Page 50 of Blade's Battle
“She’s human,” Damien said with a flat tone.
Blade watched Damien closely, wondering what was going through his alpha’s head. Similar to Blade, Damien had never truly approved of humans. Damien had made it a point of never allowing a human into his pack until he had found Tess. As it turned out she wasn’t human, though Damien hadn’t known that when he had rescued her from the WSSO research lab. Blade was sure that if Anna had returned with him, Damien would not have turned her away, that rule banning humans now gone. Or had Damien re-enacted the rule in Blade’s absence?
“There are complications in blood-bonding a human,” Damien continued.
So, not the rule. This discussion was about something else. To blood-bond a human was to severely damage a shifter’s ability to shift and access any of his wolf’s abilities. Blade would become one of those poor bastards in the pack, the ‘weak shifters’ as they were commonly referred to, going through slow, painful shifts and ending up with one of the more mundane jobs like maintenance or garbage detail. Blade would no longer be able to use his knowledge and skills as a scout because he wouldn’t have the speed, strength, or visual acumen—any of the augmented abilities—to infiltrate and carry out a mission. Blood-bonding a human would change everything he was.
But he wouldn’t go feral. A human’s blood was as good as a shifter’s blood when it came to stopping a shifter from going feral. And he’d have Anna. That alone would be worth sacrificing his abilities. To wake up next to her heady scent and be greeted by her glorious blue eyes every morning would be worth giving up everything he had as a shifter. He wouldn’t care what shitty job Damien would give him as long as Blade had her sweet smiling face to come home to.
Except blood-bonding Anna was no longer an option. His sweet Angel was long gone.
“I know the complications.” Blade’s stomach knotted. “What are trying so hardnotto say, Damien? If I find Anna and bring her back, would you deny me a place here? Or her?”
Damien’s brows pinched together at the same time both Hayden’s and Frank’s wolves whined. “When have you ever seen me throw out a weak shifter? Or refuse to defend anyone who was in danger, including a human?”
Blade swallowed. His old insecurities had risen to the surface. Damien wasn’t like Drake and many other alphas. He took lone wolves in and treated the weak as equals to the strong. Damien had rescued Tess even when he was convinced she was human. He cared. All of Blade’s brothers here cared. Damien, Hayden, Frank, Pryce, and Callen were his brothers, as much as Marcus had been, and he was being unfair to them.
“You’re one of us, Blade, whether you’re strong or weak doesn’t matter.”
“Then help me find her.”
Damien stood there, silent for what seemed like an eternity. “How close to going feral are you?”
Blade hesitated telling him, especially after what Damien had been through. Damien would understand better than anyone about how hard it was to constantly fight his wolf for control, how each day his energy drained from him faster than the day before, how even the simplest remarks made by friends caused his wolf’s hackles to rise and the desire to taste blood filled his every thought. Once he fully gave in to his wolf, there’d be no coming back. Damien had fought his way back with Tess’s help, but Blade didn’t think he could, not alone anyway.
“How close?” Damien repeated.
“Close, except when Anna’s nearby. She calms him. Even without the blood-bond, she calms him.”
“You know that won’t last forever.”
He nodded. Even if he found Anna, would she blood-bond him? She had already turned him down. Granted, they had only known each other a week, and she was still in love with her dead husband. Blade could hold off his wolf if she were with him. That would give them time to know one another, but how could he compete with a dead man?
“I can’t give up on her.” He didn’t know what he could do, but he knew he’d never give up on Anna even if she were a thousand miles away by now.
“Then don’t. Turn on all your charm, Blade. Get her attention and let her see who you are.”
Frank shifted and chuckled. “You’re supposed to be giving him helpful advice, Damien.”
Now, Hayden shifted. He didn’t say anything, but his posture had relaxed. Blade’s brothers hadn’t come for a fight, they’d come to save him from himself.
“Then you’ll help me find her?” His heart was pounding at the prospect of finding his Anna.
“No need. She’s here, at my house, talking with Tess.”
* * *
ANNA
The teacup in Anna’s hand shook from nerves. It had been a week since she had last seen Blade, and she barely slept during that time despite knowing Griff and Daaven were guarding her. She felt secure with Liam’s guards, but not knowing how Blade was doing, if his wolf had taken control, or if he was mad at her for leaving behind—not that she truly had a choice—weighed on her. She had said it was for the best that they part ways. The hurt in his eyes had been devastating to see. Heck, she’d barely kissed him goodbye. A simple peck on the cheek, the type you give a sibling or a casual friend. She should have at least had the guts to explain why she could never be with him.
“Relax,” Tess said. “I’m sure Blade will be thrilled to see you.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Blade didn’t want to leave you behind, apparently.”
“Is that what he said? What else?” she asked, probably a bit too eagerly given how Tess was grinning.
