“You don’t agree?” Nox looked at her.
“It doesn’t matter what anyone does,” she said. “This is something that can’t be stopped.”
“If keeping him away from us won’t prevent it, then why didn’t he run before now?” Dekker said.
Seung gave her attention to Nox when she answered. “Most don’t until they’re exposed to untied Varu or Mah betas.”
“Dozens of my men were at the Lexington location, and he didn’t react.” The way Dekker said it sounded more like a plea than a fact.
“No, but it triggered him to prime. Now that’s done?” She shook her head. “At least you didn’t bring Michaels and Loomis. If they’d been here too….” The look on Seung’s face made it clear what would have happened.
“Is there anything that can be done?” Nox said.
“Help him come to terms with it.” Seung gave a sad smile. “And maybe make it so Johnathan won’t be able to reach Dr. Dante when he runs because he’s right. He’ll catch him.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“My brother bit him,” Dekker said. “More than likely, the only reason he’s still alive is his body thinks my brother is still alive and has been waiting for him to finish what he started.”
* * *
Luca didn’t think the result of Dr. Dante running would be anything like what he’d shared with Nox. “You’d do that to him? Even if he told you no?”
Almost everyone in the room looked at Luca with some form of horror, the rest shame.
“Rape is punishable by death,” Seung said.
“What else would you call it if he doesn’t want it to happen?” Considering Dr. Dante was hiding in a back room, he clearly didn’t.
“He’ll be the one to initiate it,” Johnathan said. “We’ll be the ones responding.”
“You’re saying he’ll just change his mind?” Luca knew better.
“According to everything we’ve read—”
“You can’t be serious. You’re going to justify this because you read it in a book?”
“Not just any book, documents from before the Cana were lost, history passed down from our ancestors..”
“Stories told around campfires? That’s even worse.” Luca curled his hands into fists.
Johnathan looked at Seung.
She said, “Johnathan’s right. It isn’t what you think. Dr. Dante will change mentally. He’ll be as much of the wolf as any of us. He’ll demand it and they will respond because they will also be the wolf.”
“It’s still against his will.”
“I swear to you it’s not.” Seung scooted to the edge of the couch. “I know it’s hard to believe that, but Dr. Dante will want them to hunt him. He could even outmaneuver them.”
“Now I know you’re lying.” Did they really think Luca was stupid enough to believe an ordinary man—an almost ordinary man—could outrun these obviously unordinary people?
“They’re telling the truth,” Nox said.
“Isaiah didn’t smell like he was lying either.” And he had in fact, lied.
“Isaiah is a lot of things,” Johnathan said. “But a liar isn’t one of them.”
“He knew Nox was more likely to die than to get rid of the ichor.” Luca lifted his chin, daring them to argue. “And he did it anyway.”