Sloane got up with a frustrated growl. He paced beside Dex’s bed and ran his fingers through his hair. He had to tell Dex, get it over with. “When I marked you, I infected you with my fucked-up DNA. The First Gens on the list, the ones with anomalies in their blood. Our DNA has a mutation strong enough to alter Human DNA. That’s why those couples are all dead. Someone realized what was happening and killed them. They know. Fuck, Dex, they know, and they’ll be coming for us next.”
“Let me guess. This is all coming from Shultzon?”
Sloane nodded.
“And you believe him.”
“We all believe him.”
Dex sat up with a groan. “Are you kidding me?”
“Dex, you were strong. Stronger than me.”
“Adrenaline.”
“Enough to put up a fight against six Therians?”
Dex thought about it. “Lots of adrenaline.”
“Dex, you hissed.”
“People hiss all the time.”
“Not like Felids, they don’t. Your canines grew out. They were like mine. I saw them with my own eyes.”
Dex opened his mouth to reply, then shut it. “I got nothing.”
He bit his bottom lip, and Sloane stopped in his tracks. All the pieces of the puzzle were slowly coming together in Dex’s mind.
“That’s what I’ve been feeling? The sharpened eyesight, the strength. That was why I was able to get out of Wolf’s zip ties.”
Sloane nodded. “Dex, your DNA has changed. That’s why you’ve been having seizures. The tests they ran before were inconclusive because your body thought it was being attacked by my mutation. You had another seizure, a really bad one. You… died. Or at least it appeared that way.”
Dex gingerly lay back down. “I died? I don’t remember any of it.”
Sloane resumed his seat on the edge of Dex’s bed, and Dex placed his hand to Sloane’s cheek.
“You must have been terrified.”
Sloane nodded. He closed his eyes and turned his face to kiss the palm of Dex’s hand. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t.” Dex leaned forward, drawing Sloane to meet him halfway, and kissed him. “It’s not your fault.”
Sloane shook his head. “How could it not be? It’s my blood that’s done this to you. Who knows what will happen to you, and I’m the one responsible.”
“We’re responsible,” Dex corrected. “I asked you to mark me, remember? It was something we decided together.”
“Yeah, but you couldn’t possibly have known what would happen. My blood was infected.”
“Sloane, I love you. I don’t regret a thing. Whatever happens, we’ll work through it together, okay? You’re a part of me. Always. How could that possibly be a bad thing?”
Sloane brought their heads together and sighed. Dex didn’t hate him. No matter what they went through, Dex continued to surprise Sloane. He couldn’t help his smile. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
They stayed that way for some time before Sloane reluctantly pulled back. “There’s… something else.”
Dex squeezed his hand. “Tell me.”