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Vero stood over the dead girl’s body as fire, then ice roared through his veins. “Say that again,” he said, his brother at his side in the makeshift me dical facility.

Dr. Fizzlewick shook his head. “She was strangled, raped, bitten, and left to freeze. I haven’t found any DNA evidence, not that I really expect to.” The ancient Kurjan scientist crossed his arms and leaned against the far wall. He had to be at least three thousand years old, and the red tips in his hair had faded to more of a maroon, but his purple eyes remained sharp and his body well-honed. He’d returned to the Kurjan nation under the new leadership, having been exiled centuries ago for pissing off somebody in charge. Vero still hadn’t gotten the story from him.

“Can you tell me anything?” Paxton asked, anger vibrating lo w in his voice.

Fizzlewick shook his head, his bloodred lips turned down. “No, just that she was assaulted and kill ed last night.”

Fury swirled in Paxton’s green eyes. “You said she was raped. There has to be DNA evidence. Condoms rarely work w ith immortals.”

Fizzlewick glanced at Vero, his eyebrows drawing down. “Uh, yeah. No doubt the killer controlled his sem inal emission.”

“What are you talking about?” Paxton snapped.

Fizzlewick’s jaw went s lack. “Um. Er.”

Vero shrugged, heat tinging his ears. “Are you saying males from other species can’t control, well, orgasmic discharge?” He tried to sound as scientif ic as possible.

Paxton turned his head to face his brother. “No. Are you saying that the Kurjans can come withou t ejaculating?”

Leave it to Paxton to forgo scientific platitudes. “Yes,” Ve ro said simply.

“No shit?” Hunter asked from Pax’s other side, looking more Kurjan than Vero did. He shook his head. “I don’t want to ask this, considering you’ve mated my cousin, Pax, but ca n you do that?”

A muscle ticked in Paxton’s jaw. “I don’t know . Never tried.”

“It’s not easy,” Vero admitted. “Nearly impossible with your own mate, so I’ve heard.” He could do it and had, considering he’d never wanted to mate anybody he’d dated. Or rather, anybody he’d had sex with—which had always been consensual. “Guess you didn’t uncover all our secrets while you were spying on us, Harold.” He stressed the fake name Hunter had used for years. It wasn’t like they’d ta lked about sex.

Hunter met his gaze evenl y. “Guess not.”

“What else?” Pax asked shortly.

Fizzlewick rubbed his clean-shaven jaw. “From the bruising, I’d say she was strangled with one hand. The bite marks, and there are several on her body, are from fangs. I’ve found no evidence, visible or in energy, that her attac ker mated her.”

So someone had bitten and raped her but not mated her. Most immortals could sense the energy of a mated female, and nothing in the air hinted at that.

Paxton stared at Vero. “Do Kurjans get mating marks o n their palms?”

“No,” Vero said. A mating brand usually showed up on the palm of anybody with demon lineage when they met their mate, and it transferred during sex and with a bite to create the mating bond. Other immortals mated with a good bite during sex, and Kurjans permanently marked the bone of the female.

Pax glanced down at the faded mark of a P on his right hand. “I like that I transferred a mark to Hope.”

Vero couldn’t care less that Paxton was half-demon.

Dr. Fizzlewick gave a half bow to Paxton. “King? Thank you for giving me the time to do an autopsy.”

“Of course.” Paxton leveled his gaze at the scientist. “I’m not sure about the king label, but we’re on the same si de now, right?”

Fizzlewick cut a glance at Vero and looked back at Paxton. “Of course, my king. You gave us all a choice and I decided to return home. I can’t say that I’m comfortable with this new arrangement, but I’m not averse to giving it a try.” Ancient wisdom echoed in his tone. He shook his head, his eyes softening as he looked down at the dark-haired female. “One more thing.” He lifted her head carefully and turned it to the side. “There’s a wound at the back of he r neck. Fresh.”

Vero ducked down to study the raw wound. “What is that?”

“Some symbol? I took several photographs.” Fizzlewick gently released the victim’s head and reached for a file folder on the counter. “It’s a circle with three slashes through it. Her attacker dug a blue ballpoint pen deep into her flesh to scratch i n the pattern.”

Vero accepted the printouts and scrutinized the design. “Some vigilante group taking credit? A warning?” He looked at Paxton. “Is this fa miliar to you?”

“No,” Paxton said, his eyes spitting fire as he looked at the paper. “I’ll reach out to the Realm and see if they have any info.”

Fizzlewick sighed. “Such a pity. She was so young.”

Paxton looked at Vero. “What do you k now about her?”

“Not much,” Vero admitted. “She was kidnapped thr ee months ago.”

Paxton turned, anger flushing across his high cheekbones. “Did she have an intended mate before I took over as king?”

Vero shook his head. “I d on’t think so.”

The Kurjans had been kidnapping enhanced females for eons. Some became mates to soldiers and others were used as experiments that involved injecting Cyst blood into their brains. Survivors from these experiments were being rounded up and treated by the Realm. All remaining females in Kurjan territory had been tested and were perfectly healthy, even if they had been experimente d upon earlier.

Vero rolled his shoulders. “I don’t think anybody had tried to claim her, but I’ll look in to the matter.”

“We both will,” Paxton said. “Doc, if you discover anything else, let me know.” He turned and strode out the door, Hunter on his heels, Pax’s boots leaving a trail of melted snow.

Vero looked at the scientist. “You have no idea w ho killed her?”

“None,” Fizzlewick said. “I’m telling the truth. There was no forensic evidence. Most of our soldiers have lived hundreds of years. Anybody who wanted to kill her would’ve made sure they weren ’t discovered.”

Vero’s throat ached. “True.”

“Do you need me to do anything with that?” Fizzlewick jerked his head toward the still-healing wound in Vero’s neck.

“No,” Vero muttered. Paxton had already offered him blood, but he had refused it. “I’m healing fine.” He had already sent all his healing cells to the area and could speak again, so it shouldn’t be too long until the injury stitched over a nd disappeared.

Fizzlewick glanced at the empty doorway. “You’re due for y our injection.”

“I know.” Vero shrugged out of his jacket and shoved up the long sleeve of his black T-shirt. Fizzlewick removed a syringe from a drawer and plunged the blue liquid i nto Vero’s arm.

The doctor pulled out the needle. “The Realm scientists are still requesting samples of this concoction, and I’ve denied them so far. Paxton has n’t pushed it.”

Heat flushed down Vero’s torso as the injection warmed his blood. “Stop worrying about it. Hunter surely sent them a sam ple while he spied on us.” Guilt that Vero had failed to read the duplicity in his one friend tried to take him and he shoved it away.

“I doubt anybody thought the Sunshine Cure needed to be hidden.” The doctor tossed the empty syringe into a garbage can.

No kidding. “Is everyone up to date with the injections?” They needed the shot once a month to be able to venture into the sunlight. For now, anyway. Vero hoped that their bodies would take over for the injections and make the process a natural one that they’d pass down to their children through the years. He needed more time in the lab to ma ke that happen.

“Almost,” Fizzlewick said. “We’re keeping to a regular schedule of so many per day. I’ve finally seen positive results in the blood I’ve been studying. Yours is the most changed, and I believe you’re close to not needing the injection every month. Right now, no one else is near your level. I have enough of your blood in stock to study but haven’t figured out why it’s different. Do you think your brother will put enough resources toward this endeavor?”

Vero kept his expression blank. “I don’t know. I just met the guy in person a month ago.” Paxton played both sides right now to try to keep the peace, but he had shown loyalty, at least, to the Kurjan nation. A peace treaty didn’t require them giving up details that could get them killed should they g o to war again.

Fizzlewick rubbed his neck. “Does he understand the importance of the Convexus next week during the Dark Solstice?”

“Yes.” If Pax didn’t reach an agreement with the Cyst on that night of all holy nights, it’d never happen. “It’s all or nothing. He gets it.” Vero strode out of the makeshift examination room/morgue and outside down the steps. He had to find the killer before the Cyst descended on the territory for the Convexus. A cool rush of air hit him, and he breathed in deep. Canada had always been one of his favorite places, and not just because they could live in the mountains surrounded by snow with very little sunlight. The mountains stood solid, the weather predictable, and the people jovial. He paused at seeing his brother pacing on an icy trail, speakin g on the phone.

Paxton clicked off and looked up. “You get y our injection?”

Vero smoothed out his expre ssion. “I did.”

“How bad do you need it?” Pax asked.

Vero shrugged. “Not sure. What do you know about t he concoction?”

“Not a damn thing,” Paxton said. “It’s not something I’m worried ab out right now.”

Vero tucked his thumbs into the black pants of his uniform. Accustomed to wearing the black outfit at all times, he considered obtaining jeans and more casual clothing now that vampires and demons mingled in the territory. It’d be nice to dress down once in a while. Even as the king, today Paxton wore ripped jeans, snow boots, and a black puffer jacket.

“We need a larger medical and scientific building.” Vero had agreed to move to their current location, but the infrastructure needed to b e built faster.

Paxton looked up at the bulbous clouds above them. “I’ve let the construction crew know the order of priority, and additional materials are being ordered as we speak. After they finish the construction for the meeting area, which is outside, they’ll move to the other projects. It’s going to snow again.”

“We’re in the middle of Canada by the Yukon River,” Vero said slowly. “It’s always going to snow again.”

Paxton grinned. “That’s a good point. I wanted to ask you a couple of questions.”

“Go ahead.”

Paxton looked toward the main lodge. The chill in the air kept most people inside except for the patrolling soldiers and the mechanics working on different snowplows and snowmobiles near the river. “Does the Kurjan nation have any sort of police force?”

Vero stared at him. “No. Not really.” The last three weeks had been spent moving from Eastern Canada to Western Canada and rescuing any kidnapped females they could find. They really hadn’t sat down and discussed how Paxton planned to gov ern the nation.

“Yeah, same w ith the Realm.”

Vero shook his head. “Usually, the enforcers take care of any problems, but we’ve never had anything like this.” He still couldn’t fathom why anybody would’ve killed that poor female. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with frigid air. “We’ve never had a crime like this, and you should look at the demons and vampires you’re slowly filtering into the c ommunity here.”

Paxton blinked once, his silvery-blue eyes blazing. “You think it’s one of mine?” He paused, then shook his head. “Wait a minute, they’re all mine.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “I need to get my head around that. Sorry. I only discovered I was a Kurjan three weeks ago, and then you pretty much made me king.”

“Yeah, I feel for you,” Vero said dryly. “You need to look at the newcomers because this isn’t something that happens in Kurjan territory. If somebody wanted a mate, they took that per son as a mate.”

“I get the feeling that things haven’t been all that consensual around here,” Paxton drawled.

Vero nodded. “There’s some truth to that. However, there are plenty of enhanced females who wanted immortality and gladly mated. At least, thro ugh the years.”

Paxton kicked at a chunk of ice, shadows dancing across the hard planes of his face. “How is your progress going with interviewing the mated couples?”

Vero had no clue what he was doing. “I’m about ha lfway through.”

“Has anybody wa nted to leave?”

“ No,” Vero said.

Paxton shook his head. “Statistically, that’s impossible. You’re miss ing something.”

“Maybe,” Vero noted. “I’m having Lyrica meet with each of the females on their own, and we’ll see.” So far, he hadn’t seen any indication that anyone wanted to leave or take a fairly new virus that could negate the mating bond—something no Kurjan mate with a still-living partner had ever done. It was a risk, tha t was for sure.

“Also, I want you to make u p with Hunter.”

Vero blinked once and then agai n. “Excuse me?”

“You and Hunter. You were best friends. You need t o hash it out.”

Temper ticked through Vero and he forced his body to remain relaxed. “Hunter lied to me for years.” Hunter had infiltrated the camp as a Kurjan when they’d been only sixteen. “And you need to get his face changed back to whatever it looked like before. Everybody knows that he isn’t actually a Kurjan, and it’s an insult to look at his face ar ranged as one.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Hunter said, stepping around the weapons depot, irritation rolling off his muscled form. “Why don’t you go ahead and try to rearrange it right now?”

Vero’s fists clenched. He’d like nothing better.

“Absolutely not,” Paxton said. “You both need to grow the hell up and handle with your problems away from everybody else. I have enough dissent in this community without having to deal with the two of you morons. Fix it.” He glanced at his watch. “Oh, and both of you report to the main lodge tonight. You’re joining the speed dating event.”

Fucking great.