“We both lose something important,” Tor panted.
The guys collapsed on either side of me, pulling the duvet back over us. We’d made a mess, and I didn’t care. No way was I moving to get cleaned up right now, because the chill in my veins had melted beneath the heat of their ministrations. I needed to revel in it for as long as it lasted, because there was no doubt in my mind that the frost would be back.
This burn wasn’t over.
Chapter Thirty-Six
The room was dark, bare pipes running up walls, exposed brickwork and beams above us, and beyond that a skylight. A single door provided an exit, but it was locked. Not sure how I knew that. Shadowy forms huddled against a wall. The stench of anger and fear permeated the air.
“We have to do something.”
The voice drew my attention to a woman with silver-blonde hair and wide gray eyes.
Astrid?
“Cora?” A hand swept across my forehead, and I opened my eyes to Leif’s smile. “Hey. How are you feeling?”
The dark room melted away and I was back in bed with my mates. Well, one of my mates. Tor was gone.
There was a buzz in my veins, cold and unnatural, but it was low-level compared to how it’d been.
I frowned up at Leif. “I was dreaming.”
“About?”
“I saw Astrid and the other shifters locked in a room. It felt so…real.” I rubbed my temple. “Where’s Tor and Rune?”
“Breakfast duty.”
My gaze flicked about the room, searching for another face.
Leif sighed. “Jasper hasn’t been back. I think he’s giving you a chance to fight this infection by staying away.”
“He can’t siphon off me unless I say so.”
Leif winced. “Actually, your amulet’s been glitching for a week now and channeling power into him from time to time.”
“What?”
“Yeah, he’s been resisting taking it because he didn’t have your permission.”
Jasper…Oh, God. “He could have taken advantage at any time.”
“Yeah,” Leif said. “I mean not at any time, but when your amulet was down, yeah, he could have.”
But he hadn’t.
He hadn’t because…Because he cared about me and my wishes. My eyes grew hot.
“I need to speak to him.”
Leif stroked my hair. “I know.” He kissed my temple. “Burn this infection out, then we’ll have a sit-down. The four of us.”
What did he mean?
The door opened and Tor entered carrying a tray laden with food. Rune padded in after him and took up position at the bottom of the bed.
“Pippa’s on her way over to check on you,” Tor said, “but she says you need to eat.”
My stomach grumbled. “I can totally do that.”
I sat up as Tor laid the tray on the bed by my hip. The sheet fell away from my torso and Rune’s gaze locked onto my naked breasts.
He made a strangled sound and looked away.
Gooseflesh broke out over my skin.
“Shit, you’re cold. Tor, a sweater,” Leif ordered.
Tor grabbed a cotton sweater out of my dresser and helped me into it, even though I was perfectly capable of putting it on myself. Still, it was kinda nice to be taken care of.
Leif placed the tray on my lap. Bacon, eggs, beans, hash browns, toast, and a cup of tea. God, I was hungry. I dug in while the guys watched. Most people may have been self-conscious while stuffing their faces and being watched by two hot guys and a gorgeous wolf, but food and I had a special relationship, and nothing could come between us.
“How’s the search coming?” Tor asked Rune.
We’ve cleared the rural areas. No sign of them. We’ll need to move into town.
“I don’t understand who’d want to take them,” Leif said.
“The shifters?” I spoke with my mouth full, and then quickly chewed and swallowed. “You think they’re somewhere in town?”
“They could be anywhere.” Tor lowered himself onto the bed next to me.
He smelled citrusy, like he’d freshly showered. He’d pulled on black joggers, but his chest was still bare. I needed to stop looking at it and recalling how his skin felt beneath my fingertips and how his mouth had felt on me.
Tor’s gaze flew to mine and his lips curled in a smug smile. “Eat your food, Cora.”
Oh man.
We start scouting in town in an hour, Rune said. It’ll be tougher in human form.
I picked up a slice of toast and made to bite into it, but my vision blurred, and I was back in the dark room. The only illumination was light streaming in from a skylight, but thick beams blocked most of it out.
“Cora?” Leif’s hand was on my shoulder, but I was still in the room.
“I can feel you,” a female voice said. “Can you see us? Help us. Find us, hold on to me. Don’t let go.”
A pressure bloomed in the back of my mind.
“Who are you talking to?” Astrid asked.
“Cora!” Tor’s fingers bit into my shoulders, dragging me out of the room and back onto the bed.
I stared at his concerned face, blinking away the residue of the vision because that’s what it was. A vision, not a dream.
My pulse raced with revelation. “I think I’m connected to a varga female. I think I might be able to find them.”
“Dress warm,” Pippa ordered. “Layers. I don’t like this, but what’s happening to you is out of my scope of expertise.”
Outside the world was awash with white as snowflakes danced to the ground. More cold. Just what I needed.
I tugged on my kick-the-shit-outta-the-bad-guys purple motorcycle steel-toe capped boots with reinforced heels. I loved their gothic vibe, the added metalwork and the purple flames painted on the pewter leather. Just went to show that beauty could be deadly.
“Cora?” Pippa sounded worried.
I gave her my most reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine. I need to do this before the infection burns through me.”
There was no doubt the infection was somehow linking me to a varga shifter. Sloane had said that
