off to?” Gav asks. “I don’t exactly trust UPS with magic blood.”
“Relax. I’ve got someone. Real quiet type. Doesn’t want to be involved in anything that happens outside her labs. I sent a sample through a secure blind drop. They won’t ask questions.”
“How long?” Caelan’s been calm this entire time, but it’s an unnatural calm like someone forcing themselves into stillness.
“A week, probably more.”
“So we’re stuck waiting,” Caelan mutters. His fist drifts to his sternum again, where he rubs at it absently.
Maybe he has heartburn…
“Pretty much. I can do a lot of shit in-house, but a full gene sequencing is way outside my abilities with what we have here.”
We’re all quiet, clearly considering the massive magic-laced bomb Dax just dropped on us.
Note to self: When my packmates are acting squirrely as shit, push harder.
“Okay so, hear me out.” Silas holds up a finger, an excited smile on his face. “What if you let me smell it?”
“Absolutely not,” Caelan barks.
“Why not?” Silas argues, “I have a great nose! I smelled the cinnamon rolls last week, all the way from the trainee compound!”
Dax rolls his eyes. “That was once, and it’s because all the kitchen windows were open, you absolute walking liability.”
“I’m not asking to fucking bathe in it,” he huffs petulantly. “Just one little whiff. For science.” The fact that he’s trying to play the science card on Dax has me coughing to cover a laugh.
“What you’re gonna get is your ass beat if you don’t stay away from it,” Dax growls.
He turns to place it back in the fridge, but Gav pushes off the counter and crosses the room, putting a hand out to stop him.
“If it smells that distinct, it could give us some idea your testing hasn’t yet, yeah?” He cocks his head. “Why didn’t you smell it?”
“I was in a sterile environment. Gloves, goggles, mask, plenty of ventilation. I don’t normally sniff blood like it’s part of a wine tasting.”
Gav gestures toward Silas, who’s literally bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement. “Alright, smell isn’t a test. But it is data. Silas has the best nose of all of us. I’d rather he take the chance now and see if there’s anything worth catching.”
Dax lets out a long-suffering sigh. He considers Silas, then turns to Gav. “If he has a seizure and starts speaking in Latin, it’s on you.”
That gets a small smirk from Gav, who inclines his head and steps back, gesturing for them to proceed.
Dax turns to Silas. “Alright. One sniff. Don’t take it out of my hands, don’t taste it. I will tranq you and ship you in a crate to Chicago. Then you’ll be Ford’s problem again.”
He cracks the top of the vial open with precision, holding it steadily in front of Silas’s nose. A bit of smoke rolls out of the top. It’s probably because of the temperature change, but it looks sinister as hell.
“Shouldn’t you swirl it?” Silas asks. “Like Cabernet?”
“Just smell the damn blood,” I growl.
“I am. Hang on.”
He bends over, taking a deep inhale like he’s smelling a bouquet of flowers. “It smells like… lavender. Not the store-bought diffuser stuff, but actual lavender. Like the kind my grandma used to grow up the side of her mailbox. And… like a lightning storm.”
My stomach drops. Hard.
“You know that smell. When it’s July, and a storm is rolling in, and you’re standing on hot asphalt?”
Silas’s words suddenly sound like they’re coming from far away. With clumsy movements, I grab for the edge of the table, needing something to hold on to. My lungs stutter. Fuck, I can’t breathe.
No, no. Oh Gods, this can’t be happening.
“It also smells like…“ He hesitates, brow furrowing in concentration. “Maybe… like a sweet resin? Kind of like tree sap. If someone lit it on fire.”
I can physically feel the blood drain from my face.
“Amber,” I croak.
All eyes turn to me. I bend over the edge of the table, not realizing I’m squeezing it until I hear it crack under my grip. My fangs throb, and it takes all my willpower not to reach over and swipe the blood out of Dax’s hand.
I take a deep breath, but that only makes it worse.
I fucking swear I can smell it in the air. I shouldn’t be able to. Not from ten feet away in a cold glass vial, facing away from me.
We have an amazing sense of smell, but not that amazing.
My entire body shivers. I don’t know if it’s longing or fear that has my skin prickling. Fates… I want it.
I want to drink it.
I stumble back, trying to put some more distance between me and the blood. I should have known. When Gav joked about the blood being magic, I should have fucking known.
“Vae?” Caelan stands slowly before edging toward me across the room. For every step he takes in my direction, I take a few more back.
Why? Why am I running from my packmate? Where do I think I’m going to go?
It doesn’t matter. I need to go. Need to get out of here.
Away from that fucking blood.
Because I know that scent, it’s been living in my dreams for days. I think about it while I’m eating, working out, brushing my fucking teeth. I can’t stop thinking about it.
“It’s the—the—” I can’t get the word out. My voice is a nearly silent rasp, the lack of moisture in my mouth making it impossible to speak.
I swallow. Try again.
“The scent. The one that activated my Curse.”
I’m panting, my hands slick with sweat. “Godsdammit, Dax. Put the fucking lid back on, please.”
I’m not above begging. I can’t lose control right now. I have to keep my shit together.
Dax complies, capping it and shoving it back into the fridge. The tension in the room is so thick I can fucking taste it.
Gav’s phone rings, and the sound slices through the strain like a knife. I’m so on edge that my head snaps toward the sound like a predator scenting a threat.
Gav answers in a clipped tone.
“Riven,” he greets, placing the call on speaker.
“Hey.” Riven’s voice is a smooth, lazy drawl. “You and your merry band of Bastards might want to get down to Redmark.”
Gav frowns. “Why?”
“One of my fighters found a girl in the alley, hiding in the dumpster. Looks like she crawled in there at some point during the day. Stinks to high heaven, but I can smell the Omega perfume underneath.”
That puts Gav on alert. “Is she one of us?”
“Nah,” Riven replies, sounding amused. “She’s human.”
“Then what the hell do you need us for?”
I’m wondering the same. Missing Omegas showing up aren’t out of the ordinary, but unless this one is a vampire, protocol is to call local human PD. Not us.
Riven chuckles, and the sound is dark enough to push back my anxiety and make my hair stand on end.
“You ever seen an Omega glow, Gav?”