Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 159487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 159487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
“So Cassie needs us both to incubate a cure inside her tits,” Ravik said rudely. “In other words, you want to share her again. Why don’t you just go fucking bite everyone aboard the Mother Ship instead? That’s more your fucking style, isn’t it?”
“You know, Commander Sylvan asked me about that.” Two spots of color were burning on Severin’s cheekbones, but he kept his chin high and held Ravik’s golden eyes with his own as he talked. “He wasn’t sure how I was able to bite you and cure you of the Hunger Virus, since a male Blood Kindred’s fangs only get sharp enough to bite someone he loves.”
Ravik just looked at him, but Severin didn’t look away.
“I care about you, Ravik,” he said in a low voice. “More than anyone else in the universe—with the possible exception of Cassandra, now that she’s come into our lives. If I didn’t care for you, I couldn’t have cured you. I’m sorry that it made you hate me, but—”
“I don’t fucking hate you,” Ravik interrupted, frowning. “But I can’t be sharing a mate with you either, Sev. You know how my people feel about that.”
“The same way mine do,” Severin said calmly. “I know it’s forbidden in both our cultures—only Twin Kindred share mates. But I’m asking you to come with me and Cassandra—if she consents to go—to Cherubin Three in order to make a vaccine so we can all get back to our normal lives. And yes, there may be some ‘sharing’ involved. If you want to end our friendship afterwards, I’ll understand. But for now, I’m asking you to help make this cure available to everyone—including the uninfected Visskous still trapped on Visslick Prime.”
“Fuck them—they threw Cassie out into the Dead Zone,” Ravik growled. His eyes narrowed. “And fuck you if you think you can guilt me into sharing again. I’m in my right mind now and I’m not going to do it!”
“Not even for me?”
Cassie had been silent, just letting them talk it out. This was the first time they’d talked since the three of them were quarantined—she knew because Severin had told her—and she wanted to let them get their feelings out. But she couldn’t help interjecting now.
“What?” Ravik asked and both of them looked at her through the clear barrier.
She took a deep breath, trying to hold back the tears that threatened just behind her eyes.
“I said, would you do it for me, Ravik?” she repeated. “Because the need inside me is…is tearing me apart.” She put a hand to her heart, unable to stop the tears from coming now. “You don’t know what it’s been like, being separated from the two of you,” she said, and her voice came out sounding broken. “I feel so empty inside…so thirsty…”
She stopped then, because she couldn’t go on. The sobs overtook her, tearing out of her chest from the deepest, loneliest place inside her.
“I just…just want to feel the two of you holding me again,” she managed to get out at last. “Please, I need you…need you both.”
She buried her face in her hands, hating to be so weak in front of them. But she couldn’t help herself. The need was riding her hard—like a cruel master with a whip. She hadn’t known how much she needed both of the big Kindred on the other side of the clear barrier until she was separated from their touch…from their scents.
All this time she’d been holding out hope that they would be released from quarantine and allowed to be together again but now Ravik was saying it was never going to happen and she just couldn’t take it!
“Gods, sweetheart—I’m so sorry,” she heard Severin say. Ravik was silent, though.
He probably got up and left, Cassie thought, sobbing harder. He doesn’t want anything to do with this because he’s so damn scared of looking gay or sharing or whatever the problem is!
The thought made her mad—mad enough to look up and she saw, to her surprise, that the big Beast Kindred was still there, sitting on a stool beside Severin on the other side of the barrier.
“You know, I don’t know why you won’t even try,” she snapped at him. “Are you that afraid of being anywhere near another guy—even your own best friend?”
“It’s not just being near me sexually that’s bothering him,” Severin said in a low voice. “You don’t understand the stigma around sharing a mate—especially in the Beast Kindred culture. It’s even worse than being a lover of males—though it carries that connotation too,” he added.
She shook her head.
“But Twin Kindred share mates all the time.”
“Because they are biologically programmed to—they can’t physically reproduce otherwise,” Severin said. “Also, because they’re brothers, they don’t touch each other sexually—they only tend to their mate.”
“Oh, so no one thinks they’re gay, I guess,” Cassie said dully. She glared at Ravik. “It’s the twenty-first century, you know. People are fine with other people being gay now. Well, most people are, anyway,” she amended. “And if you’re so afraid of sharing me with Severin that you’ll let me suffer and refuse to help make the vaccine—”