“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“It didn’t look like nothing.” Luca took a step closer.
Pinpricks of burning ice raced down Nox’s spine. His cock hardened and his palms itched. Saliva filled his mouth, forcing him to swallow. Luca’s pulse fluttered in his neck. The smooth flow of his shoulder begged to be bitten.
Nox fled to the bathroom and shut the door. The distance strained the pull of Luca’s presence until the connection shredded, leaving Nox a raw nerve. He fell to his knees on the bathroom floor.
“Contact creates stability. It’s perfectly normal.” Dr. Dante slid a finger up the tablet. The blue light reflecting off his skin turned white.
“Call it what it is, sex.”
“All right, sex. It’s a primal need. It forms bonds in all levels of the animal kingdom.”
Nox opened and closed his hand. “The shit they put inside us isn’t a part of the animal kingdom.”
Dr. Dante exhaled a frustrated breath. “I know, but you are. And the Anubis is a part of your molecular structure now. I know it’s awkward since you don’t have any privacy.”
Nox didn’t care who watched. Being with Koda and his team was the only thing right in the world since he’d woken up. It was what Nox became when he was with Koda that bothered him. His body might remain human but his mind sure as hell didn’t.
Dr. Dante stepped closer. “I know you care about him, and it makes things more difficult.”
“We all care about him.” But it wasn’t the kind of love familiar to Nox.
“What you feel is because you carry his blood.”
At first. But now? It was just Koda. Who he was made not loving him impossible.
“You sure about that?”
“Yes. You’re physiologically connected.”
Nox cocked his mouth to the side. “Then what’s your excuse.”
Dr. Dante widened his eyes before stepping back.
“We can smell it every time you walk in the room. He isn’t just an experiment to you.”
Crow’s-feet cut lines around his eyes, aging him at least a decade.
Nox glanced at the camera in the corner of the room and shifted his weight as if about to step around Dr. Dante and return to his cell. At the same moment Nox lowered his head.
“I’m glad you do. I’m glad someone cares.”
Dr. Dante lifted his gaze to the opposite wall where a second camera crisscrossed the room. He dropped his attention to the tablet in his hands. “I’m sorry. If I could change things….”
It didn’t have to be said. Dr. Dante was the only one who carried any kind of guilt. It showed in his eyes and his scent.
Nox ran a thumb over the tattoo on his wrist. The only people who used his name were his teammates. Except for Dr. Dante. And every time he did, the guilt plaguing him carried in his tone.
To the other faculty, Nox, his team, and his Alpha, had been reduced to a product.
Cold white tile kissed Nox’s cheek. A few inches away from his nose: an atrocious heart shaped rug. He pulled himself over the edge of the bathtub and turned on the shower. He left off the hot water in favor of cold.
Nox could only hope it would be enough.
This shouldn’t happen. Luca was not his brother. He did not share the connection with Nox. Luca had not gifted Nox with life through his death.