“Gods, no!” The Blood Kindred looked horrified. “I thought I checked them over so carefully! Didn’t she say they were extremely venomous?”
Kayla nodded, her throat tight.
“And…and she said there was no cure.”
“That can’t be right!” Sorin exclaimed. “There must be something we can do to help him! We can’t just…just lose him!”
A bitter, sarcastic little voice in Kayla’s head suggested that the Blood Kindred hadn’t been nearly so concerned about losing his friend a moment ago but now wasn’t the time for that. Now they had to think of a way to save Bron.
But there’s no antidote—Mother Pain said so, she thought. And she said a bite from a glass dragon would cause death within five minutes. What are we going to do?
“Listen, daughter—you know what to do,” a strong, feminine voice suddenly spoke in her ear.
“What?” Kayla looked around wildly. Was she having auditory hallucinations brought on by stress? Under the circumstances, it wouldn’t be surprising.
“This is no hallucination, daughter,” the voice spoke in her ear again. Apparently Kayla was the only one who could hear it because Sorin wasn’t reacting to it at all. He was too busy patting Bron’s cheek and begging him to breathe, damnit, breathe.
“What should I do?” she asked out loud, hoping that the voice could hear her.
“Listen: I gave my children, the Blood Kindred, the ability to heal their mates with a bite,” the voice told her. “The Blood Kindred warrior must inject his essence into the Beast Kindred quickly or all will be lost. You must convince him to do it.”
Then the voice and the warm, feminine presence which had come with it, was gone as abruptly as it had appeared. But now Kayla knew what to do.
“Bite him,” she said to Sorin.
“What?” He looked up at her blankly, his face a mask of misery and fear for Bron. “What are you talking about?”
“Bite him—you have to bite him,” she repeated firmly. “You have to inject your essence into him and heal him—it’s the only way to save him.”
Sorin frowned. “I cannot bite another male! Short of entering him with my shaft, that is the most overtly sexual thing I could do!”
“I don’t give a damn!” Kayla exclaimed. “Bite him—do it now!”
“It wouldn’t do him any good even if I tried,” Sorin protested. “A Blood Kindred can only heal his mate with his bite—not another male.”
“Bron is your mate—we both are,” Kayla argued. “Don’t you remember we talked about forming a bond –at least a partial one—when the three of us were together the other night?”
Sorin looked uncomfortable. “Well, I guess it’s possible we might have some slight connection,” he conceded at last.
“It’s more than possible—it’s true!” Kayla exclaimed. “Look—he’s stopped breathing and his lips are turning blue. Please, Sorin—I know you don’t want to lose Bron anymore than I do. Bite him—please—at least try.”
At last Sorin nodded.
“All right, I’ll try. But I doubt it will help.”
Baring his fangs, he took Bron’s muscular forearm in his hand and, lifting it to his mouth, bit down on the thick blue vein running just under the surface of the Beast Kindred’s tan skin.
The effect was immediate.
Bron took a ragged, gasping breath and his eyes, which had drifted closed, popped open and blazed to life.
“What…” He choked, his deep voice hoarse. “What the fuck, Sorin?” he gasped at the Blood Kindred who still had his fangs buried in his friend’s arm. “What did you do to me? Feels like you gave me…a shot right to the shaft. I couldn’t breathe a minute ago and now I’m…” He coughed again. “Hard as a fucking rock.”
Kayla found she was laughing and crying at the same time.
“You saved him,” she said to Sorin, who had withdrawn his fangs and was smiling tentatively at the big Beast Kindred. “You did it, Sorin—your essence saved him!”
“I don’t understand how but I think you’re right,” the Blood Kindred said slowly. “Still, we should get him to the med center as quickly as possible.”
“And seal up that damn specimen bag,” Kayla said. “The glass dragon went back into it—I saw it. We don’t need it getting out again and biting anyone else.”
“Agreed.” Sorin nodded. “You seal the bag and I’ll call for help.”
“Wait,” Bron gripped his friend’s hand, keeping Sorin close to him. “Don’t…don’t go,” he said hoarsely. “Need…want…”
“Of course, friend of my heart.” Sorin’s voice was gentler than it had been in a long time, Kayla thought as she got up and carefully sealed the specimen bag. “I won’t leave you. I’ll stay right here until the med center transport gets to us.” He looked up at Kayla. “Leelah, could you—?”
“Already on it,” Kayla told him. Swiftly she grabbed a thin silver circlet of wire from its hook on the wall and jammed it down over her temples.
The think-me would allow her to communicate mentally with anyone on the ship, much like a Kindred’s bond with his mate allowed him to talk to her with mind-to-mind communication.
“Hello, Liv?” she said, speaking aloud as well as sending her thoughts for Sorin and Bron’s benefit. “This is Kayla. We’ve had an incident at the lab and we need transport for Bron to the med center STAT.”
Looking down at the two friends, who were still clasping hands on the lab floor, she felt her heart overflow with emotions—fear, relief, disbelief, uncertainty…Was Bron really all right? Had Sorin really been able to heal him? And what would happen to the three of them now?
She had no answers but she had one certainty—no matter what happened, they had to stay together—all three of them.
Twenty-Four
“Well, I have good news and bad news,” Commander Sylvan said, drawing up a chair to sit beside Bron’s bedside. He held a vid-chart in one hand and he was consulting it as he talked.
“Bad news first,” Kayla said instantly. She and Sorin were standing, one on either side of the big Beast Kindred’s bed. They were holding Bron’s hands for moral support and for once it seemed that she didn’t have to be touching both of them to keep from being hurt. It seemed to be enough that the two warriors were touching each other skin-to-skin while she was touching one of them.
“Well…they’re mixed together,” Sylvan said, frowning. He looked at Sorin. “The good news, Dr. Sorin, is that it appears that the, ahem, bite you gave Dr. Bron, has helped to neutralize some of the toxins in the glass dragon venom.” His cheeks went dark red as he spoke and Kayla realized that he was somewhat embarrassed. Which made sense—biting and injecting essence was an extremely sexual act for the Blood Kindred. So it was almost like Sorin was discussing his patient’s bedroom technique.
Sorin seemed to pick up on it too.
“I know it’s…unconventional for a male to bite another male,” he said steadily, his own face going red as well, though he kept his chin lifted high. “But it was the only way to save Bron’s life—I would do it again.”
“You may have to,” Sylvan said seriously. “Because the bad news is, not all the venom has been neutralized and the toxins are still building up in Bron’s blood. He’s going to be very sick again in a day or so at the latest.”
“Really?” Kayla felt her heart drop. “But we were so sure he was all right—he opened his eyes and perked up the minute Sorin bit him!”
“His immune system isn’t strong enough to completely neutralize the toxins,” Sylvan said. “We see this sometimes with unmated males—things that a mated male could withstand or fight off, they succumb to. There are a lot of theories about it but the prevailing idea is that the soul bond a male forms with his mate helps strengthen him physically as well as emotionally.”
“What if he was mated and bonded?” Sorin asked quietly. “Would he be able to neutralize the toxins then?”
Sylvan nodded thoughtfully.
&nbs
p; “That would probably help a great deal, yes. The soul bond would strengthen his immune system and help him”
“Then it’s settled.” Sorin took a deep breath. “Brother,” he said to Bron, “I want you and Kayla to be bonded. I renounce all claim on her and ask that the two of you be together.”
“What?” Kayla exclaimed at the same time Bron growled,
“No fucking way!”
“Listen to me,” Kayla said, glaring at the Blood Kindred. “I am not some object like your favorite microscope you can pass on to your best friend!”
“And there’s no way I’m bonding Kayla by myself,” Bron growled. “Not without you, friend of my heart.”
His words stunned Kayla and Sorin both to silence for a moment. Then Kayla looked at the big Beast Kindred uncertainly.
“Bron…did you just say what I thought you said? You want to…to share me with Sorin? Forever?”
“That’s how long a bonding lasts, doesn’t it?” Bron growled. “Yes, I fucking want to share.” He looked at Sorin. “Brother, being with Kayla without you just wouldn’t feel right…wouldn’t feel complete. You’re the third part of our pod, as those fucking Carnalians called it.”
“Bron is right,” Kayla chimed in. “We need you, Sorin! I don’t want to be with one of you without the other—please.”
“Well…” Sorin looked uncertain. “I’m not sure…”
“Is it the idea of us, uh, helping each other out, that’s holding you back?” Bron asked bluntly. “Because we don’t have to do that. It doesn’t have to be part of our relationship—we can just share Kayla.”
“It’s not that,” Sorin said stiffly, his cheeks going dark red. “In fact I think I like the idea of us, er, helping each other from time to time, to be honest, Bron.” He glanced at his best friend and then looked away. “Although I’ve never been able to admit it before I like…like being close to you.”
Bron gave him an easy smile. “I like being close to you too, Brother. And I love having Kayla between the two of us. But if it’s not the ‘helping’ holding you back, then what is it?”
“I don’t…” Sorin looked down to where he was gripping the big Beast Kindred’s hand tightly. “I don’t feel that I deserve the two of you. I was so quick to give up on us because of what Mother Pain showed us.” He looked at them seriously. “And I know the two of you felt the truth of her words as I did—if we do this, one or more of her predictions may still come true.”
“But one already did!” Bron exclaimed. “It was the one where Kayla was standing in the lab and crying while she held one of the Lust Blossoms in her hand—that’s what was happening right before that fucking glass dragon bit me.”
Sorin snapped his fingers. “You’re right! I remember thinking that she was wearing her favorite lab coat in that vision—and she was in the lab too, just before you collapsed.”
“But…” Kayla shook her head, feeling bewildered. “I thought those were things that were supposed to happen if we stayed together! The three of us were apart at that point!”
“Emotionally but not physically,” Sorin pointed out. “We were all—”
“In the lab together,” Bron finished for him. “Mother Pain must have been speaking literally—not figuratively.”
“Oh my God…” Kayla shook her head. “All that drama for nothing?”
“No—not for nothing,” Sorin said seriously. “It’s made me understand how much you mean to me—both of you.” He squeezed Bron’s hand and reached across the bed to take Kayla’s as well. “And you’re right—the three of us belong together.”
“So let’s make it happen,” Bron growled. He looked up at Sylvan, who had been standing in the background while they talked, a bemused expression on his face. “Hey, Commander Sylvan—how long before I can get out of here?”
“I’ll release you right away,” Sylvan said. “But if your…” He cleared his throat. “If your attempt at a cure doesn’t work, I’ll need you to come back to the med center at once.”
Kayla’s heart leapt into her throat.
“What do you mean if it doesn’t work?” she demanded. “Why wouldn’t it work?”
Sylvan held up his hands.
“It may—I hope it will, for all your sakes. But I have never heard of a female being able to bond with two Kindred at once except in the case of Twin Kindred. And they already have a bond between them, having been born with it.”
Kayla felt her stomach clench.
“So it might not work? Sorin and I might lose Bron after all? Or Bron and I might lose Sorin if we bond and he can’t join in?”
“I hope not,” Commander Sylvan said gently. “Please know that my thoughts and prayers are with you. What you will be attempting is certainly unconventional but I hope you can make it work.”
Kayla hoped so too—with all her heart. Because if the three of them couldn’t form a bond together, she was going to lose one or the other of her guys and she couldn’t stand that—she just couldn’t.
How are we going to manage this? she wondered uneasily. Can it actually be done?
She didn’t know but she was certain they had to try.
“All right, boys,” she said to the two of them. “Let’s get out of here. I don’t think we want to try this in a hospital bed. We need a little more, er, room.” Her cheeks got hot as she spoke but she held her head up. She didn’t care if it would look strange to everyone else for her to have one Beast Kindred and one Blood Kindred husband—she just wanted to keep both Bron and Sorin with her forever.
Oh please, she prayed. Let this work—let us stay together. She heard no answer but her heart lifted and she felt a renewed sense of determination. Somehow she would manage to bond with both of her men—she had to or she would lose them forever.
Twenty-Five
“Hey, what’s this?” Sorin stooped down and picked up a small blue box with the words For Kayla, Just in Case, printed on it in curving, feminine handwriting. It had been sitting at the base of the door to Kayla’s suite, like a present waiting for her to open it.
“I don’t know.” Kayla took it from him as she let them all into her suite. She couldn’t help thinking about the last time the three of them had been in here—with the guys trying to get her to come out of the shower while she wanted to die because she felt like she’d been too sexual with them.
Now I want to do a whole lot more than we did during that first needing episode, she thought. Now we’re going all the way, as we used to say in high school. God, I hope it works!
“What’s in the box?” Bron asked as the door slid shut behind them. He looked a little pale, Kayla thought, but otherwise fine. It was hard to believe that he still had the glass dragon toxins building up in his system.
Don’t think about it, she ordered herself. We’re going to fix it—as soon as we all bond he’ll be strong enough to heal.
She hoped and prayed, anyway.
“I don’t know,” she said lightly. “Let’s open it and see.”
She went to the couch and sat with her guys on either side of her. They watched with interest as she took the lid off the box and looked inside.
The contents weren’t immediately recognizable, though.
The first thing Kayla saw was a blue bottle with a stopper carved like a delicate flower. A note was tied around the neck of it with a string. Turning over the attached card, Kayla saw, Be careful! This stuff is strong. Just a sip or two will do the job, written in the same flowing, feminine script as the inscription on the box.
“What is that?” Sorin asked, frowning. “Some kind of liquor?”
“Who would send you something like that?” Bron asked, puzzled.
“I don’t know,” Kayla admitted. Taking the stopper off, she took a sniff. A warm, sweet fragrance drifted up to her nose. “Mmm! Smells like…peaches and…strawberries…and buttered popcorn?” She frowned. “Weird but delicious.”
“Let me smell that,” Bron held out his hand and she gave him the bottle. He
took a sniff and nodded. “That’s what I thought—bonding fruit. This must be some kind of distillation or concentrate—it smells fucking strong.”
“Oh, now I know who it’s from—Kat!” Kayla exclaimed. “She’s kind of a friend of a friend,” she added, seeing her guys’ uncomprehending looks. “And she’s bonded to Twin Kindred. I ran into her on the way to the lab and she, uh, thought we might need this if…if you two ever came around.”
“Why would we need bonding fruit?” Sorin asked, sounding surprised. “The compounds in Bron’s seed have proved to be more than adequate up until now.”
“Yes, but Kayla’s about to have both of our shafts in her pussy at once as well as my mating fist,” Bron said. “We wouldn’t want to hurt her, Sorin. It might be a good idea for her to drink some just in case.”
“I’ll take some now, then,” Kayla decided. “No time like the present.” She took the bottle back from Bron and took a sip. “Mmm! That’s really good!” she exclaimed.
The bonding fruit juice tasted even better than it smelled. She took another swig of it and then another—it was practically addictive. She was just about to finish the bottle off when Sorin said,
“Leelah, didn’t that juice come with a warning?”
“I thought you were only supposed to drink a few sips,” Bron said, frowning. “Better watch out, baby—you’re going to be horny out of your fucking mind.”
“Oops—you’re right.” Quickly, Kayla put the stopper back in the bottle so she wouldn’t be tempted by the delicious fruity fragrance. “Let’s see what else is in here,” she said, turning back to the box Kat had left at her door.
The next thing she pulled out looked a little bit like doll furniture—but it was certainly very oddly shaped. It looked like a bench with high, padded ends. Attached to it with a piece of twine was a note and a tiny clear bottle with an eyedropper top. The note said, Two drops to re-size.
“This is just weird,” Kayla murmured, looking at the thing in her hand. “Why would she send me deformed doll furniture?”
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