Page 3 of Bite for Sore Eyes

The sound of rapid typing filled the phone line, keys clicking with machine-gun precision. Lana found herself leaning forward, caught up in the woman's infectious energy.

"Are you finding me a match right now?"

"I certainly am, dear. Now tell me about yourself. What makes Lana Morales tick?"

For the next several minutes, Lana found herself opening up to this stranger in ways she hadn't with anyone else. Her military background, her cybersecurity expertise, her love of hiking and solving complex problems. Her dry sense of humor and her tendency to withdraw when overwhelmed. The rare illness that had upended everything she'd thought she knew about her future. Gerri listened without interruption, occasionally making encouraging noises as her typing continued in the background. Then, abruptly, the clicking stopped.

Silence stretched across the line long enough that Lana wondered if the call had dropped.

"Hello? Are you still there?"

"Oh my." Gerri's voice carried a note of wonder that made the hair on Lana's arms stand up. "This is quite fascinating. Very rare, but exactly the kind of adventure someone like you deserves."

"What is it?"

"Well, darling, you're matched with not just one, but two alien bear shifters on the planet Nova Aurora. Specifically in the territory called Varkesh Hollow."

Lana's breath caught in her throat and something deep in her chest hummed with sudden excitement, a sensation she hadn't felt in two years. Her analytical mind immediately cataloged what she knew about Nova Aurora—advanced medical technology, established ecosystems housing numerous species, a planet that had achieved remarkable stability much like Earth.

"I've heard of Nova Aurora, but I've never been there."

"Well, if you're looking for that adventure you asked for, this would certainly fit the bill. Two Alpha bear shifters, both leaders of their sleuth, both absolutely perfect for you in completely different ways."

Lana's mind raced in a span of seconds. Leaving her father behind. Traveling to an alien world. Two mates instead of one. It should have sounded insane. Instead, it sounded like exactly the kind of impossible possibility she'd stopped believing in.

"Could you take me there tomorrow?" she heard herself saying to Gerri.

"Of course, dear. Meet me at the Maryland power plant at eight AM sharp. Pack for sunny skies and warm weather and an adventure for the ages."

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

The line went dead, leaving Lana staring at her phone in stunned silence. She was really doing this. She was really going to travel to an alien planet to have a romance with not one but two alien bear shifters. The rational part of her mind noted that Nova Aurora's medical advances might offer possibilities Earth couldn't, but she refused to let hope take root.

This wasn't about finding a cure. This was about choosing to live.

Lana jumped up from her desk and rushed toward her closet, energy coursing through her veins like electricity. She dragged her two largest suitcases from the closet and threw them open on her bed, her excitement building with each passing moment.

And for the first time in two years, she had completely forgotten about her illness.

TWO

RATH

The twin suns of Nova Aurora blazed overhead, casting long shadows across the sprawling back terrace of Varkesh Castle where Rath Varkesh sat with his breakfast growing cold on the stone table before him. The familiar routine of dawn training followed by this shared meal had anchored his mornings for fifteen years, yet today the peaceful ritual felt strained beneath the weight of mounting concerns.

Purple trees swayed in the warm breeze beyond the terrace's ornate railings, their branches creating shifting patterns of light and shadow across the expansive gardens that stretched toward the distant pink ocean. The sound of waves crashing against the blue mountain cliffs carried on the wind, a constant reminder of the vast territory he and Torren protected.

Beautiful. Serene. And increasingly vulnerable.

Rath's jaw tightened as he scanned the reports spread beside his untouched plate of spiced fruit and grain cakes. Three more communication failures overnight. A perimeter sensor that had simply stopped functioning for forty-seven minutes before mysteriously resuming normal operations. A security door in the eastern watchtower that had opened and closed on its own for two hours straight.

His bear prowled restlessly beneath his skin, agitated by threats it couldn't identify or fight. Fifteen years of dual leadership had kept their territory safe through careful planning, experienced engineers, and the unique advantage of having two Alphas where others had one. But all of that meant nothing if their security infrastructure collapsed around them.

"You're doing that thing again." Torren's voice held the easy warmth that had made him Rath's closest friend since childhood. He reached across the table to steal a piece of honeyed bread from Rath's plate, his movements casual despite the concern flickering in his dark eyes.

"What thing?"

"Staring at those reports like you can intimidate them into making sense."