Binds that Burn: A Werepanther Romance Suspense (Urban Dwellers Book 3) Page 7

  First things first, though. She unbuttoned her shirt and let it fall to the floor. Carefully, Nina cleaned the wound on her shoulder. She didn't think it would make any difference to its effect on her body, but at least, she got the grime and the blood away from it.

  Her skin was incredibly tender. She felt herself starting to hyperventilate. She gripped the sides of the sink and stared at herself in the mirror. No matter what, she was strong, she told herself. She wasn't going to give in to the pain. She thought she had a pretty high tolerance that way, and yet she had heard people say that the transition from human to shifter was more painful than childbirth by a factor of ten.

  She had no idea at what point the transition would fully take hold of her. Those were the types of details that the shifter alphas kept out of the media because they didn't want to create mass hysteria in the rare cases when it did happen. Still, she knew that Eric would know. The Urban Dwellers seemed to know everything.

  She wrapped a bandage around the wound. It didn't appear as if it had scabbed over yet, which was also disconcerting to her. She had to wonder if there was anything else in the bite. Maybe she wasn't going to become a shifter at all. Maybe the bite had been meant to kill her.

  She decided survival was at the top of her list of things to do that day. Everything else would have to wait. Gingerly, she put on clean clothes and made sure that her shirt didn’t grab at her shoulder. The pain was starting to ebb. She hoped that was a good sign.

  She made her way back into her bedroom and looked for her phone. She found her purse sitting next to the front door, as if she had dropped it there casually on her way in. She still had no recollection of how she got back in the building to begin with. She sensed that ambiguity was something that she was going to have to start getting used to if she was going to be maneuvering in the world of shifters for the time being.

  Now her emotions were changing from fear to anger. She had been dragged into this situation against her will. Jillian had decided to go after Nina because of her affiliation with Eric. Damn the man. She hated him, and what she saw in her future because she had willingly invited him into her life again.

  Nina picked up her phone and realized that she had multiple missed calls. They were all from Eric. She did a quick scan of her voicemail. Nothing. Eric was old school. He would just call until he got her on the phone. No voicemail, no texts, nothing like that. So she had no idea what it was that he wanted. There was a brief moment when she thought maybe he was calling to apologize for what happened the night before and letting things get carried away. Then she shook herself. Eric didn't apologize for anything. Ever.

  It was ironic that his number was there on her phone as she was going to reach for him. She reluctantly hit the dial button.

  Eric answered on the first ring. "Where are you?"

  His tone immediately annoyed Nina. It wasn't about what he wanted. She needed something from him. "I'm at my apartment. I need to talk to you."

  "Then open the fucking door," Eric demanded.

  Nina looked at the phone in amazement. "What are you talking about?"

  "If you bothered to answer the phone any one of the multiple times that I’ve tried to call you, you would know that I have been looking for you. I'm right outside. Buzz me in."

  Nina was stunned. How long had he been waiting outside her apartment building? She buzzed him in and hung up the phone. Not more than a minute later, there was a heavy pounding on her door. She wasn't sure she was ready for any of this, but she had no choice. She opened the door.

  "Where have you been?" As usual, Eric was like a bull in a china shop. He barged through her door without barely looking at her. She was reminded of how not more than twelve hours before, she had been so entranced by those strong shoulders and his looming presence. Now he just annoyed her and pissed her off.

  "You’re going to wake up my neighbors. Stalk much?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

  "You said you wanted to talk to me."

  She was flustered. Leave it to Eric to focus on that detail. Actually, she never wanted to talk to him again, and that was what she was tempted to say. But she needed Eric's help. It wouldn't help her cause to set him off. He was clearly agitated. No more than she was, but she had a feeling that this one was going to throw him for one hell of a loop.

  She slowly pulled the collar of her shirt away from her shoulder and pulled the bandage away from her skin with a grimace. There really wasn't any need to say anything else.

  Nina saw Eric's look change to one of shock. He approached her and reached across the distance between them, but his fingertips stopped just before they touched her skin. She winced as if he had actually touched her.

  "What the hell happened?" His once angry voice had completely changed in tone. The question came out as nothing but a harsh, rushed whisper. It was even more unsettling than when Eric was being loud. He was as stunned as she was. That much was clear.

  "I was hoping you could tell me," Nina said. She was trying her hardest not to start crying. That would not do. Eric didn't cope well with tears.

  “I didn’t do that, Nina. I would never do that,” Eric said.

  She realized that he thought she was accusing him of biting her during their rendezvous in the alley. It was almost comical.

  "I know you didn’t do it, Eric. What you are looking at is a bite from a fucking deranged bitch." Nina stared up at him. It was time to stop the bullshit. "Everyone, including you, is saying that Jillian Anderson was dead. You were arrested for her murder. Interesting, that point, because she was waiting for me when I got home last night. P.S. you left out the part where she was a shifter."

  Eric's mouth fell open. "She is dead. I saw her body myself. I don't understand. You are saying that Jillian somehow appeared and bitten you?"

  "That is exactly what I’m saying.” Nina knew it was a lot to take in. She was still processing it herself, but she needed Eric to get there quicker.

  “If such a thing is even possible, why would she have bit you?”

  “You are seeing the proof that such a thing is possible, and I think neglecting to mention that you had a relationship with the deceased answers the question of why," Nina said. It was her factual part coming out. If she dealt in facts, then she wouldn't fall apart. "I think she bit me because she smelled you on me. After we, you know…"

  Eric began to pace the room. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and was dialing a number before Nina could say anything else. She started to bat at his arm to get his attention, but he shook her off.

  "I need help, and I need it now," Eric said to the voice on the other end of the phone. Nina had no idea who he had called, but she didn’t really need that many guesses. It was one of two people. "No, I mean now, Kyle. I need your wife."

  Eric shook his head with his eyes closed. Nina wondered if he was doing that because he heard the words spoken out loud the same way she had. She would have laughed, but it really wasn’t that funny.

  "I need a consultation."

  Nina felt a slight rise of hope. Kyle had recently married Dr. Kelly Malone. Kelly was a leading medical researcher around all things related to shifterism. She knew more about shifter biology than just about anyone else. If there was anyone who might have an idea of a cure for a shifter bite, it would be Kelly. Plus, she was human.

  Eric nodded his head several times. "We will be there in thirty minutes. Thanks." He disconnected the call, and then his eyes found Nina again.

  "Hopefully, that means what I think it means," Nina said. "Have you guys been doing some side research on cures for shifter bites?"

  "No, there is no such thing," Eric said. His words were spoken with such a note of finality that it made Nina's spine shiver.

  "What kind of shifter is Jillian?" Nina asked. It was a question that had been spinning in her mind ever since she woke up.

  "Rattlesnake," Eric said. He still looked stunned. She figured if she looked in the mirror, she would probably be wearing a similar expr
ession. The whole situation was throwing her off kilter. She had no idea what to do or what to say or how to feel. She had been bitten by a shifter. If there was no cure, she was going to turn into a rattlesnake. Soon.

  "How long do I have?"

  "It's different for every species," Eric said. He started to reach out for her again, but Nina brushed him away.

  "Don't touch me." There was a part of her that wanted him to touch her. There was a part of her that wanted to be comforted by him. But at the same time, the other part of her logical brain said that if she had not been involved with Eric to begin with, it wouldn't have happened. She had been swayed against her better judgment, and it had screwed her over.

  It was as if karma wanted to just kick her in the ass and beat her down. She had never done anything wrong other than simply have feelings for a man who could never return them. It just wasn't fair.

  "Get your things," Eric said. His expression had returned to a state of neutrality. "We have an appointment."

  Nina had no idea what they were having an appointment with Kelly Frost about. If there wasn't a cure, then what was the point? She didn't ask the question, though. She kept hoping against hope that Eric was lying to her or somehow obscuring the truth. She didn't want to believe that her destiny had so greatly changed.

  Nina got ready even though she didn't want to leave her apartment. Suddenly, she was exhausted. It felt as if she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her eyes felt heavy was exhaustion, even though she had just woken up.

  Eric noted her malaise. "It's not uncommon to feel exhausted and freaked out."

  "Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Nina asked. "If that is supposed to be some kind of comforting speech to make me feel better, it sucks."

  Eric ran his fingers through his hair. "This is a fucking nightmare. I wanted to talk to you about last night. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, and you got home okay. Now, I find out that you were attacked by a dead woman. Give me a minute."

  Nina wanted to smack him. "Give you a minute? I would give you all of the time in the world if it meant that this was some kind of horrible joke. I don't think I have a minute, Eric. I don't think I have any time at all." She let the words hang in the air between them. It had made her feel even more exhausted to continue talking at all.

  She started across the room toward the door, and that was when Nina promptly passed out.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Eric had no idea what was going on. It was as if everything in his life had somehow started to careen out of control. He knew that this was probably all part of an elaborate game that he had not understood he was playing until now. The worst part was, he didn't understand the rules. If he had had any inkling that Jillian might still be alive or would have gone after Nina in such a horrible way, there was no way that he would have left her alone. He wouldn't have let her run away to give her time to cool off.

  Now, everything was wrong, and he had no way to fix it.

  Eric remembered those few conversations that he and Nina had had about what it meant to be a shifter. Nina had been curious about that side of him. Most humans were. But it was obvious to him that the idea of being a shifter was not something she would have ever pictured for herself. It was something that she was fine with keeping at arm’s length.

  Eric had dealt with plenty of shifter groupies in his time. Women who offered their bodies and sex to him, hoping that he would bite them and turn them. Eric had never turned another person in his life. He knew that there were people in the world that made a living off doing nothing but that. It turned out there were limits to the kinds of activities that Eric was willing to fund for their more illegal businesses. Tony had been highly amused that there were certain things that Eric actually had ethics about.

  The fact of the matter was, Eric had been born a shifter. He knew from day one that he was conscious of the difference between himself and humans, and that it was his destiny. He had accepted it without question. It was simply who he was. But he sympathized with the dilemma that Nina now faced. It hadn’t been her choice. It wasn't something that she grew up with or was used to.

  In fact, her only encounter with it had been watching the ramifications of her brother dying from a shifter bite while going through the transition. Even that was slightly different because Tomas had been seeking that world out to join it. Nina never wanted anything like that, but it was a world that she had been thrust into now because of him.

  He was also confused about what it would mean for them. He still felt it in his bones that she was his fated mate. Cross-mating between clans wasn’t something that was commonplace due to the risks associated with having offspring. Even more than humans transitioning into shifters, hybrid off-springs’ rates of survival were low.

  Even though he had messed around with Jillian when they were kids, he had known that nothing else would come of it. He had been a horny teenager, and she had been a willing body. Now, it seemed as if fate had delivered his mate to him and intended to take her away just as quickly.

  He didn't want to worry Nina. There was a definite chance that she would not make it through the transition, and it wasn’t comforting to know that Tomas hadn’t either. They were from the same bloodline, so it wasn’t inconceivable that they shared the same biological resistance to it.

  So Eric’s first order of business was simply to make sure that Nina was comfortable and as pain-free as possible, and that he gave her every fighting chance to survive her first phase.

  Eric's mind was working a mile a minute as he watched Nina pacing around her apartment. She was as pale as a ghost. There were heavy bags underneath her eyes, as if she hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. He knew that her body would start shutting down soon in preparation for the transition, and then she would be lost to him. He needed her to stay with him. He needed to keep her awake and alert. If she was conscious, he thought that maybe he could talk her through everything that was happening to her. She would know that she wasn’t alone.

  Unfortunately, it appeared that whatever had been done to her was already taking a heavy toll. When she appeared ready to go, he could feel the waves of anger wafting off of her. He understood why. He was the bane of her existence. Every time he thought that he was making progress with her, fate delivered another blow like this.

  He saw the moment that her eyes rolled back in her head, and she slipped into unconsciousness.

  Eric caught her just before she hit the floor. He knew that he needed to get her to the hospital as quickly as possible. He sent a text message to Cal to meet him on the front stoop. Then he lifted Nina into his arms and left her apartment. Twenty minutes later, he set her gently onto an examining table in front of Kyle's mate, Dr. Kelly Frost.

  "I got her here as quickly as I could," Eric said. “From what she said, she was bitten probably eight to ten hours ago. I just found out about it.”

  He brushed the dark waves of her hair away from her face. He wasn't sure exactly what was happening within Nina's body, but he could tell it was bad. Her breath was shallow, and her skin had turned clammy in the car. Even though he had watched the transition many times, it still took him by surprise how quickly it could happen.

  Immediately, Kelly took Nina’s pulse and opened her eyelids to swipe a light across her pupils. Then she started to slowly pull away the bandage on Nina’s collarbone. Eric moved to help her, but she brushed his hands away.

  "I need you to take a step back," she said. "I need space to examine her."

  Eric growled at her. It wasn’t intentional, but his panther was agitated at seeing someone else touching his mate. Eric lost control for a split second. Then Kyle was suddenly between him and the examination table, and he slammed his hands against Eric's chest, propelling him backward.

  "You will not threaten my mate," Kyle said through clenched teeth.

  "I'm sorry," Eric said, trying to control himself. Although his panther wanted to fight, he knew that he had to back off. He n
eeded both Kyle and Kelly on his side. "It's like everything has gone fucking crazy in my world."

  "I understand that. But you need to calm down and give Kelly some room. Let her work and do what she can for her," Kyle said. "This woman is our responsibility now."

  "She's my responsibility now," Eric corrected him. He saw Kyle's raised eyebrow. He realized it made no sense for him to bother trying to hide what he felt inside. "I think she is my mate. No, I know she is my mate."

  He heard Kelly's gasp. Kyle’s expression turned to one of understanding. He looked back over his shoulder at Nina and sighed. Then he put his hand on Eric’s shoulder.

  "Okay, I get it. Give Kelly time and space to work. We need to talk about what happened anyway." He pushed Eric toward the door. He half-turned toward Kelly. "See what you can do. If the phase hasn't completely taken control yet, let's talk about if there are other options." Kelly frowned at him but gave him a short nod. Then Kyle dragged Eric into the hallway.

  There was a window that looked back into the room. Eric immediately went to it. He put his hands on the wall next to it and watched Kelly’s progress as she continued her examination. He took a few deep breaths to calm both himself and his panther.

  “What happened?” Kyle asked as he moved to stand beside him.

  Eric laughed, because otherwise he’d be tempted to hit something. “We’ve been racking our brains for the last two days trying to figure out who would be behind all this, and all the while, it appears it was still Jillian.”

  “What?” Kyle’s mouth fell open.

  “Yeah, that was me about half an hour ago,” Eric said. “Nina said it was Jillian that bit her.”

  “Jillian is dead,” Kyle said slowly.

  Eric looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Are we sure about that? So far, there is nothing that has to do with that woman that makes a damn bit of sense. But if Nina said it was Jillian that bit her, I believe her.”