“The compoundItold you about,”Sevsaid impatiently.“It’sin my system now—I’mcarrying the cure.”
Cassie shook her head.
“I don’t get it.Ifit’s inside you, how do you give it to us?”
Severin took a deep breath.
“You might not like this but…I’llhave to bite you—both of you.Thecompound will be carried by my essence into your bloodstream and the cure will enter your body that way.”
Cassie had a curious, uncertain look on her face butRavikwas already backing away.
“Uh-uh, no.Idon’t think so,” he said, frowning.“Malesdon’t bite other males—you know that,Sev.Besides, you can only heal the woman you love with your essence—not another male.”
Sev immediately looked frustrated.
“I know that’s usually the way it works,” he said.“ButIbelieve in this caseI’llbe able to heal you both becauseIcare for you both.”
“Well,Icare for you too but as afriend,”Ravikemphasized.Hewould do just about anything for his best friend but lettingSevbite him was out of the question.
“You don’t understand—without the cure, you’re eventually going to slip back into the mental fog the virus causes!”Sevexclaimed.“You’reonly as coherent as you are now because we slept in the same room last night and my body was incubating the cure, which came out in my scent.”
Ravik frowned at him.
“What the fuck?Firstyou tell meIhave to be nearCassiebecause her scent is keeping me sane and now you’re saying it’syourscent?Andyou want to bite me?Idon’t think so—Ifeel just fine.”
“You only feel fine because of my scent!”Sevlooked really upset now—more upset thanRavikhad ever seen him.“Please,Idon’t want to lose you to the fog again!”he begged.“Youdon’t know what it’s been like these past three months—working on antiviral after antiviral only to see them all fail while watching you slip away, getting further and further from your right mind and any chance of the two of us ever getting home to theMotherShipagain.”
Ravik thought uneasily of the strange fog that seemed to cover his most recent memories.CouldSevbe onto something here?Buthe couldn’t just let his friend bite him—he fuckingcouldn’t.
“Well you can bite me if you want to,”Cassiesaid, frowning at both of them.Shelooked up atRavik.“Idon’t understand what the big deal is.BloodKindredbite their mates every day.Iknow—Iworked with some girls who were bonded to them.”
“Yes, they bite theirmates,”Ravikemphasized.“Doyou know what the bite of aBloodKindreddoes to you?”
“No—does it do something bad?”Cassieasked, looking uneasy.“Ithought it just caused pleasure.”
“It does—it makes you fuckingcome,”Ravikgrowled.“Youdon’t understand.Sevasking to bite me is like…like he asked to suck my cock.”
His face got hot when he said it, but it really was the closest comparison he could think of.
“Is that true?”Cassielooked atSev, whose face was also red.
“Yes, but it’s beside the point right now,” he insisted.“Thisis the only way to cure both of you—the only way we can all go home again!”
“I’m not going anywhere,”Ravikgrowled.“Youtwo go—Ican stay right here and live on the shitty lizard people planet and eat the shitty lizard people food forever ifIhave to.”
“Why do you always have to be sostubborn?”Sev’svoice had dropped to a low, frustrated growl.“Whywon’t you listen to me?I’mtelling you the scientific fact that?—”
And that was when the lights went out, plunging the whole bunker into darkness.
42
SEVERIN
The lights went out beforeSeverincould decide whether to throttleRavikor shake some sense into him.
The bunker was swallowed by absolute darkness.Thesteady hum of the ventilation system cut off at the same time, leaving a silence so sudden and complete thatSeverincould hearCassandra’ssharp intake of breath andRavik’slow, instinctive growl beside her.Everymuscle inSeverin’sbody went tight, his frustration withRavikvanishing beneath a cold, immediate rush of alarm as he realized something…
The lights weren’t coming back on and this wasnota simple power flicker.
