Page 75 of Mated to the Vikings

“Okay. You’re right.” Crouching down one last time, I kissed Erik’s lips. They were cold while the rest of him was burning with a high fever. If we were lucky enough to bring him out of this, he could be braindead.

We worked for at least two hours nonstop, testing and retesting, Rowena reading over details of the experiments while I managed to isolate the disease. There was no doubt the drugs used in the transformation had increased the timing, but there was something else, perhaps what might be considered a miracle. I could only pray.

“I think that’s all we can do,” Rowena said quietly. We were both exhausted, uncertain of anything.

“What if we’re wrong?”

“Then they will die but perhaps without losing their minds.”

I tipped my head, my heart breaking from the sight of Erik. There were no signs the sedative was wearing off, but I could swear his body had continued to change, becoming stockier, more robust. He was a true Viking. He was my Viking. “We need to inject Erik now.”

“Are you sure about that?” Rowena asked.

“I’m not certain of anything, but if he wakes up, we won’t be able to control him. Hand me the syringe.” I knew she was hesitating, debating every decision. They were all against us. “Rowena, please. I love this man. I know it sounds crazy to you, but we’re meant to be together.”

She finally walked forward, easing the vial into my hand. “You’re going to need to explain everything to me at some point.”

“I will.” I took purposeful steps toward him, praying to some God above that this would work. If not, there was nothing else we could do. His veins were already so exposed, but I could swear the blood was pumping slowly. My hands were shaking but I managed to inject his vein. Now, all we could do was wait. After taking a step back, I glared at the syringe.

“I’ll keep a watch on what the blood cells are doing. Shouldn’t Brexin have returned by now?” Rowena’s question held a tone of fear.

There was no sense of time in this place, or even on this planet. Days had gone by. Long days. “Let me see if I can find him.” I dropped the syringe and walked toward the door. At least the soldier could find out what was going on. I bit back a gasp, a shudder of fear rocketing into my system. The soldier was dead, shot by what appeared to be a very human bullet. I grabbed for the weapon I’d been given, retreating back into the room at the same time.

“What’s wrong?” Rowena asked, concentrating on the gun in my hand.

I shook my head, saying nothing but forcing myself to advance once again. “I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t!”

I didn’t wait, sliding into the corridor and against the wall. Everything was so damn dark, the lighting barely highlighting more than a few feet on either side.

Tap. Tap.

The sound drew my attention. I gripped the weapon in both hands, stepping over the fallen soldier. “Brexin?”

A single laugh, deep and throaty cut through the silence.

“Run!” Brexin’s voice filtered through followed by the sounds of footsteps.

I pointed the gun in that direction, taking several deep breaths.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, sweetheart. That is unless you want to kill one of your lovers.”

I blinked several times, uncertain of who I was seeing. As his face came into the light, I gasped. “Samuel.”

“Thought I was dead?” Samuel laughed and tightened his grip around Brexin’s throat. I could see clear gashes on Brexin’s face where he’d been struck repeatedly.

“You bastard. You’re a part of this. Oh, my God.”

“You were such a little fool. Do you honestly think that Dr. Forrester would allow you to come on this trip by yourself?” Samuel dragged Brexin closer, a gun cocked in my direction.

There was no way to get a clear shot without hitting Brexin. While he was groggy, his eyes were focused on me. He struggled to get out of Samuel’s hold, only to be strangled until he stopped. I was taken aback how profoundly this affected me, my heart racing and the adrenaline flowing. Nothing could happen to Brexin.

“You didn’t think I knew everything about you? The city. The stupid aliens. The love fest you have going on?” Samuel hissed, shaking his head. “You were tougher than we thought. I’ll give you that.”

“What the hell are you talking about? Where’s Kevin?” I calculated the distance between us, taking two cautious steps.

“What’s going on?” Rowena gasped after moving into the hall.