Despite the mishap, her alternate plan, dominating the vampire, turned out to be quite ingenious. She’d met Étienne years before, allowing him to fuck and feed from her. When he’d told her of the story of the sick wolf, her idea struck like lightning. If she could control the virus and the antidote, she’d control the pack. Étienne, tired of being Kade’s lackey, sought the same goaclass="underline" power. He fancied himself a scientist of great aptitude and aspired to be known throughout history. She played up his fantasy, all the while directing his actions.
Her only mistake had been relying on Étienne to isolate the virus, to turn it into a weapon. Even Wynter had failed to produce the virus in a way it could be injected, swallowed or otherwise used to infect another wolf. But this minor setback didn’t deter Fiona. As she’d pored through the volumes of genetic and viral research, she believed it was just a matter of time before a researcher made the discovery. No longer convinced that person was Wynter, she planned to kill her after they got the information she’d gleaned about the antidote. They’d drain Wynter, taking her blood for future research.
Étienne’s fascination with the girl had grown dangerous. There was no way Fiona could leave the wolf alive. Logan would never stop searching for his mate. Even if he didn’t go after them, dragging Wynter through the swamp wasn’t an option. A timely escape was paramount. Afterwards, they’d bide their time, review the data, acquire a new scientist and weaponize the virus. Once she had it ready, she’d attack Logan. Then she’d return to take over the pack.
Lost in her thoughts, she eyed Phillip with faux sympathy. Deep in her chest, she tried to conjure empathy but it didn’t come. She knew she should care about his fate, but she simply didn’t. Apathy had been the beauty of her strategic plan. All of the killing, and she felt no regret. She supposed the closest she’d felt to guilt was when she’d ordered Dana’s death. At the funeral, she’d been a terrific actress, all the while unable to feel anything at all. It had been necessary to kill her. She couldn’t have allowed her hybrid half-sister to reveal the results from Wynter’s blood tests.
Over the past week, she’d made Étienne kill every single one of the vampires he’d created. She scoffed as the bound bloodsucker whimpered at her feet. Poor Étienne, the fool that he was, believed that he could bring the pink-shirted vampire with them. Of all the children he’d recklessly created, she supposed Phillip had been the most useful one of the bunch. Thankfully, Étienne had believed her lie that he could keep his treasured creature. He would have fought her on the decision to kill him. But they needed to move like the wind. It would be hard enough to escape with the two of them. Fiona thought that she almost felt a tiny shred of compassion as she drove the stake deep into Phillip’s black heart. But as he turned to ash, she shrugged. She clapped the dust off her hands and smiled, glad to have felt nothing at all.
“Fiona. What the hell?” Logan couldn’t believe what he saw on the video.
“Today on the lake,” Dimitri began.
“She jumped to the other boat. I thought she was crazy. But she did it deliberately, luring Wynter. She knew Wynter felt guilty about Dana dying. She used it. I just can’t fucking believe this. Why?”
“Your guess is as good as mine, but she’s got to be working with a vamp. Dana was bitten up good.”
“She may be working with a vampire, but look at her. She’s smiling. Baiting us. And the letter. She must have planted it. She’s been watching us this whole time,” Logan spat out furiously.
“Shit,” Dimitri began. “You know with the pack, there’s not too many secrets. The guys who worked to build the lab, they may have told her.”
“Fiona’s here,” Logan breathed.
“Fi knows this place just as well as we do. She knows we’ll find her.”
“She’s going to kill Wynter for her blood, then take off.”
“We’ll have to break the search into sections. The whole pack will help,” Jake suggested.
“No, let me think. If she’s got Wynter, she’s going to want to drain her blood. It’s what she’s after. But she won’t use a vamp, though. She’s going to need privacy, supplies…to collect it properly. The swamp’s too messy. And she wouldn’t keep a boat out in the open. She’s going to need shelter. A cabin maybe.”
“Ours?”
“I think…I think she may have built one,” Luci interjected quietly.
“What exactly do you know, Luci?” Logan snarled.
“Nothing, I swear. Fiona’s been the same person she’s always been. Sweet, gentle Fi. This isn’t her…she wouldn’t hurt anyone. I know she’s on that video,” she shook her head and gestured to the tablet, “but I’m telling you we’ve been friends for a long time. I just don’t see how she could be capable.”
“How long have you known her really? Marcel, he brought you here. You haven’t been with the pack that long, Luci. Sometimes, we don’t know people,” Dimitri told her. “I’ve known her for the past fifty years and there she is…right there. She did this.”
“Where’s her cabin? We know every single blade of grass out here. I’ve never seen it. Where’s it at?” Logan demanded.
“We do know what’s out there, but maybe she’s been busy over the past couple of months. We’ve been preoccupied with the challenges.” Even to Dimitri, it didn’t make sense, but there was no denying that he and Logan and the entire pack had been distracted by Marcel’s death and the fights that followed.
“She took me there once,” Luci said solemnly. “Made me promise not to tell anyone. But last month when I asked, she told me that a storm took it out. I believed her. I had no reason to doubt her. It happens all the time, you know. I guess she could have rebuilt something.”
“Let’s go.” Logan glanced at Dimitri and Jake. “Fiona is not leaving this swamp. And bring stakes. She isn’t alone out there.”
“But what if Wynter isn’t…” Alive. Dimitri hesitated to suggest it but the reality of the situation was bleak.
“She’s alive.” The vision of Wynter dying before him played in his mind like a horror movie. He’d be damned if he let it happen. “She will not die, do you hear me? The next person who suggests it can find another pack. She’s mine and I can feel her. Now, let’s stop wasting time and go.”
Wynter pretended to type out information about the virus. She made up data, dates, measurements and ratios. She’d never help to create a viral weapon. They could kill her; drain her of all her blood, but she’d never ever give them what they needed. Wynter had spent the time gathering her strength, deciding she’d try to escape. But first, she had to shift. If she pretended to comply, she might be able to get him to take off the silver. Then, she’d fight with her last dying breath to get away.
“There’s nothing more.” Wynter pushed the save button as if she were truly cooperating. A reiteration of what they already knew would help to confirm her story, play to his arrogance. “You were right. My wolf blood, it’ll cure Emma. Her immunity will show in her viral titers but the symptoms will disappear. It isn’t contagious either.”
“See how nice it is when we collaborate, Dr. Ryan? Professionals discussing our research,” he lectured as if he was a professor.
“Your genetic modification was spot on. My shift was difficult, but it was enough to manipulate the blood. I need to continue the research to learn more about why my blood is counteracting the virus,” she continued.