But it wasn’t just the hunt.
“What about later?”
“He won’t care then either.” Frost gripped Jonathan’s shoulder. “Same mindset, J. He’ll own you.”
True. Jonathan wouldn’t be able to fight the drive to reset the bite. Neither of them would. There was no telling how often. The literature on the event was vague, but Grey seemed to think every tie was different. For some, it was daily. For others, it could be months in between. But one detail never changed; no matter how much Dr. Dante hated Jonathan or Jonathan tried to fight the Sarvari, they’d both lose.
And Johnathan wouldn’t even have the option of ending his life because it would take Dr. Dante with him.
Jonathan pulled away.
“J—”
“The moment doesn’t matter. It’s the hours, days, and weeks when he isn’t addled by the hunt. Do you really want me to condemn that man to live every day knowing what I did to him, what he wanted me to do, and the fact neither one of us could keep from doing it again and again?” Jonathan waved an arm in the direction of Dr. Dante’s room. “I’d be sentencing him to hell. And that’s not something I can live with.” He dropped his shoulders. “That’s why you’ve got to run him.” Frost was his best friend and the only man Jonathan would trust to treat Dr. Dante right.
“I’m sorry, J.” Frost stepped back. “I can’t run him.”
Jonathan couldn’t have heard that right. “And you won’t be able to say no.”
“I can and I will.” Frost gave a one-shoulder shrug. “You’ll have to tie him yourself or one of your brothers will do it instead.”
And Jonathan knew damn well he’d kill every one of them before he’d let that happen.
* * *
The wolf stood with its head lowered, its blue eyes burning with stars.
Sunlight filtering through the gap in the tarp broke into a halo around the golden hairs of its coat.
Gold. Not yellow. Not cream. Not the shade found in the fur of a domestic animal or even the more mundane hue seen in the average piece of jewelry.
The color so perfect it was as unreal as the animal watching Luca.
Unlike his first encounter with the Anubis, this creature didn’t scare him. And the longer he held eye contact with the wolf, the more he was sure it wanted to speak.
Ripples of transparency broke apart the wolf. It lifted its head, cocking its ears as if it heard something before vanishing.
The tarp crinkled, and Nox stood in the doorway of the trailer.
Luca climbed from the mattress but stopped a few feet away. Maybe Nox didn’t want Luca to touch him.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Nox’s voice was like gravel.
God, how Luca loved that sound, especially when it vibrated against the back of his neck, rising and falling with every thrust of Nox’s hips.
Heat filled Luca’s cheeks. He folded his arms, unfolded them, and then rubbed a hand over his hair. “There’s breakfast if you’re hungry.”
“I already ate.” Nox closed the distance between them. Pale splashes broke up the darker grey of Nox’s irises. “I wanted to tell you I’m sorry. About last night, about….” Tension cut lines at the corners of Nox’s eyes.
“You were in a bad place.”
“Yeah, but I shouldn’t have pushed you away like that.”
“Did you do it because you were mad at me?”
Nox furrowed his brow. “What? No, of course not.”