A low moan roused Kellan from his restless doze.

He rushed over to the bed and motioned to Luke, who paced by the windows. “She’s coming to.”

Luke joined him and stared at Sydney. She lay as motionless as a mummy in the center of the bed. They’d swaddled her in every sheet they owned to try to warm her frigid skin, but she had shaken uncontrollably until she’d finally lapsed into full unconsciousness.

“Finally. She’s been out for hours.”

“Hours?” Kellan’s head whipped toward his friend. His dolt of a friend. The man he’d wished umpteen times he could slay without benefit of a silver stake or silver-edged axe, neither of which he had handy at the moment. “Try a day and a half!”

Luke shrugged. “Time’s relative, man. The important thing is, she’s waking. They mentioned this in the book. Latents need a lot of sleep to complete the change, since they don’t require the traditional excessive infusion of blood. She probably scared herself into fainting. Then her body’s craving for rest took over.”

“And when were you planning on telling me this?”

He shrugged again. “You haven’t exactly been in a talking mood.”

“I’ve been frantic over her. And what you might have done to her, you thoughtless bastard.”

“She’s not pregnant.”

Luke’s certainty would have made Kellan feel better, had he been able to trust a word that came out of his mouth. Now everything the blasted mate-thief said was suspect.

Sydney stirred, loosening the sheets around her with her thrashing. She was mumbling something, though she’d yet to open her eyes.

“Baby, take it easy,” Kellan said soothingly, sitting down on the side of the bed to gather her into his arms. He lowered his face to hers, staying put though her cheek blazed like hot asphalt. “You’re weak. You shouldn’t be moving so much.”

“The morning after.” She rolled her head back and forth, nearly smashing her nose into Kellan’s jaw. As strong as he was, he had some difficulty restraining her. Two days ago, he’d had no trouble at all. “Need it. Give me a pill!”

“Give me a hand here, Luke?” He gritted his teeth as he fought to keep her still. “And what the hell is she talking about? She needs some sort of pill?”

“You’re the one who would know if she’s on medication.”

“And how would I know that? We met at a coffee shop. All our conversations consisted of pleasantries about coffee, you ridiculous excuse for a vampire!”

Lucas cocked a brow as Sydney continued to twist in Kellan’s hold. “Looks like you’ll be handling your mate—” he said the word icily “—all by yourself.”

Kellan abandoned his gentle tactics of restraint and flipped Sydney onto the bed, pinning her down with his weight. He expected her to continue to fight him, but her fingers curled around his and her eyes filled with tears.

“The morning-after pill,” she whispered. “If I take it, I won’t be pregnant. I can stop this now. My purse.”

Kellan glanced at Luke, who’d dropped one knee on the bed. Despite his blasé countenance, Kellan knew he cared for Sydney. “What is she talking about?”

“Seems like I heard something about it on one of those shows that comes on before The Bold and The Beautiful.”

“Oh, Christ. Not Springer.”

Luke ignored him and rubbed his jaw. “I’m not sure about all the science crap, but I think it keeps an egg from implanting. Or something. Might be a good idea.”

It took all of Kellan’s control to keep his voice down. Last thing he wanted to do was frighten Sydney more. “I thought you said she wasn’t pregnant.”

“Doesn’t hurt to do whatever we can. Honestly, I don’t know. You drank from her twice, and in the car we both gave her our blood. She drank a hell of a lot from us, which is what I thought explained how quickly her pain passed when she awoke. Usually humans suffer a lot more than that while their bodies struggle to accept our blood. But after what Emily told me, now I’m not sure. Maybe she really is latent, which means she’s both human and vampire. Temporarily, at least.”

“Thanks a ton for all your help.”

“How the hell should I know? Do I look like a goddamned vamp med to you?”

“Next question. What’s this crap about Emily telling you anything? I thought you said you looked in a book.”

“Well, yeah, but she directed me to the right ones.” His blue eyes softened and he flashed a smile full of love. Puppy love, far as Kellan was concerned. “She’s amazingly smart. She can find anything she sets her mind to in minutes. That’s what one of the other librarians told me while we were waiting for her.”

“And she didn’t think it odd that you were so curious about vamps?”

Luke glanced down at Sydney, who’d gone silent and still though her eyes remained wide open. “Well, no. Because she knows I have reason to be curious.”

A trail of heat blazed up Kellan’s spine. “Does she now?” he asked, very softly.

If his suspicions were correct, he’d fire up Luke’s fancy-ass computer and do a search on alternative ways to kill vampires other than staking and beheading. Because one way or another, he was bound and determined Luke would die tonight.

Painfully.

“What reason have you given her for your curiosity, Luke?”

Luke’s face said it all, though he compressed his lips into a thin line and said nothing.

Kellan’s hands flexed on Sydney’s, but he kept his touch easy. Oh, yes, tonight his best friend would die. Maybe he could lock him in the wine cellar and turn the temperature below zero. Perhaps making him into a vampire popsicle would work.

After he evacuated the wine, of course.

“Does that reason include your personal stake in vampirism, by chance, Luke?”

“Yeah, it does.”

Lucas turned away, then abruptly turned back. His face hardened into rigid planes that did nothing to diminish the love still glowing in his eyes. Damned besotted fool. “You’re not my father. I’ll make my own choices, asshole.”

Kellan released Sydney’s hands and sat back on his heels. The position left him close enough to grab her if she tried to bolt or, if need be, to act on his sudden urge to decapitate Luke with his bare hands.

“You told her we were vampires,” Kellan said, straining for patience.

“Not we.” Luke sent him a chilling smile. “You.”