CARMEN
My jaw clenched.
“How long do you need to prepare?”
“A few days. Maybe longer,” she admitted. “I need the right conditions. The right protections—for you.”
I nodded slowly, even though every instinct in me screamed to get it out now.
Then she said something that made everything else stop mattering.
“And until then—” her eyes shifted to Tim with a serious expression. “You cannot complete the mating bond.”
The room went still again.
Tim stiffened behind me.
Mr. Bear flashed in Tim’s eyes angrily. He snapped toward her. “What?”
“There’s a risk,” LuLu said, her voice steady. “The parasite could transfer during the bond. Especially at its current stage. It has been allowed to grow stronger uninterrupted; we can’t take any risks of it jumping to another host.”
“Jump to another
