A leap of faith.

Victor, the most cerebral person Bridget had ever known, was willing to take a leap of faith, and she was incapable of joining him.

Maybe it was her medical training, maybe she was too much of a scientist at heart, or maybe she was just terrified that he was indeed a Dormant and about to walk into mortal danger, but she just couldn’t trust fate blindly and hope for the best.

Besides, her best wasn’t his.

If Victor wasn’t a Dormant, tonight was going to be an interesting experience for him, and in the event that the venom helped him in some way, a chance of a medical discovery for her. Except, Roni’s repeated attempts at transition had taught her that the venom couldn’t cure underlying medical conditions. Until Roni got better on his own, he couldn't transition.

Which should have put her at ease. Even if Victor was a Dormant, he wouldn’t transition tonight.

So why was she having a panic attack? Why did she have the absurd impulse to make love to Victor one last time before they went down to the gym because it might be her last chance to retain something of him?

It was ridiculous.

The only reason to fret was if she believed he would go into transition, which she logically had to dismiss.

Still, that gut feeling Victor had been talking about was affecting her.

For some reason, her mind and her gut were not in agreement. If Bridget listened to the mind, which she usually did, she should relax because nothing was going to happen. But if she listened to her gut, which was doing crazy flips, she should panic because it was telling her that after tonight nothing would ever be the same.

The question was whether it would be a new beginning or the end.

No clue. Not a freaking clue.

Besides, hoping to get pregnant was an even crazier leap of faith than Victor’s belief that he was going to transition successfully. She wondered what the statistical likelihood of those two remote possibilities were.

Both were terrible, but which one was worse?

Did it matter?

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Bridget forced a smile. “I have to be.”

He pulled her close against his body. “It’s going to be okay.”

Empty words.

It was out of her hands, there was only so much she could do, and she should get busy doing it.

Taking a deep breath, Bridget shifted into her productive mode. “Going into a sparring match with Kian, you need to be well rested and well fed but not too full.” She didn’t add that it might be his last meal. “I can order takeout from Aussie, a couple of juicy steaks for you and a salad for me, or we can go out. There is still plenty of time.”

“What do you want to do?”

Crumple in a heap on the floor and cry my eyes out.

Bridget had already mourned Victor once. She was an old pro at that. Except, she had to convince herself that her morbid thoughts were unwarranted. Nothing was going to happen, and she was going to keep that on a loop in her head.

Out loud she said, “It’s your day. You decide.”

“I want to spend every moment of it with you and not waste a minute on other people. Let’s order takeout. Do they deliver?”

“They can deliver to the guard station.”

“Excellent.” He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it.

“Didn't you want to shave?”

Bridget desperately needed a few moments alone to freak out in private.

“I’m going to take a quick shower first.”

Thank the merciful Fates. She was close to losing it in front of Victor. But she could hold it off for a couple more minutes until he got in the shower.

“I’ll place the order while you do that.”

The one good thing about Turner being a human was that he wouldn’t hear her over the noise in the shower. She could scream her head off if she wanted.

The neighbors might call the police, but that was beside the point.

Instead, she called Julian.

“Hi, Mom.”

“I need you to tell me that nothing is going to happen to Turner tonight.”

He chuckled. “You’re the one who has experience with transitioning Dormants. All I know is what you’ve told me.”

“Okay. From what I’ve told you, what are his chances of transitioning tonight?”

“None.”

“Thank you. I’ll see you at the ceremony.”

“Hold on,” he called before she had a chance to disconnect the call.

“Yes?”

“What’s going on? You sound like you’re freaking out.”

“That’s because I am. In my head, I know there is nothing to worry about, but my gut is doing somersaults. Why do you think I called you?”

“Because you needed a second opinion.”

“Right. But I’m not sure about what. Probably whether I’m sane or not.”

“You’re sane. You’re just too close, and you’re not thinking like a doctor. It’s natural. That’s why doctors shouldn’t treat family members.”

Bridget took in a deep breath. “You’re right. Thanks for the pep talk.”

“Any time.”