Page 134 of Smoke and Lure

Iskah clicked the dial that shut off the satellite communicator.

Silence spread through the area, everyone in their thoughts.

“What is it you have?”Aodh assumed his full height and turned to face Michaela, not Avalore.

There was something about the way Amaros was overly protective of his mate, the gentle, caring touches.It reminded Aodh of the way he—

“I’m pregnant.”Michaela rose from Amaros’s lap and faced Aodh, chin high.

“It’s expected, lovely.It’s what we’re all hoping our mates bring.A bundle of salvation.”Dov declared, leaning back in his chair.However, his words didn’t clear up the lines of concern etched in his features.

Ursine needed mates.Out of them all, the Ursine suffered the most tremendous loss, with many of their female bear-shifters inhaling the poisonous chemicals that humans had released into the air.The bear females carried the toxins into hibernation with them, where too many of them never awoke.

Without the possibility of human exchange, the Ursine situation was dire.

“I’m sure that is true, but there are three inside of me.”

“Welcome to the club, Michaela.Most of our sow can birth one to four.”Turi winked at her.

Amaros stood up beside his mate, taking her hand.“We all know this, honey-addict, but what my mate is trying to tell you all is that her government altered them genetically to have multiples.She has three, but there could have been as many as four or eight.Fuck, even twelve!”The vampire's eyes blazed red, revealing his anger at the situation.

“Shit.”Dov and Turi uttered in unison.

“What in the hell?”Chanin stared from across the meeting area, where he’d finally ceased pacing.

“How?”Aodh insisted.

“Rabbits,” Amaros revealed, running a hand over his sleek, black strands.

Bleddyn perked up.

Liekki brought Avalore closer to his side.

“When, Michaela?”Avalore demanded.

Michaela shook her head.“I’m not a hundred percent.”She glanced at Amaros, then back over the table at Avalore.“Amaros and I talked, and we suspect it happened during our blood cleansing treatments.That the scientists may have been cleaning our blood from impurities, but they were also blending it with rabbit DNA.”

“What the fuck for?”Liekki roared, still standing close to Avalore as if his presence could protect her from the atrociously repulsive information.

Avalore placed a hand on Liekki’s arm, and Aodh watched his brother miraculously settle by degrees.

“I know I’m not one of you...a shifter or mate.”Avalore stepped close to the table next to the seat Aodh had yet to occupy this meeting.“But, listening to Governor Muskrand, I think I figured out why he reneged on the agreement with the wolf and who the women were that were promised.”

All eyes settled on her.

Brother, do you plan to fix the mate issue soon?Aodh knew that before this, Liekki struggled with reconciling himself to his dragon’s desire and giving up his bachelor status.Still, after these last couple hours, his brother had to know time was a commodity, no longer a luxury they could afford, especially if Avalore’s government was hunting for her.

Immediately.Liekki never took his gaze off Avalore.

“Who?”Iskah inquired.

“Us.Michaela and I.There were originally thirteen of us enrolled in the lab's project.However, eleven of the other women died from some sort of complications.My thought is that they planned to use us up for their breeding practices, and once we no longer served a purpose and were too broken to be good, they’d toss us out like day-old garbage to the shifters, not caring what the rogue wolf did to us.”

Chanin shoved a hand through his hair but remained seated.

“Thank you, Avalore.I think you’re correct,” Aodh confirmed for her.

She nodded and stepped back.

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