Page 39 of Bite for Sore Eyes

The morning sunlight continued streaming across the terrace, but Lana felt a renewed sense of purpose settling over her. Whatever tomorrow's meeting with Kelly and Emry might reveal, today she would focus on using her skills to help with problems she might actually be able to solve.

Thirty minutes later, the stone pathways of Varkesh Hollow felt familiar beneath Lana's boots as she walked between Rath and Torren toward the security center, though the morning's phone call with Kelly still echoed in her mind.

Normal bloodwork. Normal brain scan. Normal everything, right up until her brain decides to misfire and cause chaos.

She forced herself to focus on the present—the way the twin suns cast shadows through the purple canopy overhead, the bustling sounds of sleuth members going about their daily routines, the solid warmth of both men by her sides. This was what she'd come here for. Adventure. Purpose. Life beyond the endless cycle of medical disappointments.

The security center's imposing facade soon came into view, and through the transparent aluminum windows, she could see the familiar glow of multiple monitors and the silhouettes of technicians bent over their workstations.

"You sure you're up for this?" Torren's voice carried that gentle concern that had become so familiar over the past few days.

Lana gave him a sideways glance, catching the way his blue eyes searched her face for any sign of lingering effects from yesterday's fall. The bandage was gone now, revealing the healing bruise along her hairline, but she felt steady.

"I need this," she said simply.

Rath's hand brushed against hers as they approached the entrance. "We understand."

Once inside, the security center buzzed with quiet efficiency. Technicians moved between workstations with ease, their conversations a low hum of technical jargon and status updates. Jace looked up from his workstation as they approached, his eyes immediately zeroing in on the bruising along Lana's forehead.

"Lana, are you okay?" He rose from his chair. "That looks like it was quite a knock."

She touched the tender spot reflexively. "I'm fine. It looks worse than it is. I'm ready to solve this puzzle."

Relief flickered across Jace's face, followed immediately by renewed frustration. "Great, because more strange things happened last night, and I don't understand any of it." He gestured toward his multiple monitors, where streams of diagnostic data scrolled past in neat columns. "I know you said there are significant gaps in our infrastructure—probably from my recent upgrade a month ago that created pathways where the system failures could propagate—but I still don't know how to fix it."

Lana glanced between Rath and Torren, noting the way both men's shoulders carried tension.

"I may be here awhile," she said. "You two can go handle your Alpha duties and I'll meet you back at the castle later."

Both men looked reluctant to leave her, their protective instincts clearly warring with their understanding of her need for independence.

"We do have that council meeting," Torren admitted after a moment. "And we probably should tell Elder Garrick about you."

"Perfect. Then I'll see you two later."

She rose on her toes to press a quick kiss to each of their cheeks, tasting the salt of their skin and breathing in their distinct scents—Rath's clean spice and Torren's earthy wildness. Both men's eyes darkened at the casual intimacy, and she felt that familiar flutter of heat low in her belly.

They left with obvious reluctance, their heavy footsteps echoing across the polished floor. Lana watched until they disappeared through the entrance, then turned back to find Jace observing her with an amused expression.

"You three look really happy and natural together," he said, his voice tinged with wonder. "It's refreshing to see Rath and Torren looking more relaxed."

Lana laughed. "They're learning to loosen up, aren't they?"

"Yes, it's almost a night-and-day difference," Jace mused. "Rath usually looks like he's carrying the weight of three territories on his shoulders. But today he actually smiled when he walked in here."

Jace offered her his chair and pulled up another one beside the workstation. The familiar setup of multiple monitors, diagnostic tools, and system interfaces felt like coming home. Lana's fingers found the keyboard with ease, muscle memory taking over as she began navigating through the security infrastructure's complex architecture.

The code was elegant—more sophisticated than anything she'd worked with on Earth, but following logical patterns she could decode. Layers of security protocols, authentication systems, and monitoring subroutines created an intricate web of digital protection around the Varkesh territory.

"Do you see anything that would indicate why this is going on?" Jace leaned closer. "Everything looks so normal most of the time, but then like clockwork, every night another system failure happens randomly."

Like clockwork.

The phrase triggered something in Lana's analytical mind. She pulled up the system logs, scrolling through weeks of data with increasing focus.

This sounds so much like my illness, she thought involuntarily.

Random failures that appeared normal until they weren't. Systems that looked healthy right up until the moment they misfired catastrophically.