Page 39 of Broken Mate

By the time he was finished with me, I could barely keep my eyes open, much less plot to tease the twins anymore.

He pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead after he’d cleaned up, and I decided he could have his petty victory as I dozed off.

13

THE CURE

SARIEL

“I’ll spare you the gory details,” Dr. Vasille said, waving a leathery hand as she eyed the vial critically and swirled its liquid, “but your mate was right, little hybrid. We’ve got a cure.”

My eyes widened when she proudly presented the pink liquid, smirking at all of our stunned silence.

Aria was the first to break it, letting out a whoop as she did a little happy wiggle, and was promptly joined by Reese.

“I tested it on Alpha Bastille, and he’s now mostly lucid,” Dr. Vasille continued. “He shifted almost immediately after I dosed him and has been sleeping it off for the most part.”

She approached the glass, eyeing the sleeping man with a thoughtful frown. “But he was able to tell me everything he knew, and was even able to ask where he was and why he was here.”

Auren moved before I could, opening the glass door to Tyler’s cell and staring down at him, where he slept for a few seconds. A quick twist and a snap later, and the wolf was dead in his cot, despite the squeaks from Reese and Aria.

I wasn’t sure if I should be proud or annoyed that he’d stepped in to handle things like that. Personally, I’d been eager to make the old bastard pay for every single infraction he’d done, but if my brother had been eager to get him out of the way, the end result was all the same. One less enemy to worry about.

Auren stared at the body mutely, fingers flexing like he wanted to do more before he rolled his neck and let out a slow breath.

“If you’re planning any more murder, take it outside, at least,” Dr. Vasille said dryly, shaking her head and turning to Aria. Apparently, we were all beginning to get desensitized to the violence because she carried on as if nothing unusual had happened.

“I’ll need more of your blood,” she explained. “Long story short, it contains the cure, and I believe it’s because you have a completed bond with your mate. It’s actually fascinating under a microscope; there’s an enormous amount of—”

“Should we start gathering volunteers to test it?” Auren interrupted, and the doctor sighed heavily, looking exhausted.

My brother was eyeing both Tyler’s cot and the door—I could practically hear the wheels turning in his head as he wondered how to get the man's body out of the clinic. He’d probably use it for some kind of crazy experiment, knowing him.

Reese seemed to be having similar thoughts from the nervous side-eye she kept giving him, biting down on her lower lip.

“Certainly. Normally we would start with a small group just to be sure nothing terrible will happen, but I get the feeling that won't work well once people know what we’ve got. Maybe we’ll start with the ones already showing signs of the madness?” Dr. Vasille said, talking more to herself than us, turning to shuffle and put the vial she’d been showing us away.

She was proven right, too.

The second we put the word out, everyone lined up at the clinic, eager to get a dose of the vaccine. We didn’t turn anyone who came forward away, despite the doctors' protests; Auren had made it clear that he wanted it distributed to as many people as possible, consequences be damned. The Alphas of the smaller packs had started getting antsy, so after he’d advised every one of the very real risks and word was passed around, it was their decision—and most of them chose to get the shot.

“You’ll need to let us know if you have any side effects,” Dr. Vasille explained for the hundredth time. “Dizziness, nausea, fever, anything—come straight back here and tell us. We want to get as much data as we can.”

The wolf she’d been talking to nodded, looking a little nervous as she eyed the bandage on the inside of her elbow.

There was no guarantee it would work, nor for how long. Tyler had been lucid for a day or two before Auren snapped his neck and dragged him out to do who-knew-what with his body, so we weren't sure if they would need regular injections and booster shots to keep from regressing. Luckily, Dr. Vasille would be around for a long time yet.

“Excuse me.”

Tiana was next in line, smiling, holding Anthony on her hip as she looked around the little clinic we’d put together. “I’d like to get my son his shot.”

I saw the protest before our resident vampire even opened her mouth, so I shook my head at her. Her jaw flexed as she obviously battled with the urge to tell me where to shove it.

“I know he’s young,” the wolf continued before either of us could speak, “but he’s already showing signs—babbling to people who aren't there, dilated pupils, violent outbursts where he tries to hurt himself and the others around him. I… I need him to be okay.”

Tiana cleared her throat as I stared at her son, lips pursed in thought. His dad had died in Azazel's attempts to find a cure, I remembered.

My chest tightened for them. If anyone knew the risks of this vaccine, it was Tiana.

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