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)
Cassie nibbled her lower lip. She ought to say no. She ought to lock herself away in a room of her own and stay there all night, even if Ravik got angry or upset.
But somehow, she couldn’t do that to the big Beast Kindred. He genuinely thought she was his mate—she didn’t want to distress him by disappearing. Also, it seemed like Severin was right about her scent helping him. He had regressed considerably when she’d left him alone in the bathtub and had come back quickly to his right mind—or what passed for his right mind—when he held her in the kitchen and smelled her again.
Ravik needed her. And in a way, so did Severin. His best friend was dying slowly—inch by inch. If she could help bring him back, shouldn’t she?
“All right,” she said at last and blew out a breath. “I must be crazy agreeing to sleep between two males I barely know but all right—I’ll do it.”
“Thank you.” Severin’s face registered instant relief.
It occurred to Cassie that while the Blood Kindred tried to project cool scientific indifference, that calm exterior slipped when it came to his best friend.
“All right—I just hope I don’t regret this,” she said. “Come on—lead the way to the mating chamber.”
15
CASSIE
Severin, who had changed into a pair of long blue sleep trousers like the ones Ravik was wearing, led the way down the long, narrow hallway and Cassie followed him, with the big Beast Kindred walking close behind her—too close, actually.
Not that she was brave enough to tell him to back up. For one thing, he was still somewhat foggy from the Hunger Virus—or at least, she thought he was. For another thing, he was so big that if she turned around too fast, she was afraid she might crash face-first into his bare chest. He still had on pants, thank God, but he didn’t have a shirt on and his massive upper body was right there every time she glanced back. Wide shoulders…thick arms…hard pectorals…black hair spilling around his face and golden eyes fixed on her as though she was the only thing in the universe worth watching.
Which was flattering and unsettling at the same time and also way too much to deal with after the kind of day she’d had.
The hallway seemed to go on forever, lit by dim blue strips set into the ceiling. The bunker really was built like a series of tubes—long, skinny rooms and long, skinny corridors, everything made out of steel and stone and strange matte-black panels that hummed softly when they passed.
There were no windows, of course, because they were deep underground, but Cassie could feel the weight of the planet above them, pressing down on the ceiling and walls. It should have made her feel trapped, but honestly, considering what was roaming around outside, she was mostly grateful for it.
Better to be under tons of dirt and surrounded by reinforced alloy than outside with the Infected—at least, that was what she kept telling herself.
“This way,” Severin said, glancing back at her.
“I’m following,” Cassie told him. “Though I would like to go on record as saying I’m still not completely thrilled about this sleeping arrangement.”
“I understand,” he said gravely. “But Ravik’s cognition has shown marked improvement when he remains in close proximity to you. If he sleeps with your scent nearby, it may keep him stable through the night.”
“You keep saying things like ‘close proximity’ and ‘cognition’ like that makes this less weird,” Cassie pointed out. “But what you’re actually saying is that I need to sleep in the arms of a seven-foot Beast Kindred who thinks I’m his mate.”
“Seven-foot-one,” Ravik rumbled behind her. “And Ravik knows you are his mate.”
Cassie looked over her shoulder at him and instantly regretted it because, yes, there was all that bare chest again. It really was an unfair amount of mouthwatering chest for one male to have.
“Right. Seven-foot-one,” she said. “Thank you for clarifying.”
“You’re welcome, Mate.”
“You don’t have to keep calling me that,” she said.
Ravik frowned, his dark brows drawing together.
“What should Ravik call you?”
“Cassie. My name is Cassie,” she reminded him.
“Cassie,” he repeated slowly, as though tasting the word. Then his face softened in a way that made her stomach flutter. “Cassie smells good.”
“Yes, I know you like the way I smell.” She faced front again quickly. “Thank you, I guess.”
Severin made a low sound that might almost have been a laugh, though when she looked at him, his face was perfectly serious. Of course it was—the Blood Kindred was nothing if not controlled. Controlled and pale and elegant and cool, with those ice-blue eyes behind his glasses and that smooth blond hair that looked much too clean and perfect for the end of the world.
“So this mating chamber,” she said, because talking was better than thinking about either of the males walking with her. “Why exactly does a science bunker have one?”