Forever Is Not Enough [Council Enforcers 2] (Siren Publishing Classic)

her face.
    “Yes!” Jacqueline practically screamed. “It’s the mated blood. My blood cured Ben, and yours cured Mitch’s when I contaminated it. It’s not a complete cure since those infected would have to have mates, but it’s a start.”
    Jacqueline knew she had a lot more work to do, but at the moment, she was too happy to care. There was no way she could just give Ben a complete blood transfusion because their blood types didn’t match. She needed to come up with a serum using her blood to create it. Knowing she wasn’t going to get any sleep until she had the antidote completed, Jacqueline set about gathering all the supplies she needed.
    “Tell me what I can do to help.”
    Jacqueline felt bad. With her mind on her task, she had already forgotten Tessa was in the room. “I’m going to need coffee and lots of it,” she told her. As Tessa nodded and headed for the stairs, Jacqueline smiled at the woman she considered her first real friend before turning her attention to her work.
     
    * * * *
     
    Wake up! She’s doing it again!
    Ben cracked his eyelids open and froze. The sight of his mate standing over him holding a huge syringe and grinning was not what he expected to see first thing in the morning. “Do you remember that little talk we were supposed to have about this needle fetish of yours? I think now would be a good time to have that.”
    From the scents in the room, he realized they weren’t alone. It seemed everyone was in his room, and they were all grinning like idiots.
    Maybe they want to play, his wolf told him, sounding eager.
    Games that involve huge needles aren’t my idea of fun, pup. You can count me out.
    “What’s going on?” Ben swallowed and resisted the urge to scoot away from his mate as she sat down on the bed next to him.
    “Tessa and I have been working all night, and we finally did it.”
    “I didn’t do anything,” Tessa said from Mitch’s arms. “Your mate is the genius. All I did was keep the coffee hot and hand her things when she asked.”
    Ben sat up and leaned against the headboard. “Okay. Does someone want to put me out of my misery and explain to me what it is?” He eyed the needle warily as Jacqi held it up. Ben recalled the last time Jacqi had held a needle. She’d been slamming it down into his chest. He wanted to protest now, but he was momentarily distracted by his little mate’s beauty as her face lit up and her smile got even bigger. It was as though she were glowing. Ben decided that he would do whatever he could to always keep that look on her face.
    “Do you remember when I bit you?”
    Ben felt himself getting hard at the thought of her tiny teeth sinking in his shoulder as he had marked her. He pulled a pillow onto his lap, ignoring the snickers coming from the guys. “Yeah, I remember.”
    Jacqueline continued. “I couldn’t sleep last night, so I went down to the lab. I got curious and wanted to see if there was a difference in my blood now that I was mated to you. When I looked, I realized that I had contaminated myself without even knowing it when I bit you.”
    Ben felt his blood run cold and sat forward. He opened his mouth to say something, but his mate held up her hand.
    “Don’t worry, I’m fine. My biting you was a good thing. If I hadn’t done that, then I never would have been able to create this.” Jacqi held up the needle again. “It’s the antidote.”
    As Ben listened to his mate explain how she had created the cure, he had to agree with Tessa. His little mate was a genius. He didn’t understand half of what she said, and he didn’t care. He had never doubted she would eventually figure it out, but he winced at the thought it had taken him contaminating her to get it. He was just glad she was okay.
    “Thank you.” If it wasn’t for the audience they currently had, Ben would have ripped his little mate’s clothes off and roll her under him to show his gratitude. Instead, he gently took the syringe out of her hand and set it on the nightstand before pulling his mate into his lap and kissing her. “I know those words aren’t nearly enough for what you’ve done for me, but I promise to spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you.”
    “If it wasn’t for me, neither you or your friends would be in this mess. This was the least I could do to try and make up for my father and myself. The antidote still isn’t perfect. It will only work on mated shifters, but it’s a start.”
    Ben hated