Severin had spent the past three months watching the strongest male he had ever known slip piece by piece into silence and hunger and fog.Heshould have been overjoyed to see him standing here—speaking, teasing, responding like himself again.
And hewas—the relief was so intense it almost hurt.
But underneath the joy was something else—something colder and sharper.SomethingSevhad no wish to examine too closely.
BecauseRavikwas looking atCassandraas though she was light after months of darkness.
AndCassandra, despite her fear and exasperation and all her sharp-edged protests, was looking back at the bigBeastKindredas though she had forgotten for a moment that she was supposed to be afraid.Asthough she might be feeling something…
Severin looked away and forced himself to focus on the science—that was safer.Heticked off the facts in his head.
The anti-viral had failed under the scope.Ravikhad regressed after leavingCassandra’spresence.Hehad sought her out—guided by scent—and once he held her and inhaled deeply, his cognition returned almost instantly.Thewhite film had receded from his eyes and his speech had markedly improved.Hismemory had sharpened—he’d remembered aboutSevburning the mash and that had been months ago.Also, social awareness had reasserted itself.
There had to be a reason for all that and it plainly wasn’t the serum.
It washer—Cassandra.
Or more precisely, it was something her body was producing—some volatile compound carried in her scent.Pheromonal, perhaps.Maybeendocrine-driven, since she was female and that was one of their primary hormones?Hedidn’t know enough about human physiology to speculate further than that.
All he knew was that somehowCassandra’sscent had cut through the fog.Ithad not merely attractedRavik—it had called him back from the brink.
“Severin?”Cassandrasaid warily and he realized he was staring at her in what was probably a most disconcerting way—like she was a science experiment.
She shifted inRavik’sarms, pulling away a little andSevsaw her as a woman instead.
The wet red silk clung to her soft curves and her cheeks flushed a becoming pink.Herhair was damp whereRavikhad buried his face in it, and several strands clung to her throat.Shelooked exhausted, frightened, annoyed, and alive in a way that made his fangs ache with sudden, inexplicable sharpness.Notonly that, but his shaft was getting hard too.
He had to make himself look away from her luscious body at once.
“I need samples,” he blurted.
Cassandra’s eyes narrowed.
“Samples of what?Youalready drew my blood.”
“I know, butIneed more.AlsoIneed samples of your hair, skin, breath condensate, perhaps a cheek swab for some epithelial cells?—”
“No.”
The word cracked through the kitchen like a slap.
Sev stopped talking and looked at her in surprise.
“No?”he asked, frowning.
“No.”
Cassandra pulled back fromRavik—not far, because theBeastKindred’sarms were still around her—but enough to lookSeverindirectly in the eyes.
“No more samples tonight.Nomore needles.Nomore stripping, swabbing, sniffing, scrubbing, poking, prodding, or whatever else you have in mind.Iknow you’re trying to save your friend andIknow you’re trying to cure the zombie virus and that’s all very noble and important, butIam a person—nota walking test tube in a slutty red nightgown and my eyes are uphere, please.”
Severin flinched internally, though he kept his face still.Hiseyes had wandered downward again and he forced them back to her face.
The curvy little human was right again, he realized—it was becoming a rather inconvenient habit on her part.
“You’re right,” he said stiffly, because a true male admitted his errors.
Her suspicious expression faltered.
