Kian picked up his phone. “What can I do for you, Bridget?”

“Do you have a few moments to discuss Nick’s transition? I hate to bother you with that, but Ruth has some concerns.”

“Of course.” He got up and opened the door. Conveniently, Bridget’s office was down the hall from his. That was when she could get away from the clinic and actually do the job she’d volunteered for instead of filling in for Julian. “Come right in. The door is open.”

It was about time Ruth and Nick made up their minds whether they were meant for each other or not. Eva could go into labor any day now, and she was still refusing to move into the village until Nick transitioned.

In her mind, there was no doubt that he would. And since she’d been right about Tessa and Sharon, whose talents were much less apparent than Nick’s, Kian had little reason to doubt that either.

What irked him, though, was the doctor’s apologetic tone. She’d made it sound as if the guy was of no importance, and as if dealing with whatever troubled Ruth about his transition was a nuisance Bridget was loath to bother Kian with.

It couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Maybe he needed to remind her that potential Dormants were of utmost importance to the clan. All other considerations, economic and humanitarian, took a backseat to this. The future of the clan depended on finding Dormants and their successful transition to immortality.

Apart from the obvious problem of extinction, the effect of solitary life was corrosive to the mental health of his clansmen and women. Finding Syssi had changed Kian’s life so profoundly, giving it a meaning and a future he hadn’t dreamt of, that he often felt guilty about having been granted such an incredible boon while others remained lonely.

That was why he’d approved Julian’s week-long absence to attend a psychic convention even though it put additional strain on Bridget’s time. Every possible avenue, no matter how improbable, was worth investigating.

“Come in.” He waved Ruth and the doctor in.

“Thank you for agreeing to see us,” Bridget said.

“Yes, thank you,” Ruth mumbled under her breath.

“Never hesitate to come to me with anything that has to do with Dormants. I will always make time for that.” He motioned to the two chairs facing his desk. “Please take a seat.”

When they did, he walked over to the bar and opened the fridge. “Can I offer you anything to drink? Water? Soda? Something stronger?” As was his habit, he managed to get himself all riled up and needed something to calm him down.

“No, thank you,” Ruth said.

Bridget put her tablet down. “I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

It was late afternoon, a perfect time for a drink, but maybe he should wait for his meeting with Onegus. The ladies might frown on him grabbing a beer in the middle of his workday. With Syssi’s encouragement, he was putting some effort into improving his public image. The squeeze balls she’d gotten him for stress relief would do for now.

He pulled out three small bottles of carbonated water and put two in front of his guests, even though Ruth had declined his offer. The way her eyes were darting around, she was nervous as hell, which usually resulted in a dry mouth.

And people thought he had no empathy.

“What can I help you with?” he asked.

“Ruth, could you tell Kian what you’ve told me?”

Clutching the plastic bottle, Ruth nodded, took in a breath, and then finally looked him in the eyes.

Good for her. It was about time the woman developed some backbone.

“I’m ready to tell Nick about the possibility of him being a Dormant.”

Kian smiled in what he thought was an encouraging way. “Congratulations.” Dialing down his intensity was one more thing Syssi had told him he needed to work on. According to his wife, it came through as aggression and intimidated people, which was probably doubly true for someone as timid as Ruth.

She shook her head. “But there is a problem. He might be an immune. The one time I tried to peek into his mind, I couldn’t. I know I’m not very good at it, but I had no problem with other humans.” Suddenly aware of the incriminating implications of her admission, Ruth looked up at him with worried eyes. “I didn’t thrall anyone. I just took a quick peek once in a long while. I hope that’s okay. I’m not a lawbreaker.”

He lifted his hand. “That’s okay, Ruth. No need to apologize. Did anyone else try to thrall Nick? Wasn’t Jackson supposed to do it for Eva’s wedding?”

“Yes, but he didn’t. Instead, he got Nick drunk.”

“Because he couldn’t?”

“Jackson didn’t try. He said he had a feeling that Nick might be a hard nut to crack.”

Kian leaned back in his chair. “Well, it seems like no one really tried to thrall the kid except for you, and you admit to being not so good at it. The first course of action should be an actual test. I’ll ask Bhathian to attempt thralling Nick. It’s convenient since they live in the same house.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d rather have Jackson try first,” Ruth said in a small voice.

“Be my guest. I don’t know how good Jackson is, but I know Bhathian is decent. If both of them fail, we will have to test him with someone better. Yamanu and Arwel are both very strong. Yamanu more than Arwel, but his appearance might raise Nick’s suspicions. Is he a suspicious guy by nature?”

Ruth shook her head. “Not at all. He’s open and talkative and has no filter, but he is also very smart.” She sighed. “What are we going to do if he can’t be thralled? Could we even offer him a chance at transition? Because if we do and he turns out not to be a Dormant, and we can’t erase the experience from his memory, we will have to imprison him, right?”

“Right. But let’s not panic just yet. If everyone else fails, I’m willing to test him myself. If I can’t thrall him either, we will figure something out.”

Bridget arched a brow. “Like what?”

“I don’t know yet. I need to do some thinking.”

She eyed him suspiciously and for a good reason. The way he’d first healed and then turned her mate was still a mystery Bridget was thankfully unable to solve.

Keeping his expression schooled under her scrutiny, Kian thanked the Fates that neither Bridget nor Turner, both extremely smart people, had managed to figure out what he’d done.

After a few seconds of a stare down, Bridget gave up and pushed to her feet, with Ruth quickly following suit. “Thank you for seeing us.”

“Anytime.” He stood up and escorted them to the door. “You know what to do, Ruth, right?”

“Yes, start with Jackson, and if that doesn’t work, try with someone stronger.”

He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Exactly. And if all else fails, don’t hesitate to call on me.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

As Kian closed the door behind them, he let the smile slide off his face.

Nick presented a similar problem to Turner, but with the added complication of having no knowledge of immortals.

The guy must have been pretty oblivious if he hadn’t noticed anything peculiar about the people surrounding him. Either that or his roommates and Ruth were doing a fantastic job of hiding their otherness.

But that was neither here nor there. If Nick proved to be an immune, they couldn’t tell him anything. Turner had been the only exception to the rule of keeping their existence secret from humans, and there had been plenty of good reasons for that.

That reasoning was absent with Nick.

He was a young guy who according to Ruth had no filter. Turner was an operative whose entire life revolved around keeping secrets.

Bottom line, Nick would have to be induced without his knowledge, which was morally wrong but the lesser evil. If he were told the truth and then didn’t transition, his life would be ruined. They would have no choice but to keep him locked up, either in the keep or the village.

The question was how to do it.

Kian could drug Nick the same way he’d drugged Turner, but this time he wouldn’t have the benefit of the goddess’s miracle-producing blood.

Without it, the only way to induce Nick was by a venom bite, and there was no way Kian could summon enough aggression out of thin air to bite an unconscious man, not even if he listened to vile lyrics of slam poetry. That trick had worked once. It wasn’t going to work again.

He couldn't do it, but Brundar might.

The Guardian prided himself on the ability to produce venom and elongate his fangs on demand.

With Turner, the goddess’s blood had been necessary because of the cancer, and since no one was supposed to know about her blood’s miracle-producing properties, Kian had no choice but to do everything himself.

Nick, on the other hand, was a healthy kid who any immortal male could induce, provided said immortal could do it to an unconscious Dormant.