At least Abel’s pain had been fleeting, and he was gone before he understood what had happened. And while the loss cut Nox, it did not destroy him.
Koda was not as lucky.
No matter the distance, all of them heard Koda scream.
Black filled the corners of the room, fading to dark gray where the moon slipped past the curtains. Leaves whispered outside the window to the beat set by Luca’s exhales.
Nox’s heart thundered in his chest.
The faded ghost of machine oil, dirt, smoke, and copper didn’t return. He was not in the chopper, he was not walking back through the facility, he was not staring for days at Koda who’d been left inconsolable.
By the second day, when there’d been no change, they’d opened the door separating the cells, allowing the team to collect him.
Koda’s condition made staying with the betas dangerous. Not because they would hurt him, but because it made studying what had happened impossible. With their Alpha in distress, they’d been volatile. Something as ordinary as the guards in the hallway enraged the Anubis.
The smoked glass had proven impenetrable under any circumstances. But the head scientists, even Dr. Dante, seem reluctant to test it in those conditions.
None of them tried to break out. As long as they had Koda within reach, they were content.
The Anubis was content.
Sweat soaked Nox’s hair and left a dark spot on his pillow. He sat up. There was no imminent danger. There was no intruder. Yet his senses vibrated with the life force of every person within a thousand yards: scavengers in the dumpsters, cats on the porch, prowling in the yard, vermin burrowing in the walls, insects moving in the earth. White noise armed with needle teeth.
He found a thermostat near the door and turned it down. Icy air flowed from the ceiling vents, pushing back the fire under his skin.
Luca turned over. At some point during the night, he’d kicked off the blankets. Now he lay on his stomach, with one foot off the bed. The flow of air pushed his scent around the room, casting glowing particles on every surface.
Nox inhaled, but the fever churning out of him refused to bank.
No. Not his fever.
Nox walked over.
Heat billowed from Luca’s skin, but he was pale under the flush. Nox rolled Luca over and shook him. He opened his eyes, but his gaze didn’t focus.
“Luca, wake up, you’re running a fever.”
Luca blinked and tried to push him away.
“Can you take aspirin?” He’d have to find some. Surely there was a store close by that carried it.
“It’s normal.” Luca closed his eyes again.
“You’re burning up.”
“It happens. It’ll stop.” He shivered.
“Luca, it’s high, really high. Can you take anything for it?” Nox jostled him again, but he didn’t respond. A cold shower would bring it down. Nox started to pick up Luca, but the pull to be closer had Nox sliding in next to him. Luca scooted closer, tucking his face into Nox’s neck. He removed Luca’s shirt and pushed his boxer to his ankles.
Nox surrounded Luca with his arms. The energy humming in the air stilled until there was nothing but the smoothness of Luca’s body and the silk texture of his hair as Nox petted his head.
The Anubis slid under Nox’s flesh where ever he made contact as if drawn by the heat. Sound fell away leaving behind the quiet of night broken by the tick of a clock hanging on the wall.
Luca’s skin cooled, and calm enveloped Nox, leaving him languid on the bed. He’d felt real peace a few times in his life and it had always been entwined with his teammates, and Koda cradled in his arms.
But even then, it had never been this pure.
*****