Chapter 133

Ava

“You’re lucky; all of you. This could have been ten times worse.”

The lead scientist pulled his latex gloves off with a snap, shaking his head. I bit my lip and let my gaze wander behind him—toward the group of other scientists in hazmat suits who were probing the patch of glossy black fungus with instruments I couldn’t even begin to recognize.

Chris, who we had called along with the science team the instant we had found the blight on Leonard’s farm, huffed out a deep breath and passed a hand over his weary face. “How bad is it, exactly?” he asked.

The lead scientist sighed and glanced over at Leonard’s ashen expression. “From what I’ve observed, this patch here contains a catalyst.”

“A catalyst?” I echoed softly.

The scientist nodded. “Sometimes, but not always, infestations of the fungus contain one; essentially a ‘mother plant’ that can create spores.”

“So the blight can spread,” Leonard breathed, all but dropping to his knees.

“Yes. Thankfully, since the patch is still relatively small, we should be able to destroy the catalyst before it can create enough spores to spread; but we’ll have to also test and treat the entire surrounding area for a quarter-mile in each direction to ensure that there is no risk.”

Leonard’s face paled even more, if that was even possible. “But my farm,” he said. “What about my crops? My animals? My livelihood?”

The lead scientist’s shoulders slumped. I, too, felt my knees go weak; when I looked over at Chris, his eyes were practically glazed over with disbelief and exhaustion. Ophelia trembled in my periphery.

“I’m sorry, Leonard,” the scientist finally said. “But you’re going to have to vacate your farm for at least seventy-two hours. We have agriculture experts on the team who can oversee your crops and animals in the meantime, but for your safety, you cannot stay here.”

There was a long silence after that. Leonard let out a low sound that was almost like a whimper, turned, and wiped his hand over his mouth. Ophelia, who was standing nearby with Princess tucked under one arm, walked up to him with a quivering lower lip.

“There, there, dear Leonard,” she said softly, touching his arm. “It’s only a few days.”

Leonard opened his mouth to protest, but before he could, I cut in. “Ophelia is right, Leonard. It’s only a few days; you can stay with me until then.”

“Oh, yes!” Ophelia said. “Imagine the fun we’ll have.” Even Princess wagged her tail, and Leonard sighed and scratched the little white dog behind the ears.

“Thank you, Ava. It looks like I have no choice but to take you up on that.”

I offered Leonard a sad smile before turning to Chris again. I was about to ask him what his plans were as Alpha, but it seemed he already had something in mind. He suddenly turned toward the lead scientist with a tense jaw.

“How close is the genetically modified plant to being ready?” he blurted out.

The scientist furrowed his brow. “F. Luminaria is still undergoing testing,” he replied, referring to the mushroom that had been in production for a few weeks now—‘fungus luminaria’, known for not only its glowing properties, but also for its newly-developed ability to consume the blighted fungus. “It’s not quite ready to be deployed.”

Chris clenched his jaw even tighter. “I don’t care. Deploy it anyway.”

“But, Alpha Chris—”

“We don’t have any more time to waste on tests,” Chris bit out. “If the blight is spreading this close to town, then we need to be more proactive.”

The scientist opened his mouth to protest, then sighed and nodded, seeming to think better of it. “Very well. But there’s no guarantee that it will work. And we’re still not entirely sure of the potential negative effects it may have.”

Frowning, Chris turned to Leonard. “Leonard,” he said, “do you consent to this?”

Leonard was silent for some time, his throat working nervously as he seemed to weigh the options. Then, finally, he nodded. “If it will save my farm, then yes. I’ll give anything a try.”

With a terse nod, Chris returned his attention to the scientist, who sighed softly—clearly not thrilled about this, but also not willing to go against his Alpha’s wishes. “Very well, Alpha Chris. I’ll have my team deploy F. Luminaria today.”

After a few more words with the scientists, the four of us headed up to Leonard’s cottage. We stepped into the small, quaint kitchen as Leonard scurried off into the other room to pack a bag. Ophelia joined him to help, leaving Chris and I alone at the rickety little farm table.

I frowned, picking at the checkered tablecloth. “This is bad,” I whispered, keeping my voice low so as not to be overheard and worry Leonard even further. “Really bad.”

Chris didn’t respond. When I glanced up at him, his green eyes were fixed on the window, through which we could make out the science team still working across the field. Even the cows seemed perturbed, all having gathered at the fence to watch what was going on.

“Chris.”

My voice caused him to snap his gaze away from the window, revealing his dark circles to me. “Sorry,” he said quietly. “I’m a bit scatterbrained today. Still haven’t slept.”

My lips tugged down into a frown. “At all?” I asked.

He eyed me for a moment, his gaze flickering up and down my body. His lips parted momentarily, but then he shut them again and simply shook his head.

With a sigh, I reached across the table to touch his hand. His skin was cool and smooth, and although he flinched slightly in surprise at my touch, he didn’t pull away.

“Chris…”

“I can’t sleep without you,” he suddenly blurted out. “I can’t, Ava. I need you.”

I blinked in surprise, my mouth working uselessly for a few moments. Seeing him like this, seeing him so exhausted, hearing those words of desperation… It softened me. Maybe he did need me. Maybe I needed him, too.

“Can we… Can we talk later?” he asked softly. “For real this time?”

I snapped my gaze up from our hands to meet his and stared at him for a moment before nodding stiffly. “Sure. We can talk.”

“Tonight?” he asked.

“Tonight.”

Before either of us could say another word, Leonard and Ophelia were emerging from the other room. Leonard had a bag in hand and an exhausted, but optimistic, look on his face. That wasn’t the only thing I noticed, though; Ophelia’s cherry red lipstick was a little smudged. And Leonard’s lips were tinged the faintest shade of the same color, eliciting a smirk from me.

“Are you ready?” I asked, rising from my chair.

Leonard nodded. Together, the four of us stepped back out into the balmy afternoon air and began making our way to my cottage. Leonard stopped one last time at the end of the drive to watch as the hazmat team scoured his farm, and Ophelia put her hand on his to comfort him.

“Don’t fret, darling. This will be over before you know it.”

I glanced up at Chris, whose green eyes easily met mine. I hoped that Ophelia was right; that this would all be over soon.

All of it.