Jessa listened, horrified. That poor woman. She’d suffered
, unknowing, fighting to bring her baby into the world.
“You can fix it?” Finn question was flat. “Tell me you can fix it.”
“Yes,” Ellen spoke quickly, smiling at Jessa. “But we don’t agree on the answer.”
“Why?” Finn asked, agitated.
Hollis’s focused only on Finn. “I’m a scientist, Finn, you know that. I study, analyze, dissect, and know before I do a goddamn thing. Her idea is—”
“The only way to ensure she’ll live. That the baby will live.” Ellen sat back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest.
Finn’s hand tightened on Jessa’s. Hollis focused on his hands, closing around hers. Warm, strong, secure. She drew in a deep breath.
“What are the ideas?” she asked. “I’d like to know my options.”
“Termination,” Hollis said. “That would be the easiest option.”
Ellen growled.
Jessa swallowed, glancing at Finn. He was staring at the table, his jaw clenched, everything about him rigid.
“The transfusions were right. The blood was wrong. Wolf’s blood, your blood, Finn. Ellen and I agree on that. Your blood is the key to the bloodline.”
“Won’t that affect Jessa?” Finn asked. “Won’t that turn her?”
“Not while she’s pregnant,” Hollis said.
“A werewolf doesn’t shift when she’s pregnant,” Ellen explained. “Too dangerous for the pup. Full moons are hard, fever, nausea, weakness—but not change.”
“Sounds like you, Hollis,” Anders tried to tease.
Everyone stared at him.
“The dialysis was also sound,” Hollis said. “Cleaning the blood of impurities, preventing her body from getting toxic. But the last few weeks I’d recommend she remain connected to the machine—”
Finn released her, standing and crossing the room. He ran a hand through his hair then over his face.
“She’ll be alive,” Hollis added.
“Or you bite her,” Ellen. “Turn her now and never worry over her again.”
Jessa stared at Ellen, at the certainty in the woman’s eyes. She believed what she said.
“And the risk that the change would end the pregnancy?” Hollis asked. “If the pack hasn’t been able to breed, why would this be different?”
Ellen opened her mouth, looked at Finn, and closed it again. She sat back, shrugging. “It is.”
“What if you’re both wrong?” Finn asked. “What if—”
“What if the reason Cara was sick was because she wasn’t his mate?” Jessa asked. She knew Finn belonged to her. Their connection was irrefutable. Why wouldn’t that extend to a visible bond—healthy children? “Ellen, the women in your pack, the women that lost babies, were they mated? Or, pets, I believe they called them?”
Ellen frowned. “Some. I think.”
Hollis was studying her. “A relevant point, Jessa.”
Ellen nodded. “Maybe. Could it be so simple?”