Page 125 of The Donor’s Dilemma

While at the hospital, Verity had often wondered what the two of them were really like as a couple. What drew them together? The boring workaholic doctor and sweet pink-haired Lois made an odd pair, but opposites attracted, she supposed.

“Maybe the four of us could go out some time,” she said. “Not SubRosa though. Somewhere a little… quieter.”

“Your blood pressure is higher than I’d like,” Dr Smythe said, ignoring her.

“Is that surprising?”

“You need to be relaxing,” Dr Smythe said. “Let Chapel take care of you.”

She laughed. “Theo’s the one that was attacked, not me.”

“Yes, but he is a vampire. He can recover from these things. He’s going to be fine, just needs blood, a lot, obviously, but you’re the one that’s at risk now, not him.”

Relax. As if Verity could relax right now. Clearly, Dr Smythe had no idea what they were dealing with. It was better that way. Judging by the papers, vampires were leaving en masse. They couldn’t let all the doctors leave too.

“Whatever you’re thinking about, stop it,” Dr Smythe said, packing his things. Why even bother with the cuff if he could hear her heart racing?

Theo stood as they entered the lounge.

“He says, I’m fine,” Verity said, smiling at the doctor.

“I did not say that she is fine,” Dr Smythe said.

“Isn’t that confidential?”

“No.”

“What do you mean she’s not fine?” Theo cut in, grabbing her by the shoulders to look in her eye as though he might see into her mind to find the answer.

Despite herself, despite Cliffhaven and the attack and the feeling that everything was about to fall apart, Verity laughed. Maybe she did need to relax because once the giggles set in, she couldn’t shake them, with Theo’s look of concern only adding to her hysterics.

“She needs to rest,” Dr Smythe said, sounding utterly exasperated.

“Are we talking bed rest or...?” Theo asked, shaking her slightly when she didn’t stop laughing.

“Bed rest couldn’t hurt,” Dr Smythe said.

That shut her up. “No, no, I don’t need bed rest. I’m just a little stressed.”

“Bed. Now,” Theo said. He looked unfazed, only gesturing to the bedroom when she scowled at him, arms crossed like a petulant child.

She turned to Dr Smythe for help, and he nodded to her. “I’ll ask Lois about going out once you’re up to it,” he said, before shaking Theo’s hand and leaving.

Theo watched her expectantly.

“I don’t need bed rest,” Verity said.

“Smythe literally just said…”

“No, you said bed rest. Smythe said that it couldn’t hurt. That isn’t the same thing.”

Bigger things demanded her attention right now. They needed a plan. They needed to know how to fix this. Verity was about to tell Theo as much when Jesse walked in, with only a towel hiding his modesty as he bared his inked body to the room. One hand dried his hair as he continued to text and said, “Petra’s coming for Ostara.”

Verity gaped. Not Ostara. Please, not Ostara. Her heart hammered. Why couldn’t she just come to see them? Why did it need to be Ostara? She hadn’t even thought about the festival the last few nights, and now it was, what, five nights away? It was a relief to know Petra was coming, but the idea of the ancient vampire judging her festival filled her with dread.

“That’s great,” Theo said, looking over his brother’s shoulder and peering at his phone before recoiling in disgust. “Seriously?” he swore. “I thought you said that she doesn’t like technology?”

“She doesn’t,” Jesse laughed.