Page 139 of Scorned

“What do you mean, it was?”

“You won’t have it now that you’re a vampire. Your lure has blended with your amore, which is your love scent. And it makes up your essence. Now you smell like delicious lavender and vanilla when you’re showing your love, and add citrus to that when you’re horny. It’s beyond intoxicating.”

I stood on my tippy toes, bringing my face to his. “You’re underestimating how amazing yours smells.”

Jimmy came running up to us, his face flushed and sweaty, gasping for air. “I need to talk to Luka.”

Chapter 38

Winnie

Luka is a fucking hybrid!

A thousand thoughts raced through my head, my heart beating against my ribcage as I hopped in the front seat of a van with Drag, and Zeke and Erik got in the back.

“Carmen said the doctor at VRC pushed Luka to his limits, torturing him more than her. Almost like she was looking for something. Do you think she was trying to get him to snap? Is that how they change?” I shook my head, then turned my face toward Drag, not giving him a chance to answer. “You saw those hybrids, man. They smelled like vamps and wolven combined. And now Luka smells like that. Did you see his four fangs? That bitch turned him into a hybrid somehow!”

“I saw his fangs up close when he tried to eat my sister,” Erik said from the back. “Way scarier than a normal vampire.”

I furrowed my brows, attempting not to be offended by Erik’s comment.

“My senses were in overload with the amount of mixed breeds there,” Drag said, pulling out of the parking lot. “It was so strange, my vinculum buzzed just like when a new member is asking to join my pack. When I reached out to see who, it surprised me when it was Luka. The second I accepted it, I could hear some of his random thoughts because he doesn’t know how to mindlink properly.”

I think my heart stopped beating. “What. The. Fuck. He’s a vampire but has four fangs and can use wolven telepathy? How is that possible?”

Drag shook his head. “I don’t know. I need to talk to my dad or one of the elders. Maybe they’ve heard of this before. Or maybe VRC made a new species. And another thing . . . he wasn’t just a hybrid.”

Fixated on Drag, my breath caught in my throat as I braced myself for the news.

He glanced at me, his eyes wide. “He’s an alpha.”

My heart definitely stopped. “How is that even possible? I thought you couldn’t have two alphas in one pack.”

Drag shook his head, eyes locked on the road ahead. “We can’t, but it happened. He’s a part of my pack now.”

“Holy fuck.” I pushed myself back in my seat, pressing one of my black combat boots against the dashboard, my breaths heavy.

“Get your damn feet down before I make you walk home.”

I yanked my foot off the dash. “Sorry. I’m just nervous and can’t sit still. This is a lot of shit. Even for us.”

“On a positive note,” Zeke said from the back, “Luka seemed like himself once he was out of bloodlust.”

A small bit of relief swept through me. “Yeah, I noticed that. I also noticed none of the hybrids or Ben shifted.” I turned my head back to Drag. “I guess you couldn’t hear their thoughts.”

He let out a hard sigh. “No, but my inner wolf sensed they were wolven before I even shifted, not that their smell wouldn’t have given it away. I don’t think they have the same capabilities a true born shifter has because they seemed surprised when the packs started coming out of the woods, which means they didn’t sense them hiding.”

I let out a hard breath, directing my gaze out the window.

The rest of the ride was quiet, all of us deep in our thoughts. My mind reeled with the hybrid situation. Between them and what Sage was calling a tercet, we had two whole new species to deal with.

Ravage had always been the science guy and I was grateful he was already back at camp when we pulled in because I had a million questions for him.

Sage’s Jeep was also sitting there, so I knew she and Luka were also back.

“This is going to be an awkward conversation,” I said, pulling the door handle and exiting.

As soon as I got out of the van, the back door opened, Zeke and Erik getting out. They’d been so quiet the rest of the ride, I almost forgot they were there.

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