He leaned over the scope again and forced himself to examine the sample objectively.
There were signs of systemic response inCassandra’sblood.Herinflammatory markers had risen and so had her arousal-linked hormones.Thebite wound on her arm, if he tested it again, would likely show increased activity.Shemight not feel ill yet, but she would soon feel something.
Heat, perhaps…restlessness…aching…need.
And because the virus was following the same pathway as the anti-viral response, denying the need might worsen her symptoms.Orit might slow the reaction and allow theHungervirus to adapt unchecked.
He needed more data—of course he did—healwaysneeded more data.
But he also needed to warn her.
Severin saved the test results to the secure file and pulled up the projected viral model.Thehologram shimmered to life above the lab table, a twisting black-and-red structure with branching tendrils.Heoverlaid theVisskouspathway in yellow—mouth, appetite center, aggression response.ThenRavik’sin blue—olfactory centers,BeastKindredinstinct, mate-recognition distortion.Finally, with a hesitation he could not quite explain, he overlaidCassandra’sin green.
The green pathway bloomed through the reproductive and endocrine systems.Itbypassed the alimentary tract completely-no stomach or teeth or hunger in the ordinary sense.Itwas pure sexual need.
The hologram pulsed softly, three colors twisting around the central viral core.Severinstared at it.Visskoushunger devoured.Ravik’shunger claimed.Cassandra’shunger sought union.
A shiver went through him.TheHungerViruswas trying to turn her into something.NotanInfected—not as theVisskousunderstood it but something else…
A living convergence point.Afemale whose body could pull togetherBeastimmune markers,BloodKindredessence, and her own unstable human endocrine shield to create a cure no laboratory could synthesize.
A cure that required intimacy to activate.
Severin closed his eyes briefly.
“Goddess preserve me,” he murmured.“Whathave we found?”
And whatever it was, could he use it to make a cure that would bringRavikall the way back to normal so they could all go home to theMotherShip?
A soft sound in the doorway made his head snap up.
Cassandra was standing there, one hand on the frame, her cheeks flushed and her hair slightly mussed.Ravikloomed behind her, now thankfully wearing loose sleep trousers, though his huge body was still bare from the waist up.Hisgolden eyes were clearer than they had been before, but there was still a faint haze at the edges.
Cassandra’s gaze moved fromSeverin’sface to the hologram hovering above the table.
“What?”she demanded.“Whyare you looking like that?”
Severin hesitated…which was apparently the wrong thing to do because her eyes narrowed.
“Severin?”Shemade his name a question.
He rose slowly, buying himself one more second to think.
There was no gentle way to say it—no way to make it sound less invasive or less absurd.Butshe deserved the truth, and he had promised himself he wouldn’t treat her like a specimen again.
“What you’re seeing is a virus map—or actually three maps overlayed on each other.I’vefound something,” he said.
“Well, clearly.”Shecrossed her arms over her breasts, then seemed to realize the gesture pushed them up under the red silk nightgown and quickly dropped her hands again.Theflush on her cheeks deepened.“Isit bad?”
“Not…exactly,”Severinhedged.
She frowned.
“That’s not exactly a reassuring answer coming from a scientist.”
Ravik’s hand settled gently on her shoulder.
“Sev?”he rumbled.“Whatis wrong withCassie?”
