Page 32 of The Healer (The Blood of Legends #2)

Chapter Thirty-Two

THE brEAKTHROUGH

T hree weeks later, Ilona had settled into a routine she enjoyed. The interview with Sarah Olson had gone well, with Ilona spending her mornings at the hospital. She adored the children but didn’t want to commit full-time. Afternoons were spent in Rhys’s lab, studying her blood, and the effects known diseases had on it. Her and Evie co-researched, passing notes via text or email daily.

Some days, Ilona wore the skirt Callie had given her, swishing around the wards like a fairy with orange hair. As long as she made children laugh, her day was complete.

When her phone rang, she answered without checking caller I.D.

“Fuck me, James.” Evie’s cursing had become their normal greeting. “I’m sending you images, then I’m packing. You got one crazy woman moving to Inner City.”

Ilona squealed. “For real?”

“Sure. Check the images, and I’ll call you when I land. I’ll need a ride.” The call ended, and Ilona paused to stare at the screenshots of printouts. It took her seconds to realize what she was looking at.

She spun on her heel and rushed into the hospital, taking the steps two at a time to reach Sarah’s office. Without knocking, she burst in to shove her phone at the dark-haired doctor in a headless bunny suit.

“What is it? Something to do with your research?”

Emotion barreled up Ilona’s throat and burned behind her eyes. She wanted to squeal, to dance, to kneel and pray.

“It’s…delta thirty-two.” A slow smile spread across Sarah’s face, warming her brown eyes. “We should have known. Is this your blood? Or…?”

“Mine. I have a mutation. I’ll get sick, but it won’t kill me.” Leaning across, Ilona flicked to the next photo. “That’s Rhys’s blood I couriered to Evie.”

“Two markers, and with his off-the-charts RBC, it explains so much.” Sarah handed Ilona her phone. “But how to test it?”

“Evie’s on her way to Inner City. She’s been working through known diseases when she stumbled on this. We can throw cancer at it and see what happens.”

“What you’re saying is it’s too soon to test on children. You’re right. We need to be sure. Share those images with Philip…I mean, Dr. Olson. See what he thinks. The more doctors we have backing you, the better.”

Ilona nodded.

As she left, Sarah called after her. “Well done.”

Ilona couldn’t remember how she got home, but she snapped out of her daze when she parked outside the clubhouse. Excitement ran roughshod over her, and her cheeks hurt from the grin she still wore. Climbing out of the Jeep, she sprinted up the steps and across the porch.

When she burst through the front door, Rhys leaped to his feet, his eyes wide in alarm. “What is it?”

And like a lovesick fool, she wept great sobbing tears. “We found it.”

He swept her into his arms and shushed her. “Breathe, calm, I’ve got you. Now tell me slowly, what did you find?”

“The genetic marker behind your miraculous healing.”

He gaped, then laughed. “I knew you could do it, Lona-love.”

“The what now?” Noah asked from behind the desk.

“What makes shifters heal so quickly. If we can reproduce it, we can heal children, maybe even eradicate diseases.” Throwing back her head, she laughed for the sheer joy of it. “I’ve got to phone Amos, Sans, and Dr. Olson. Oh, Noah, do we have a place for Evie? She’s moving to Inner City.”

“I can find a small cottage.” He thumped Rhys on the shoulder and kissed Ilona’s cheek. “Congrats.” As he strolled away, he mumbled, “you’d swear they were having cubs.”

Shaking her head, she said to him, “how much money is in big pharma?”

Noah whipped to face her. “I don’t know, tons?”

“Exactly. Of course, we won’t charge a fortune. That would be silly. Besides, I’m getting ahead of myself. Now the real work starts. We need to test against all viruses, bacteria, any mutations.”

Rhys steered her through the door and into the sunlight. “After this, focus on helping the suckbloods procreate.”

She nodded. “Started, but with this discovery, the answer has to lie in their genes. I’ll narrow my efforts.” Pressure grew in her chest until she thought she might explode. A low growl trembled through her, and she stilled. “What was that?”

“What was what?” Rhys arched a brow as he clipped her in the passenger seat.

“I heard a rumble. Felt it here.” She tapped her sternum.

He grinned. “Might be your bear.”

She snorted. “You say that when I have indigestion.”

“The full moon is in one week, my love. Then I’ll teach you how to hunt.” He rubbed his palms together. “Nothing tastes as delicious as salmon fresh from the lake.”

As he circled the hood, the rumble intensified, and something rippled under the skin of her forearm. She blinked at it, fighting the rising panic churning her gut. From ecstatic to horrified was a harsh swing, even for her.

Rhys climbed into the driver’s seat while humming a jaunty tune she didn’t recognize. “How do you want to celebrate?”

She shrugged, unable to think when her skin rippled again, this time on both arms.

“A hot bath, bubbles, champagne?” Each option he matched with a kiss across her captured knuckles.

She flashed a smile. “Though, where would you find champagne at this hour?”

As he drove them home, he spoke of fetching a bottle or two after he ran her a bath.

Minutes later, she stood in their bedroom blinking at the steam rising from the bathtub with Lily of the Valley wafting from the bathroom. Her senses had heightened, more so after every time she bit him during sex. The cacophony from the forest was almost deafening. And her olfactory more enhanced, picking up the salmon in the fridge.

Making love had taken on a breathtaking intensity. The sweep of his hands ignited her nerve endings. His cologne clinging to his skin saturated her nose. His thumping heartbeat synchronized with hers. More than this, she sensed when his emotions altered if they were deep enough. And often, it was his uncompromising love engulfing her.

He stripped off her clothes and shoes, then led her to the bathtub. With a kiss to her temple, he hurried out, intent on buying champagne.

She faced the mirrors above the vanities. “If you plan to come out, can we do it now and get it over with?”

The presence huffed. Then something bumped against the inner walls of her soul, demanding release. Pain lanced outward like a spreading acid burn. She gasped and gripped the vanity’s stone, curling her spine as another wave hit her. Her skin rippled, and a thousand needles pricked, pinched, and caught alight. She screamed, as each hair extended, her bones snapped, and reformed, like logs in a bonfire. With her eyes squeezed shut, she dared not peek at her reflection.

This couldn’t be happening.

She was human.

Was.

Her vision blackened as something shook her skeleton and trembled her teeth in her jaw. The agony was excruciating, too much for her to handle. With that, she slumped into blissful darkness.

Awaking, she stared at the tiled floor, trying to recall how she got there. Rising onto her hands and knees, she rocked, gathering her strength to stand. But all she could manage was to lift her head enough to catch her reflection.

A roar escaped, bearing a wide mouth and tons of teeth that had no place being in her mouth. She plunged forward onto her front paws again.

Paws.

Her long claws tapped the tiles, and where her hands were supposed to be, brown paws flowed into hairy front legs.

Her bear.

She slumped, sat on her padded ass, and peeked at the Sitka brown bear in the reflection. She shifted to the right. So did the bear. Then to the left. The bear did the same while something inside her snorted. Ignoring the other presence, she yawned, exposing her elongated incisors.

Now what?

Forcing herself to walk, she staggered and lurched, unused to moving on four legs. She bumped against the door, the bed, and the couch, trying to reach the front door. But before she made it, a shadow fell across the floor.

“Lona?”

She growled, baring her teeth.

Move, Rhys. But he didn’t hear her. He placed bags on the counter, then yanked off his boots, all the while complaining about her stubbornness and impatience.

“What were you thinking? I wanted to share this with you, be there as you transitioned.”

It’s a matter of dignity.

As he stripped off his shirt and jeans, he went on about how something could have gone wrong, how beautiful he found her bear. Naked, he urged her to follow him outside. As she padded onto the porch, he changed into his bear, and a wealth of emotion crashed into her.

His alpha waves rolled across her senses, urging her to submit. She snorted. Instead, she raised her nose to sniff, picking up the earthy scents of sand, water, wind, then the sweetness of the salmon in the waters and honey nearby.

He nudged her with his head, almost toppling her. She growled a warning, but he chaffed, as if he laughed. Then he danced around her, urging her to move, to bat him with a paw.

Having never been one of those nature girls content to rough it in the wild, finding the sun on her face, the cool breeze ruffling her hair, and the feel of the dirt beneath her paws, there was nothing to compare it to.

She gave her bear free rein and loped after Rhys’s bear, as he led her along a worn path through the forest. When she bumped against trees, plunged through bushes, her bear chaffed, stumbled to her feet, and continued, wanting to chase Rhys, enjoying the challenge. She burst into a clearing with soft moss and clover lining the forest floor.

He returned to his human form, and waited, with his hands on his hips. “Come now, Lona-love. Change back. Your bear can have another go when we head home.”

Her bear roared, unhappy with the suggestion, but Rhys squared his shoulders. Authority rolled off him, like a heady breeze addictive and compelling. Her bear cowered. New agony stormed through Ilona, as her bones popped into place. She crumpled to the ground and curled into a whimpering ball.

He sprawled beside her and wrapped his arms around her. “The first time is hard on everyone, Lona-love, worse for those who are alone.”

“Will it always hurt this much?”

He kissed her temple. “No, just in the beginning. Your human body will adjust.”

She nuzzled his shoulder, loving the scent pouring off him, like sunbaked rock. Moaning, she pressed her nose to his skin and inhaled. Heat uncoiled in her core, igniting her senses. She groaned, her hips twitching with a need so powerful, she almost orgasmed just by rubbing her thighs together.

“What now?” she cried out, pushing up to meet his gaze.

“The fun begins.” He chuckled and cupped a breast. Fire exploded outward, from her puckering nipple to her belly. “Your first on-heat.”

“Oh.” She gasped, fascinated by the bobbing of his erection. “This is how it feels?” The urge to climb on top of him gripped her. She could spread her thighs and ride his hard length. Shuddering, she raised her gaze to the afternoon sky, searching for control, for calm.

“It’s futile.” His nostrils flared, and his eyes fluttered shut on a growl. “Just…use me, please.”

She stretched her hand then hovered it above his erection resting on his stomach. “Are you sure?”

“Ilona.”

Laughing, she layered herself on top of him, whimpering at his heated skin against hers. Then with deliberation, she impaled herself on his hard length. Lightning exploded across her vision, and she cried out, gyrating her hips as she rode him. He gripped her hips to thrust up, meeting each of her downward strokes.

The need to consume him, to have every inch of him merge with her, to know his every thought, his desires, exploded within her, and she screamed, arching her back as pleasure crashed over her. He flipped her over and pounded into her, chasing his orgasm, then as a tremor claimed his body, he sank his teeth into her shoulder.

Joy skittered along her veins, hardening her nipples until they pinged, and her clit twanged like a too-tight elastic. She cried out, riding yet another wave she hadn’t anticipated.

He slumped over her, his weight pressing her into the soft clover. His slow rumble merged into a full-bellied laugh. “I fucking love you, Lona.”

She smiled, running her hands along his shoulders. “I love you too.”

“I was prepared to wait forever for you.”

She blinked back the tears. “Thank you for not giving up on me.”

“Oh, Lona-love, you mean the world and more to me.” He kissed her cheek, the tip of her nose before brushing his mouth across hers. “My forever.”