Page 231 of The Curse Trilogy

His front presses against my back as he looks over my shoulder, and I’m forced to swallow hard enough for him to hear it. I just pray he’s distracted enough not to notice my chills.

“The blood you intercepted was three shades darker than this blood. The blood you found was full blood, not human.”

“How do you know?” Clay asserts.

“Because I’ve become rather acquainted with a full blood’s drip. I know the color well,” I sizzle out, and Brazen’s smile returns as his eyes burn daringly into mine.

Hale’s breaths shift to pained, and I resume my explanation. “The blood the doctor tested was human, diluted blood.”

“Who the fuck swapped it?” Hale growls.

“I don’t know, but it was done after it was tagged and vaulted. This picture shows the full blood packs in the vault,” I mumble.

“Who had access to the lab once the blood was vaulted?” Brazen asks.

“Only Campbell. He’s the only one with a vault access code besides myself and Nicholas. I can pull up the logs from here, but I can assure you neither of our access codes were used,” Clay utters in disgust while pulling out a screen from his briefcase.

His fingers swipe rapidly across the surface before he punches in a code, and then he presses a button on our room remote that drops a screen from the ceiling to project his findings on a larger surface.

“From then until now, Campbell’s code was the only one used,” he sighs out, and we see his name on the log more than once.

“It probably took multiple trips to smuggle that much blood out. I’m sure that’s why it smelled so pure. There would be no reason to dilute it,” I exasperate.

Then he pulls up video footage from the surveillance cameras, and we all shake our heads in disbelief as the doctor proves his treachery.

“Why bring in the blood from a full blood’s vein?” Hale grumbles.

“We’re so fucking stupid,” Brazen spews as he runs to the bedroom to pull on a shirt.

“Why?” I prompt.

“Because of the damn Rising attack. Full bloods go mad trying to find their humans when they ingest undiluted blood, but it takes days to reach that point. If a human ingests our blood, their antibodies fight the virus. If we inject it directly into their veins, then they become infected,” he rambles.

“I don’t need a science lesson, I need to know why we’re stupid,” I grouse.

“Because, if a human ingests our blood, it’s a calling. It’s as if they’re begging us to find them and strike their veins. In the past, this method has been used by humans in order to force one of us to change them before their time. It has been a buried secret for centuries due to several infectious outbreaks. Someone else knows though.

“Those humans at Selma ingested the Rising’s blood. It drove them to seek their human callers, and they were damn near insane. I should have known when the feeling faded for the sobering fool you interrogated before he killed himself. He reached the suicidal phase that would have passed within minutes if he had just held on. The humans aren’t like us. The acids in their stomach eventually destroy the blood. Our stomachs - hybrid and full blood alike - are acid free because we burn all the food, drink, or blood we take in and use it for energy only… not waste. The acid disruption kills the craving for a blood fuck, and most times, the human never even feels the effects. My question is, what group of humans ingested it and why?”

“They didn’t do it on purpose,” I murmur as my eyes widen while staring at the footage still on the screen.

The doctor is ripping open the bags and pouring the blood into the human’s food grinders.

“They fucking wanted that blood to get inside the compound. I did exactly what they fucking wanted,” Hale growls. “Why couldn’t I tell it was from a full blood’s vein?”

“Because it smells differently when it’s outside a vein. They knew that. It’s no different from a human’s blood the moment it’s extracted. This isn’t your fault,” I soothe. “We have to call Hershian, and pray that food hasn’t been consumed yet. Otherwise, we’re going to have to get ready to fight.”

“Fuck,” Hale screeches while rushing out of the room, and Clay immediately jumps on his phone while following him.

“Good work, baby,” Brazen murmurs while grabbing his keys.

“I think we made a pretty good team,” I smolder out, and he stops momentarily while staring into my eyes.

“Tell me it’s me you want and not him,” he strains out, and I feel a stab of pain shoot through me.

Hale cheated. Hale cheated. He doesn’t love me. He doesn’t love me.

“Brazen, I love you. I know our relationship is pretty fucked up, but I love you. I don’t blame you though if this is too much to handle. I don’t have the right to ask you to be understanding of something my own breed doesn’t even understand.”