Cassie was equal parts horny, irritated, and despairing.
Great—just great.Shewas having another horny zombie flare whileactualzombies were standing above them.Becauseofcourseshe was.Thatwas just the way her life was going lately.
TheInfectedabove them clicked again and made snuffling sounds, as though it was sniffing for prey.
Ravik went utterly still andSeverin’shand stayed overCassie’smouth, but his other hand found her glowing arm and covered the wound with his palm.Themoment he touched her there, heat rolled through her so sharply she almost whimpered.Butthe glow dimmed under his hand, as though his altered essence-scent was calming the reaction even through skin.
As he touched her, she felt the aching need that had been building slowly begin to ease—like a fire dimming to embers.Cassiefelt immediate relief…followed by another surge of fear as theInfectedshifted overhead, scraping claws against stone.
But she knew with absolute certainty that the twoKindredwith her wouldn’t let her come to harm if they could help it.Shefelt completely surrounded by their big, warm bodies which was incredibly comforting.
After what felt like an eternity, the pack of lizard zombies moved on, the hugeInfectedthat had been sniffing so near them bringing up the rear.
No one moved until the clicking faded into the mist.Butat last, when it was clear they weren’t coming back,Severinlowered his hand from her mouth.
Cassie drew in a shaky breath.
“Ihatethis planet,” she whispered.
“Agreed,”Severinsaid quietly.
Ravik looked down at her arm, his expression dark.
“Your arm was glowing.”
“Yes, thank you,Inoticed.”
“Did it hurt?”he wanted to know.
“No.”Sheswallowed.“Itwas…Iwas having the opposite problem.”
Ravik’s eyes flared.
“I thought you smelled hot, baby.Couldn’tfigure out why when there was a herd of fuckin’ zombies coming our way.”
“Well it wasn’t the zombies turning me on, if that’s what you’re implying,”Cassiesnapped.“It’sthe damnHungerVirus.Itmakes me crave sex and seed instead of living flesh, butIguess you don’t remember that.”
Ravik shook his head.
“No,Idon’t.Butwhen we get somewhere safeIexpect the two of you to fill me in on everything that’s been happening and what the fuck we’ve been doing together.”
Cassie exchanged a look withSeverin, whose jaw tightened.
“We don’t have time for this right now,” he said tightly.“Fearand proximity may be triggering the viral pathway in your body again,Cassandra.Weneed to keep moving before it worsens.”
Cassie raked a hand through her hair.
“You know,Imiss when my body only betrayed me with hot flashes.”
“I’m sure those were inconvenient as well,”Severinsaid.
“They were.Butnone of them tried to get me eaten by zombies becauseIwas glowing like a sexy infected flashlight.”
Ravik barked a laugh andSeverin’smouth twitched despite everything.
It helped lighten the mood…a little, anyway.
They moved on again, faster this time.Thecommunications tower was closer now, though still much too far forCassie’sliking.Itrose from a shelf of dark stone beyond the ravine, its base surrounded by broken fencing and shatteredVisskousequipment.Along access ladder ran up one side, leading toward a platform with dangling cables and a dish-shaped transmitter that looked partially intact.
