they’re going to die. If they have a reaction from it, they’re going to die. But what’s the alternative?
“They’re gonna die,” Juno mumbled reluctantly.
“Exactly,” Wyatt said. Either way, they’re going to die. Unless the medicine you give them works, in which case they’ll live. And then I don’t think they’ll be too mad at you for trying it out on them.”
“I guess you’re right,” Juno said, her shoulders slumping. It still feels wrong, though.”
“Sometimes you have to push the envelope a little to bring change,” Wyatt said,standing and walking over to put his hand on Juno’s shoulder. “If it makes you feel better, then tell me what to do and I’ll be the one to actually stick the needle in them.”
Juno sighed and then looked up at Wyatt with tears threatening her eyelids. “No, I’ll do it. It should be me. I don’t want to put that on you. It’s just that this is a lot harder than I thought it would be.”
Juno stared down at her feet, unwilling to meet Wyatt’s eyes. His hand on her shoulder felt so warm and comforting. She wished that she could just collapse into his arms. But, of course, she had already told him that she didn’t want a relationship,so why would he put his arms around her? Juno let out a small, bitter laugh. Here she was trying to save the world, and she was denying herself the one source of comfort that was right in front of her.
“Why we do these things to ourselves?” she asked out loud, finally looking up at Wyatt.
“Do what things?” Wyatt asked.
“You know. Play by all these rules that society gives us. I mean, sometimes rules are helpful, but it’s like we can’t let rules go, even when we’d be better off if we did.”
Wyatt’s face was filled with compassion as he spoke. “I know it’s hard to break the rules sometimes. Especially when they’re deeply ingrained in us. But this is for a much greater good,” he said. “If you find a cure, you’ll save so many lives. And, like I said, this guy’s gonna die anyway. We might as well take a chance at saving him.”
“You’re right,” Juno said. “But I wasn’t just talking about the medicine.”
“What were you talking about?” Wyatt asked, furrowing his brow.
Juno took a deep breath. Her body felt warm and tense, and she felt like she was about to jump over a big cliff into the unknown. Her mind screamed at her to stop, but her heart was running away with her.
“I was talking about you,” Juno said. “About us. I know it’s a bad time for relationship. I’ve been sitting here trying to convince myself of that all morning. And yet, something within me is drawn to you.”
“Juno,” Wyatt said, softly stepping toward her. “I don’t want to pressure you, but…”
He trailed off, and then took her hand in his. A fresh jolt of heat shot through Juno’s being. She looked up at him, unsure of what to say. Should they really do this? Juno had always imagined she would end up with a shifter instead of a human, but she’d never imagined it would be a dragon. Of course, how could she have, when she hadn’t even known until yesterday that dragons existed. Still, something about this felt so right. He was a distraction from her work, yes. But not all distractions were bad, right?
“Juno,” he said again. Then he leaned down and kissed her. This time, Juno kissed him back fervently. She didn’t push him away after a minute, and she didn’t try to resist the strength of his body pressing against hers. She forgot where she was. She forgot about the fact that half the world was dying. She forgot that her favorite city was in ruins. She forgot that her clan was probably pissed off at her. She forgot about the weight of worry pressing down on her every time she wondered what would happen if she couldn’t come up with a cure.
For the first time in months, Juno was genuinely in the moment. All she could think about was how strong and warm Wyatt’s body felt against