Page 45 of Dark Dragon’s Mate

But none of this would work if she couldn’t help him with his wound. It was a constant reminder of what Ragnor had done to him.

She knew it made him feel weak, and feeling weak was the hardest thing for an alpha shifter to deal with. It ate away at their souls.

Like the wound ate away at his body.

After seeing Emon, she’d spent the rest of the day analyzing the tissue samples while he was off dealing with the business of his domain.

Apparently, she’d been wrong in thinking he spent his days snuggling a hoard and brooding. He actually worked for a living, running his tiny little country. Well, okay. He did brood during his breaks.

She hoped one day he wouldn’t need to do that anymore.

She’d put the samples through every test she knew, comparing them to the tests she’d done on the toxin itself, still looking for the missing piece.

Now she peered through the microscope, trying to figure out what was nagging at her. Within the tissue, the toxin was reacting less like a chemical substance and more like ultra-resistant bacteria or parasite. Worse—something that was not only alive, but that didn’t seem to have a natural life cycle. It just kept replicating forever, feeding on its host. Like a cancer.

Unless…

Just as a glimpse of an idea flashed through her mind, something raised the hairs on the back of her neck, her wolf-senses going into overdrive. Danger, hiding in the shadows.

She froze, almost holding her breath, listening with her whole body. There was no sound, not even someone breathing, but there was that ghostly sense of presence she’d felt before.

She headed quietly toward the door, instinctively keeping to the perimeter of the room, so there was always a wall at her back. “Is someone there?” she called out. She stopped moving, listening again.

Nothing. And yet… something.

“Hello?” she called, more softly.

“Yeah, hey there.” The voice was so loud and normal it startled her. She heard footsteps in the hall, then Tristan appeared in the doorway.

“Oh, it’s you.” Relief spread through her.

“You sound disappointed. Were you expecting someone more interesting? Bigfoot? Or your dragon prince, maybe?” He smirked at her.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Tristan looked at her more closely, frowning. “What’s up? You look spooked.”

She shook her head. “Nothing. I just got this weird sensation, like someone was watching me. Kind of freaked me out.”

She looked down at her arms. She still had goosebumps.

Tristan lifted his head and sniffed the air. “I don’t scent anyone, except for you.”

“Me either. Just too much time alone in the spooky castle, I guess.”

She went up to him and pulled the collar of his shirt down, checking the wounds on his neck. They were still visible, but fading fast. “How are you doing?” she asked.

He put his hand over hers. “I’m fine.”

She turned her hand and squeezed his. “I am so, so sorry,” she told him.

“I told you last night. It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay! Tristan, I nearly killed you.”

“But you didn’t.”

“Only because Emon was there.” It still made her sick to think about how close she’d come.