At last, the worst of the burning eased.Severinremained bent over the table, breathing hard, sweat cooling along the back of his neck.Hisfangs were fully descended and aching, but the pain had settled into a deep, pulsing pressure in the glands at their roots.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and saw a faint smear of gold-tinged blue fluid—his essence.AndGods, it was altered already.Orcorrupted—there was no way to know, not yet.
He needed time.Thecompound would have to move through his system fully, bind to his essence glands if his theory was correct, and either stabilize there or tear him apart from the inside.
By morning, he would be able to test it.Bymorning, he would know whether he had become the delivery system they needed…or whether he had signed his own death warrant.
Severin sealed the remaining samples and locked the files.Hismovements were slower now, less precise than usual, but he forced himself to clean the station properly.Ifhe lost consciousness later—or worse became one of theInfected—he didn’t wantCassandraorRavikwalking into a contaminated lab.
The thought made his heart fist in his chest but he tried to push it away.Therewas no point in worrying now—he couldn’t take back the injection.Therewas nothing to do but wait and hope and pray to theGoddessthat this worked.
But even if it did work and he was able to save them both…he might still lose his best friend.
He had savedRavikbefore andRavikhad saved him more times than either of them could count.Theyhad been boys together, then warriors, then partners in the field—two halves of a team that just worked.
Severin knewRavik’stemper, his humor, his stubborn courage, and his reckless loyalty.Heknew the way the bigBeastKindredpretended not to understand complicated science but remembered every dosage of every medicationSeverinhad ever given him.Heknew the sound of his laugh and the weight of his hand onSeverin’sshoulder after a battle.
And nowSeverinknew the soundRavikmade whenCassandratook them both in her mouth…knew the feeling of his shaft rubbing against his best friend’s shaft as both of them took pleasure with the same woman.Theyhad sharedCassandrain waysBeastandBloodKindredwere never meant to share.
Even with theTenebrianwoman, the two of them had taken turns with her.Shehad begged to have them both inside her at once, butRavikhad refused.Thoughthey’d all three been in the same bed together, they had taken her one at a time.Evendrunk, the bigBeastKindredhad remembered himself enough to know what the two of them shouldn’t do together.
Severin’s face heated at the memory of pressing his shaft to his friend’s…of feelingCassandra’ssweet little tongue caressing them both.Thatmemory should have felt like shame.Instead, it felt like the opening of some forbidden door he had spent years pretending he couldn’t see.
Enough—he couldn’t think this way anymore.
Severin closed his eyes briefly and forced himself to stand.Heneeded to go back to them.Ifthis was his last night he had as himself, he didn’t want to spend it alone in the lab.Heneeded the comfort of their warm bodies and the sound of their breathing.Heneeded them both, just asCassandrahad needed both him andRavikearlier.
The hallway seemed longer than usual as he made his way back toward the mating chamber.Hislegs felt steady enough, but there was a strange heaviness in his limbs, as though his blood had become thicker.Everyfew steps, his fangs ached and a faint pulse moved through his jaw.Hekept one hand on the wall, not because he needed it, he told himself, but because the bunker corridor was narrow and he was tired.
It was a transparent lie, but there was no one there to call him on it.
When he reached the door to the mating chamber, he paused.Inside, the amber lights were low.Cassandrawas asleep inRavik’sarms, her curvy body tucked against theBeastKindred’schest, her hair spilling over his forearm.Ravikwas awake, or half-awake.Hisgolden eyes were clearer than they had been earlier, though still faintly hazy at the edges.
He looked atSeverinand for a moment, neither male spoke.
ThenRaviklifted one hand slightly fromCassandra’ship and reached toward him.
The gesture was simple—come here.
Severin’s throat tightened and for a moment he considered refusing.Thesafest place for him, if the compound went wrong, would be away from them.Preferablybehind a sealed door with restraints nearby and a sterilized blade in case he had to end the threat before it reached them.
ButCassandrastirred in her sleep and murmured something that sounded almost like his name…and that was enough to break him.
Severin crossed the room and climbed carefully onto the bed.Helay onCassandra’sother side, facing her andRavik, close enough to feel their warmth but not so close that he crowded them.
Ravik watched him with those half-clear golden eyes, studying him in the dim light.
“You’re tired,” he rumbled softly, sounding more himself than he had in ages.
“Yes,”Severinadmitted.“Alittle.”
“Come closer.”Ravikgestured for him.“Helpme hold her.”
Severin hesitated.Ifhe was still offering to hold the woman they both wanted between them, then it was clear his friend wasn’t all the way back yet.
Ravik’s brow furrowed and he frowned atSeverin’shesitation.
“Come on—Cassieneeds us close.”
