Page 46 of Bite for Sore Eyes

The tears came then, hot and unstoppable. "Dad, I almost died today. I was so scared. I thought I wouldn't get to say goodbye to you."

"Oh Lana, I'm so sorry that happened. Are you alright now?"

"Yes," she managed through her tears. "The healers had Rath and Torren put me in an ice bath to shock my nervous system, and it worked. Now, I feel a lot better."

"I'm so happy to hear that. Did they figure out how to treat you? Or maybe you didn't ask them that, did you?"

"I did have them do a head scan and bloodwork yesterday when I hit my head." She could hear the sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line.

"You hit your head?"

"Yes, Dad. I fell in the bathroom when I was having an episode. But I'm okay now, and the scan and bloodwork came back normal, like every other scan." She paused. "But Dad, they have a theory that could heal me."

"What is it?"

Lana took a shaky breath, knowing how impossible this would sound. "It's hard to explain, but there's a supernatural mate bond—a triad bond that I have with Rath and Torren. They think if I complete that bond, it will seal the faulty misalignment between my soul and my body. See, my soul and body are very in tune with each other, and my soul wanted to expand, but it couldn't on Earth. That's why it caused my brain to misfire—to get my attention, a sort of alarm system."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line, and Lana held her breath, waiting for her practical, logical father to tell her it sounded like nonsense.

Instead, his voice came through warm and certain. "That seems very hard to grasp. But for some reason, Lana, this feels like the right answer."

"I know, Dad. It shouldn't make sense, but it makes perfect sense. My soul is lighting up inside me right now, saying this is exactly what I need to do and exactly where I need to be and exactly the men I want to spend the rest of my life with."

She could practically feel her father's hope flooding through the connection. "Well, dear, what are you waiting for then? You have my blessing, as always. If this will make you happy, it will make me happy. And even if this doesn't magically cure you, at least you know you found what you were searching for, right?"

Lana smiled through her tears. "Right. Even if this doesn't work, I know my life feels fuller than it's ever felt."

"Well, then go claim your bears. I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you too, Dad. I'll call you later."

She disconnected the line and felt hope—real, dangerous, terrifying hope—come flooding through her body like a tide. For the first time in two years, she was allowing herself to believe that maybe, just maybe, she might actually have a future.

But the old Lana, the one who had learned to protect herself from crushing disappointment, started pushing at her consciousness.

Don't trust this. Don't buy into false hope. You've been here before.

For once, Lana pushed back against that voice with fierce determination. "No. I'm not letting you and your fear dictate my life anymore." She spoke aloud to the part of herself that had kept her safe but small for too long. "Thank you for protecting me. But I don't need you to lead anymore. I'm choosing hope, life, love—no matter what happens."

EIGHTEEN

RATH

Rath pulled a heavy cast-iron pan from the lower cabinet, the weight of it grounding him as his mind churned through everything that had happened in the past few hours. But the kitchen felt strange beneath his hands—a space he'd barely occupied in years, leaving such domestic concerns to Sera while he and Torren focused on the endless demands of leadership.

But this afternoon was different. This afternoon, he needed to do something with his hands, something tangible and real while his thoughts wrestled with Kelly and Emry's impossible theory about soul alignment and completed triad bonds.

Healing becomes possible because everything is finally aligned.

He wasn't typically one to believe in miracles or spiritual explanations. Fifteen years of Alpha responsibilities had taught him to rely on strategy, logistics, and measurable outcomes. Yet he'd witnessed enough completed mate bonds among his people to understand their power—the way they transformed not just relationships but entire physiologies, strengthening everything from immune responses to healing rates.

If their completed bond could help Lana's body and soul align properly, if it could stop her brain from misfiring and give her the future she deserved…

But not just to cure her illness, his bear rumbled. Because she chooses us fully.

He believed she would make that choice. The way she'd looked at them both, the hope flickering in those warm brown eyes—she was fighting her way back to possibility. But he also recognized the fear underneath, the protective walls she'd built after two years of crushing disappointments. Neither he nor Torren would rush her into anything. The decision had to be entirely hers.

"Shouldn't we call Sera to make this meal for us?" Torren asked, leaning against the kitchen island with his arms crossed. His dark hair was still slightly mussed from their earlier panic, and traces of worry lingered around his blue eyes.