Molly’s arrival had caught them off guard, but the moment the surprise wore off, joy took over. It had been far too long since they’d seen her.

“Molly?” Danielle gasped. “What are you doing here?”

“Just… personal business,” Molly replied, keeping it vague.

Shermaine had her suspicions. If she had to guess, this visit had something to do with Bruce.

Danielle pulled her into a hug, but not without mischief. Her hand slipped around Molly’s waist and gave it a playful squeeze. “Still as ticklish as ever, huh?”

For once, Molly’s ears turned pink. She glared at her through gritted teeth. “Danielle!”

But Danielle wasn’t done. She gave her another sly pinch and added with a grin, “Relax. I didn’t tell Roy. No one else knows you’re ticklish. Your secret’s safe with us.”

Molly rolled her eyes. She and Roy hadn’t been talking much lately.

“So what if he finds out?” she said coolly.

Danielle smirked. “Try keeping that energy in bed.”

Molly was instantly speechless.

“I’m just saying,” Danielle went on, amused. “All he has to do is touch your waist, and you’d turn to mush.” Just picturing it made her laugh.

Molly, meanwhile, looked visibly uncomfortable. “Would you shut up?”

“Not a chance,” Danielle said sweetly. “Not ever.”

Molly pressed a hand to her forehead, already regretting showing up. She was used to being the dominant one, especially in bed. The thought of being the one who gave in was not her style.

“Sheary, am I right?” said Danielle.

“You are.”

Horington had been without water for weeks now. Clean supplies were running low, and with Molly joining them, they had to be even more careful with meals.

Back at the hotel, lunch had already been arranged, every ingredient flown in from Basterel by Joshua’s team.

Molly hadn’t been lying about her reason for coming. She was here for Bruce. He’d stayed in Wallington too long, and her father was getting impatient. But Bruce was one of the few people in Ustrana who didn’t care what her father thought.

Molly, on the other hand, was more than happy for an excuse to come back. When her father suggested she personally bring Bruce home, she volunteered before he even finished the sentence.

The deadline was generous. She was in no rush.

After lunch, they all headed upstairs and spent the next hour catching up.

Sunil, Shamsine, and Bandelte returned to the lab.

At three, the tenth round of kern injection was concluded.

Molly went to find Bruce.

Inside the lab, Natalie looked gaunt, nothing like her former self. Part of it was the virus. The mutations were ravaging her from the inside. The rest was the experiments. Being used again and again as a test subject had left her body wrecked, her nerves shot.

By now, the pain had carved itself into her brain. Just the sight of a needle sent her spiraling.

As soon as Shermaine and the others walked in, Natalie reacted, panic rising before anyone even touched her.

But she had no one to blame but herself. If she hadn’t made herself a threat, she wouldn’t be strapped to a freezing metal table right now.

The injection went in, and then came the pain.

Her entire body convulsed. Screams tore from her throat, raw, broken, and endless. It sounded like her very bones were being pulled apart.

Then, after a long while, the screaming stopped.

Everyone glanced at one another, thinking it another failure.

But Shermaine didn’t think so.

Natalie’s symptoms were changing.

The black scales were falling away and not growing back. Her once–elongated nails and fangs had started to dull. Slowly, her body was rebalancing, becoming human again.

Danielle arched a brow. “That’s progress.”

Shermaine gave a quiet nod. “Yeah.”

The others in the lab exhaled, cautiously optimistic. “Finally!”

That night, Molly returned to the hotel just as the sun dipped below the skyline. She swiped her keycard, let herself into Shermaine and Danielle’s suite, and found the place empty. Without hesitation, she headed straight for the shower.

By the time she finished, she was drying off when she heard the door open.

Shermaine and Danielle had just come back.

Shermaine had her phone in hand, mid–video call. Onscreen, Roy was clearly drunk. His cheeks were red, his speech slurred, and he clutched a bottle of wine like it was his last friend on earth. “Shermaine,” he whined, “Momo’s ignoring me.”

His eyes welled up. “She doesn’t like me. Does she?

“I can’t take this. I’m booking a flight to Ustrana. Right now. I’m going to find her.”

Shermaine stared at him, unimpressed. He was clearly three drinks in, and every other word out of his mouth was Molly.

When she saw Molly emerge from the bathroom in a robe, she tossed her phone at Molly. “Your problem. Go deal with it.”