Page 102 of The Healer

“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?”

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