Just as he said the words, Dex convulsed violently, his breath coming in rapid pants. Dex’s terrified gaze landed on Sloane, a tear escaping him before a wobbly smile came onto his full lips. The last thing Sloane heard was the sound of Dex flatlining.
“Get the fuck off me! Get off!” Sloane pushed against the Therian operatives trying to take him away from Dex’s bedside. “He needs me. Dex, please, you need to wake up. Wake up, baby. Oh God, please. No, don’t do this to me, not again. Please!” Sloane was frantic, his eyes stinging from the tears. This wasn’t happening.
One doctor cut through Dex’s T-shirt while the other quickly prepared the defibrillator.
“Clear!”
The doctor pressed the paddles to Dex’s chest, his body pulsing with the shocks. Sloane wanted to close his eyes. He’d never get the images out of his head, of Dex’s body jolting, each one worse than the last. When the doctor stopped, Sloane shook his head.
“You can’t stop.”
“I’m sorry, Agent Brodie.”
“No.” Sloane shook his head. “Dex, wake up! You wake up right now!”
Sloane pushed away from the Therians holding him, and they released him. He clawed at the straps, demanding frantically that they get them off Dex. As soon as Dex was free, Sloane cradled him in his arms, running a hand over his hair. Dex’s body was limp against him, his eyes closed and lips slightly parted. He looked like he was asleep. No. It couldn’t end like this.
“Sweetheart, you listen to me, okay? You gotta wake up, because I can’t be without you. Please. Don’t leave me. You promised.” Sloane ran his hand over Dex’s hair, refusing to believe it. “Come on, baby. Come back to me. I’m begging you.” He ignored the doctors who wouldn’t stop telling him Dex was gone.
Dex was strong. The world couldn’t lose him. Couldn’t lose his smile or rich laughter, couldn’t lose his boyish hijinks or awful taste in cheesy eighties music. The world needed Dex’s light. Sloane needed it. Needed it more than anything. Sloane shut his eyes tight, murmuring into his hair. “Please, Dex. There’s so much we still have to do, so much I want. I want us to get married, have a dog, kids…. You’ll be such an amazing dad. We can embarrass our kids together. Get a minivan, grow old together. You can’t go before we’ve begun, angel. You just can’t. It’s taken this long for us to find each other. You can’t leave now. Please—” Sloane choked on his sob. “Oh God, please don’t leave me.”
A sharp gasp tore from Dex’s lips, his body twisting and his eyes flying open. The gold ring around his pupils glowed molten before draining away, leaving only the sparkling blue.
“Dex?” Sloane’s voice broke, and he was too scared to even breathe.
Dex turned his head and gave Sloane a small smile, his eyelids growing heavy. “Hi, handsome.”
Sloane laughed, fresh tears escaping to roll down his cheeks. He hugged Dex against him, closing his eyes as relief washed over him.
“It was the transformation,” one of the doctors said.
“What transformation?” Sloane asked, basking in Dex’s warmth. He was alive. It was okay. Everything would be okay.
“It would seem his body was accepting the mutation. The final steps. His DNA has successfully fused with yours.”
“Is it over?” Sloane asked roughly, Dex peacefully asleep in his arms. “Are the seizures over?”
The leopard Therian doctor nodded. “The seizures were caused by the Therian mutation seeking to fuse itself with his Human DNA. At first his body fought against it, seeing it as a foreign entity, uncertain of its intention. At some point his body welcomed the mutation, and the changes began. This last seizure? Think of it as a reboot. His new body needed to restart itself, as it were.”
“So he died, but didn’t?” Sloane asked.
“Correct.”
“Just like Shultzon said,” Sparks said thoughtfully. She turned and ran from the room.
Sloane didn’t care. He gently laid Dex down and held on to his hand, brushing his hair away from his brow with the other. “I won’t ever let you go, Dex. I love you.”
“He’s dead.”
Sloane’s head shot up, his wide eyes on Sparks as she stormed into the room. “Shultzon is dead.”
“How?”
“He said they knew. How could they know? This facility is secure. We made certain of it.” Her eyes widened. “Dex. He mentioned the ceilings. Did he say something to you about that?”
Sloane racked his brain, trying to remember. “Yeah, um, he thought he saw something the last time we were here, and now he saw it again. He said it was every few feet, like the lighting changed color. Something about translucent tiny squares of something.”
“Shit.” Sparks ran over to one of her operatives and whispered in his ear. The guy took off. She turned and gave orders before addressing Sloane. “Keep an eye on him. If you need anything, there will be several operatives posted outside the door.”