She closed her eyes. “He said all I could do was wait and see. There’s nothing he can do.” Her voice cracked. “No tests he can run. No cure if I’m affected.”
Braden cursed and turned away, his fists rolled into tight balls against the couch.
Tyana stared across at her with a stricken expression. “I’m sorry, Katie.”
“We’re getting ahead of ourselves here,” Jonah said. “We don’t know that Katie will be affected. I say we don’t borrow trouble. Take it one day at a time.”
He glanced sorrowfully at Tyana. “We already knew that finding a cure was a long shot.”
Tyana looked away, tears brimming in her eyes.
“We can’t just give up,” Ian said fiercely. He gripped Katie’s hand and brought it to his lips. “We can beat this, Katie. What happened at the compound with Braden. Explain that. It was a breakthrough. Maybe a step forward.”
“You’re not alone,” Braden added as he took her other hand.
“Aren’t I?” she asked. “Sometimes I feel like I’ve always been alone. Gabe was all I had left, and now he’s gone. I have nothing to go back to.”
Ian and Braden went completely still next to her. She felt the stares of the entire group, and she shifted uncomfortably on the couch under their scrutiny.
“Maybe we should leave you three alone for a while,” Jonah said as he stood.
Eli helped Tyana to her feet. Mad Dog slid off the arm of the chair and ambled to the door. And then she was alone with Ian and Braden.
She leaned forward and buried her face in her hands. She was so tired. Her body still fought the effects of the chemical. Moving hurt, more than she let on. All she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and sleep.
“You’re hurting,” Ian said quietly.
She nodded without opening her eyes.
“Katie, look at me,” Ian prompted.
She opened her eyes and turned her head to stare at him.
“I love you.”
Such powerful words. No one had ever said them to her before. They were staggering. She’d heard them, been flip about them, but hearing them now, directed at her…it shattered her.
“I love you,” Braden whispered next to her ear.
She turned, her breath held in her chest. She stared in wonder at him and then turned back to look at Ian.
“I—”
“Shhh.” Ian placed a finger gently over her lips. “Hear us out.”
Braden scooted up so that he was in her line of vision. Ian reached over and curled his fingers around her palm and stroked lightly with his thumb.
“We want you to go back to Argentina with us. CHR has a house there. A compound, really. Eli doesn’t have a need for it. His life is here with Tyana and Falcon.”
She swung her gaze back to Braden to gauge his reaction. There was calm in his expression. Sincerity.
“We want you with us, Katie.”
“But what if…what if I become—”
“What if you become what?” Ian prompted. “Like us?”
She nodded.
“Whatever happens, we’re going to be with you,” Braden said.
His voice slid over her, a promise she reached for and held tight.
“You won’t be left behind, Katie. Not ever again. Do you understand that? We want you with us. Always.”
She wrapped her arms around Ian and held on tight. “I love you too,” she whispered against his neck.
He gathered her close and buried his lips in her hair. He stroked the back of her head with his hand as he murmured in her ear. She pulled slowly away and then turned to Braden.
“I love you.”
He touched her cheek and smiled, his teeth flashing his boyish grin. Then he leaned in and kissed her, long and sweet. So exquisitely gentle, as though she’d crumble with the slightest touch.
“I want you to get better,” he said. “I want to make love to you again.”
Her face fell and she looked away.
“Hey,” he said softly. “What was that for?”
“I’m just afraid of what will happen if the chemical affected me badly. What if it ruins everything?”
Braden and Ian both reached for her hands until she held both of theirs in her lap.
“No matter what, we’ll always be together,” Ian said. “Believe that if you believe nothing else.”
“We’ll make it,” Braden added. “Together.”
Some of her fear lifted, and she smiled a shaky smile. She squeezed their hands and then brought them up to kiss them both. “Together,” she agreed.
Chapter Forty-Four
“She’s getting worse,” Ian said wearily as he and Marcus stood watching Katie and Braden from inside the glass doors leading to the deck.
Marcus frowned. “How so?”
Marcus had flown in to perform his regular check-up and physical on Katie. These days he spent his time between Damiano in Nepal and Katie in Argentina.
“We’re having to use the inhibitor far more frequently, and we’ve had to sedate her three times in the past two weeks. I’d hoped…”
Ian broke off and rubbed a tired hand through his hair. “I hate this, man. I love her and I hate to see her suffer.”
“And what about you and Braden?” Marcus asked.
Ian gave him a startled look.
“Any unexpected shifts? Further instability?”
Ian shook his head. “Braden shifts regularly. He’s pretty good at doing it at will now. He hasn’t made a single move toward me and Katie. We’ve tested his recall, and it’s odd. At times he can clearly remember events that occur while he’s in panther form. Other times, however, it’s all a blank. When that happens, he backs off shifting for a while, and he gets edgy. It scares him when he can’t remember. He’s too afraid he’ll hurt Katie or me.”
Marcus nodded, a thoughtful look in his eyes. He started to speak, but was interrupted when Braden knocked over his chair getting up. Katie sat stock-still in hers, her face pale, her hands shaking violently. Tremors rocked her slight body, and she looked at Braden in panic.
Ian made a grab for the syringe that lay on the table inside, and he threw open the door. He made it over to Katie, prepared to inject her when Marcus caught his arm.
“What the fuck? Let me go, man.”
“Don’t give it to her,” Marcus said calmly.
“What?” Braden demanded.
Katie clutched her arms, rubbing almost violently. Fear shone vividly in her eyes. She was terrified.
“I promised her, I swore to her that I’d never let this happen,” Ian bit out.
“Listen to me,” Marcus said. “You don’t know if she’s stable or not. You’ve never let her explore the depths of her abilities. She’s understandably frightened. We don’t even know what her ability is. What if she’s like Gabe and can control her shifts? We have to let her try. She can’t go on like this, living in terror, being sedated every time the urge comes on.”
“Christ,” Ian muttered.
He looked up at Braden, seeking his input. Braden looked tortured with indecision. Finally he closed his eyes and nodded.
A strangled cry burst from Katie’s throat. Ian reached for her, grasping her shoulders. “We’ll be right here, Katie. We’ll help you through this.”
“I don’t know what to do,” she said desperately.
Braden shoved in and framed her face in his hands. “Just let go, baby. Surrender to it.”
She closed her eyes then bolted upward. She stepped forward and then back as if she had no idea where to go. Then she crumpled. Ian lunged for her, but Braden held him back.
“Let her go,” he said in a strained voice.
They watched in agony as her body spasmed, and she cried out in pain. It was like watching a battle between human and animal. And finally the beast won.
Tawny fur rippled across her skin. Hands became paws. Black spots appeared. Her clothing ripped and fell away. Her head twisted, and her jaws opened wide as a sound that wasn’t quite human or animal escaped in an eerie howl.