“Clearly not.” With what appeared to be a great deal of effort, Rhys pried his gaze away from Mackenna and focused on Abby. “How do you know all this?”
“I read,” she answered dismissively. She didn’t even spare him a glance.
The information was in no book Mackenna had ever read. In fact, she had never even heard of the Primus until now.
Frustrated and tired of being the only one there without a voice, she lowered herself back to the ground and called forth the change. Unable to clear her mind of all its conflicting thoughts, the transition took a little longer this time, but less than a minute later, she knelt on the frozen earth, naked and shivering in the cold.
A blanket fell over her back, and she looked up with a grateful smile at Abby. Then, Cade’s arms came around her, dragging her upright and into his embrace. She took only a moment to soak up his strength and support, because right then, she didn’t need protection. She needed answers.
On the bright side, at least no one was talking about locking her in a cage and poking her with needles.
“How can I be one of these Primus Wolves?” she demanded of no one in particular.
“Well, when a mommy wolf and a daddy wolf,” Lynk began.
“Shut up,” at least six different people interrupted in unison.
“What about your mom?” Cade asked as he adjusted the blanket more securely around her shoulders. “Was she like you?”
“She was. I never knew there was any other kind of werewolf. I thought they all looked like me.”
His lips turned down at the corners. “You didn’t know other werewolves? None?”
Mackenna shook her head. “I mean, I met a few in college, but it wasn’t like we got together on the full moon to compare notes. Why wouldn’t my mom tell me?”
“You were only thirteen when she died,” Cade reasoned. “Maybe she was waiting until you were older, but she never got the chance.”
“Primus weren’t just hunted by humans,” Abby told her. “Gemini hunted them, too. For a long time, it was thought that if you killed a Primus under a Wolf Moon, you could absorb their power. Nonsense, of course, but people believe all sorts of things.”
“I think your mom was just trying to protect you.” Hugging her close, Cade pressed a kiss to her temple.
Her mother had taught her what countless other Gemini parents had passed on to their children. Don’t reveal her true nature. Blend in, learn to appear human, and stay hidden. Meeting up with other wolves to run under the full moon was too dangerous. It would draw too much attention and risk discovery.
The only reason Jess had known was because she’d followed her into the woods one night on the full moon. Mackenna had been terrified, but Jess had thought it was the most amazing thing in the world. Jess had promised to keep her secret, and as far as Mackenna knew, she’d never broken that vow.
Still, if her mother had been so desperate to keep her safe, she should have told her who she was. What she was.
“She should have told me.”
“I’m not arguing that, baby.”
“No one else can know,” Roux said. She sounded both sad and resolute about the fact. “Not about what she is. Not that she’s immune to the virus.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Deidra agreed. “Not just for Mack, but for all of us.”
“We all have to agree to keep this between us.” Stepping forward, Deke turned to face the rest of the group and folded his arms across his broad chest. “Does anyone have a problem with that?”
“Thank you,” Mackenna said when everyone shook their heads. “I know it’s not fair to ask you to keep this secret.”
“It’s not fair to you, either,” Luca said, surprising everyone. “There are, however, other people who know.” He came forward as well and wrapped his arm around Abby. “That’s why the Hunters kept you for so long, isn’t it?”
Mackenna honestly couldn’t say if her unique status as a Primus had anything to do with it. The answer was probably yes, but at the time, she’d had no context, and the Hunters had never specifically said. They had seemed much more interested in her immunity than the fact that she shifted into a giant wolf.
“Me and a few others. Like I said before, there are at least three other Gemini who have been there as long as I was. Maybe they’re immune, too?” And speaking of immunity. “I understand why no one else can know about me, but I still want to help.” It was the entire reason she’d revealed herself to them in the first place. “I don’t know if a cure is even possible, but—”
“Would you be willing to provide a blood sample?” Dr. Lancaster asked.
“That’s all?” Mackenna checked. “Just a blood sample?”
The doctor grinned. “That’s all. Just a small vial so I can run some tests. Now, I don’t want you to get your hopes up.” She spoke to the whole group then. “This is not my area of expertise. I might be able to tell you if a cure is possible, but I wouldn’t know how to go about creating one.”
It was a start. A small one, but a start, nonetheless. “I’ll do it.”
“What about humans?” Roux asked. “I mean, if we’re alive, we’re obviously immune. Why hasn’t anyone tested us?”
“They have.” Linking her fingers together in front of her, Dr. Lancaster pursed her lips for a long moment before she continued. “While Gemini may appear human, their DNA is vastly different. In simple terms, you can’t pass immunity between the two.”
“Well, that sucks.”
Leave it to Roux to put it so succinctly.
“So,
