Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Vero grabbed Silas by the arm and helped him to a chair. “What’s going on?”
Silas shook his head, sweat beading on his brow. “I feel dizzy. My head hurts. My stomach’s churning like crazy, and I think—hell, I think my brain’s swelling.”
Fizzlewick threw up his hands. “I don’t know what’s causing this.”
“Figure it out,” Vero snapped. “Run tests. Ask questions. Do something. I need answers.”
As if on cue, Vero’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, his irritation mounting when he saw a text from Lukas: LYRICA WANTS TO VISIT A FRIEND. MAEVE CALLED IN EARLIER SAYING THAT HER MATE HAS FALLEN ILL.
Vero’s jaw tightened as he slipped the phone back into his pocket. Was Lyrica feeling okay? Was there a new illness now threatening his fragile, still possibly human, sweet mate? He had to see for himself. “I have to go,” he told Fizzlewick, turning toward the door. “Figure out what’s going on. I’ll be back in thirty minutes.”
Before Fizzlewick could respond, the door swung open again, and three more soldiers stumbled inside, their faces pale and their movements sluggish.
Vero stopped, staring in disbelief. “Did you all eat the same thing? Have you been in the same area?”
One of the soldiers, Lance, turned to the side and vomited green bile into the snow just outside the doorway.
“Gross,” Buclaw muttered, stepping around him as he staggered inside.
“We’ve got three more,” Vero called to Fizzlewick. “Find out what they ate, where they’ve been, and lock this down. Now.”
Fizzlewick nodded, already moving to assist the new arrivals.
Vero’s hands clenched into fists as he stepped back outside. The cold air hit his face, doing little to cool the fire raging within him. His thoughts turned immediately to Lyrica. What if she’d eaten whatever was rotten? Or even worse, poisoned?
The fear that shot through him was unlike anything he’d felt before. For most of his life, he’d only been responsible for himself—or for Paxton, once Vero had made his choice about loyalty. But this was different. This was absolute.
She was his mate, his everything, and he would burn the world down to keep her safe.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Lyrica tried to hide her discomfort as she poured herself a travel mug of coffee and carefully balanced a plate of donuts she’d snagged from the kitchen. The new chef had created incredible pastries, and she wanted a chance to talk with him more, but he’d left the kitchen without leaving a note.
Her entire body felt sore and well-used. There wasn’t an inch that Vero hadn’t kissed, bitten, or claimed the night before. Not to mention spanked. She wanted to be angry, but her body felt too deliciously satisfied. Yet it hurt to move even a little.
She had finally given him the words he wanted by agreeing to take safety precautions at all times, and now she felt more vulnerable than ever. Her heart was definitely involved, but he was overbearing and bossy, and she didn’t want to like that. She didn’t want to find security in that. And yet…she had never felt safer.
Did she want to be mated as a Kurjan? Did it even matter? Probably not physically, but to Vero, it mattered. Could she take that risk with her heart? Or was it already too late?
The door swung open, and there Vero stood, his towering frame filling the doorway. “Where are you going?”
She glanced at Lukas, who looked down at the checkerboard between Jonathan and him. A sheen of sweat covered his brow. “Tattletale,” she muttered under her breath.
Lukas’s ears turned red, but he didn’t respond.
“I’m going to visit Maeve and take her donuts,” Lyrica said, lifting her chin. “She called in and said that Ralstad is sick. She’s worried, and I want to check on them both.”
Amusement flickered in Vero’s blue eyes. “I’ll take you because I want to check on Ralstad. But ditch the donuts, and nobody eat anything until we figure out why some of the soldiers are getting sick. My guess is that we have a food poisoning situation.”
She hastily slipped the donut tray onto the bar shelf. “Can Kurjans get food poisoning?”
“Not often,” Vero said, glancing at Lukas. “How are you guys feeling?”
Lukas shrugged, planting a hand on his stomach. “Not great.”
Jonathan grimaced. “Not sure.”
“Go see the doctor and tell him everything you’ve eaten recently. There has to be a common food.” Vero’s gaze narrowed on Lyrica. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine.” She patted her hair into place. “But I haven’t eaten anything yet today.” She’d been counting on having a donut at Maeve’s and reluctantly put her mug next to the donuts, which still looked delicious. She shuffled toward him, grabbing her coat off the sofa and shrugging into it. Checking out Lukas’s pale face, she frowned and followed Vero outside into the biting cold. The freshly shoveled walkway crunched under her boots as she carefully made her way to the UTV.