I moaned and my hand went to my head, pulling at the thing wrapped around it. I squinted against the sunlight flooding my vision and peered out. I scented Tristan, but when I opened my eyes, I had no idea where I was.

"Leave the bandage alone," Tristan said from the chair by the bed.

"I…" I shook my head. "I need to get up."

He rose and came to my bedside. "No, you don't need to get up.”

He leaned down and kissed me on the lips. The more our lips remained together, the better my body felt. I needed him. I needed him to heal and he knew this.

"I love you, Elisa. I can't lose you. Not today and not ever," he said.

"I love you too, Tristan."

He put his palm on my forehead and pushed my hair back away from my face. "You need something stronger to heal you. You're still hurting, but we'll get around to it."

I blushed and smiled. "My body hurts in a million places, yet somehow, I'm aroused at the thought of you fucking me right now and doing that thing you do to me with your mouth."

He grinned. "I'd be an evil man if I took you while you were like this."

I laughed. "Not really. Your touch does heal me. Where am I anyway?" I asked.

"My home," he said.

I looked around at the large bedroom suite. The dramatic, dark interior suited Tristan's style well.

"Why Elisa?" he asked. "Why did you do that?"

I sighed, remembering my fall and how painful it felt when my body hit the ground. I reached behind me and rubbed my neck.

"I didn't know I would fall."

"Of course you didn't know you would fall, but what were you doing climbing a tree like that by yourself? Jesus Christ."

"I was looking for something."

He sighed heavily. "Elisa, please don't…I can't lose anyone else."

I swallowed. "I should have told someone. I was only going to do the one spell and then I saw something in the tree."

"The knife?" he asked, knowingly. "The knife that was clutched in your hand."

I nodded.

"You climbed up a big ass tree for a rusty old knife?"

"It's not just a rusty knife!" I glared at him. "It belonged to Damon."

Tristan wiped the pissed-off look from his face. "I'm sorry. But what do you want with Damon's knife?"

"I just wanted to find out what really happened to him."

Tristan sunk back down into the chair. "So, you found out by re-enacting his death? Throwing yourself from the tree?"

"If I weren't lying here, I'd slap sense into you, you know that? Why would I throw myself from a tree? That's just the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"Then why did you do that?"

"Sometimes trees talk. And sometimes the spirits mingle there."

Tristan shook his head. "I'll cut that tree down, so you won't climb it again."

"You won't!"

It looked like he wanted to say something else, but he held his tongue.

"Did you tell Devin?"

"Of course I did. He was there when I felt you in peril. I knew you were in trouble and I ran until I caught your scent. Unfortunately, it was too late," he replied.

"You knew that I was in trouble?"

He nodded.

"What did Devin say?"

"He pried the knife from your hand and took it from you. I think he knows why you did it too. He took the knife to one of the elders."

"There's something in an Alpha's blood that makes them different. Something that comes to them in spirit," I said.

"You mean the ability to hold sway over their people, and the ability to keep their Packs alive?" Tristan asked.

"Not just that. I think Shanhah was trying to convert someone into a shifter. Like the gods did with the first Caedmon."

"Fuck…seriously," Tristan breathed.

I nodded. "If witches of a certain bloodline can strip and bind wolf spirits from shifters, I wouldn't be surprised if they could also convert another by binding them with a spirit. Using the blood of an Alpha."

"That's impossible. That's just not done anymore."

"Well, you've seen it yourself. You have accounts of Arnou wolves that can no longer shift because their wolf spirits have been stripped. It's the thing we tried to prevent when we destroyed Shanhah. Could she have also been trying to convert someone?"

Tristan sat back in his chair. "Who would she convert? Herself? Other witches?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. Maybe it doesn't matter. If the person she converted pledged loyalty, it wouldn't matter. They'd be bound to serve her."

"But she's dead. If she had this power, it died with her."

"She might be dead, but there are others out there. I'm one of them. It's called blood magic. I would never attempt this, but I'm not the only witch from a strong bloodline on this planet."

"What does it mean if someone has converted another into a wolf shifter?"

"It means we won't be the only wolf shifter bloodline out there. There would be a new race if one doesn't already exist as we speak."