A Mate Beyond Their Reach (13 page)

At last, they reached the main waiting room of the clinic. Drew spotted his son on one of the couches, talking in a low voice with Dan. He seemed tense, and Drew immediately felt guilty for getting down and dirty with his mates instead of going to see his son at once.

As he approached, he heard Dan say to Paulie, “Don’t look now, kiddo, but there’s someone here who wants to see you.”

Paulie immediately turned and his face lit up with a thousand watt smile. He shot to his feet and ran toward Drew. Drew met him halfway and hugged his son tight. “They told me you were fine, but I just couldn’t believe it,” Paulie whispered.

“I’m so sorry, Paulie. I should’ve been here for you.”

Paulie broke out of their embrace and shook his head. “No.

You’re where you need to be, with the men you love. Okay, it’s still strange. But I’m just glad you’re all right.”

Paulie’s lower lip trembled and tears filled his eyes. Drew embraced his son again and held him as Paulie wept. “Yes, kiddo. I’m all right now. We always will be.”

Through the crack of the door, Valerius watched his mate work, deep in thought. Andrew moved through the lab, making notes and analyzing samples, as always so busy and so gorgeous. Valerius’s heart hurt with affection for the other man, and with the knowledge that they’d almost lost him.

The past few days had passed in a haze, with everyone focusing on rebuilding the lab and the defenses of the compound. At first, a lot of the staff who worked with the Harts had been reluctant to make contact with Drew, but now, they were beginning to understand the sickness had disappeared.

For it had, indeed, disappeared. Drew did numerous tests on his own blood, comparing it with the closest match, Paulie. At first, they’d feared the situation with Jaws would repeat itself and the double bite would only hold the virus off for a little while. It hadn’t been the case. According to Drew, the disease vanished altogether.

But Drew discovered something else, something he’d only told Valerius and Trent. Drew’s blood showed a change in DNA, as if the cells had been cemented in a peculiar way. The deterioration process typical to all human bodies seemed to have stopped. Like spirit wolves, Drew didn’t age now, or rather, he aged extremely slowly.

Furthermore, Drew had now become immune to the feral virus.

They still couldn’t be sure how exactly it happened, since so far, Drew had been unable to replicate the process. But they all suspected it must have something to do with their three-way mate bond. It made sense that something as special as their connection would prevent the spread of the feral disease. Valerius wondered about the implications of the discovery. A common two-way bond between a human and a spirit wolf never worked before. At the same time, this gave Valerius hope. Drew had been healed, even if they didn’t understand the reasons yet. Perhaps, in time, a cure could indeed be found.

A voice drew him out of his musings. “He’s working hard again,”

Dan said.

Valerius turned toward Dan and nodded. The man remained a mystery, and with all the stuff keeping him busy, Valerius still didn’t manage to decipher it. “He is.” He paused, uncertain as to how to approach the issue. “We have a conversation pending, you and I.”

Dan looked troubled. “That’s true,” he answered.

They began to walk away from the lab, and remained silent until they left the building. These days, the Harts took no chances and guarded every spot in the compound religiously, the clinic more so than other places. Valerius felt thankful for it. He had not heard anything from his parents so far, but he couldn’t be sure Lucius wouldn’t attack again once he recovered from Alec’s loss.

Once they reached a private spot outside, Dan continued his previous trail of thought. “I feel like I know you, but I’m not sure why.” He rubbed his chest and grimaced. “There’s something inside me I can’t explain. It is very strange.”

“You have to embrace it,” Valerius said. “The presence you feel is your inner wolf. As long as you suppress him, it will hurt.”

Daniel shook his head vehemently. “But I am human.”

“Humanity is relative. Our power comes from within, from our very souls.”

It was something few outsiders understood, and the worst thing about the virus. Flesh and spirit were entwined, and for this reason, the ferals risked having their souls tainted by the madness and anger.

The thought brought back the memory of Caesar, who’d given up his own life to save his mate’s soul. Valerius met Daniel’s gaze and realization dawned. “Oh, Spirit Mother,” he gasped out.

Daniel blinked at him. “What? What is it?”

Valerius felt like he was choking. He didn’t know how long he just stood there, staring, but thankfully, Trent and Drew appeared by his side, having sensed his distress. Their presence anchored him and he had the strength to utter the next words. “Dan, you…You’re my brother.”

THE END

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A native Romanian, Scarlet was born in 1986 and grew up an avid fan of Karl May and Jules Verne, reading fantasy stories and adventure. Later, when she was out of fantasy stories to read, she delved into her mother’s collection of book and, of course, stumbled onto romance.

As a writer though, Scarlet Hyacinth was born one sunny summer day, when a dear friend of hers—the same friend who introduced her to GLBT fiction—proposed they start writing a story of their own. As it turns out, the two friends never did finish that particular story, but Scarlet discovered she had a knack for writing and ended up starting to write individually. And so, between working on her dissertation, studying for exams, and reading yaoi manga, she started writing the Kaldor Saga. Along the way, Scarlet met a lot of wonderful people who supported her, and in the end, she found her story a home and, in the process, fulfilled a beautiful dream.

Also by Scarlet Hyacinth

Siren Classic ManLove: Kaldor Saga 1:
Enraptured
Siren Classic ManLove: Kaldor Saga 2:
Over the Edge
Siren Classic ManLove: Kaldor Saga 3:
Destinies in Darkness, Part 1

Siren Classic ManLove: Kaldor Saga 3:
Destinies in Darkness, Part 2

Siren Classic ManLove: Kaldor Saga 4:
Mending Shattered Souls
Siren Allure ManLove:
Truth and Deception

Siren Classic ManLove: Sequel to
Truth and Deception
:
Reborn
Siren Classic ManLove: Deadly Mates 1:
Moon’s Sweet Poison
Siren Classic ManLove: Deadly Mates 2:
Wings of Moonlight
Ménage Amour ManLove: Deadly Mates 3:

Spell of the Predator’s Moon

Ménage Amour ManLove: Deadly Mates 4:
Dragon’s Bloodmoon
Ménage Amour ManLove:
Fire of the Four Seasons
Ménage Amour ManLove:
The Three Horsemen of the Black Forest

Available at

BOOKSTRAND.COM

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com