“The tests are not complete,” the doctor said, focusing on his task.
I huffed. “Look at me. It is obvious, is it not?” I was not fully beast, my body having reduced in size as it always did. But I was not fully back to normal, either.
“The testing was all her idea?” Caroline asked.
I looked to her, stroked my fingers down her cheek, gently like an Atlan. “She believed a mate would be able to revive my beast. That a mate would be the only one able to help me heal. While there are a few unmated females on the Colony, none had yet called to my beast to mate. Therefore, they forced me into the testing.”
“Forced you?” she asked.
“I can’t believe you let me sleep through this,” the feminine voice said from the doorway. In strode Lady Rone, her big belly leading the way. “Are you sure, Doctor, there aren’t two babies in here?” She pointed to her belly and bumped Ryston out of the way to get to Caroline.
The doctor opened his mouth to respond, but she kept on talking. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’d hug you, but that’s not really doable for another few months. Another woman from Earth! I’m starting to see a trend.”
Maxim put his hand on her shoulder and she quieted.
“Mate, breathe.”
She looked put out, but did as told.
“I want to thank you,” I told her.
Doctor Surnen put down the wand.
“Well?” I asked him.
“I see no lingering effects of the Hive protein synthesis in any of the tests. They were there earlier and now? Not a trace. I don’t yet understand how this happened, but your mate has successfully revived your beast.”
“I’m cured?” I asked.
Everyone was focused on the doctor. “While I have no idea what the Hive actually did to you during your short captivity, the scans indicate your physiology has returned to normal. I cannot say for certain that the condition will not return. I’ll need to run more tests. But, as of this moment, the only traces of Hive in your system are the auditory implants and flesh integration that began during your original captivity.”
And that was the reason I was here. On the Colony in the first place.
Contaminated.
I lifted a hand to my neck, the side of my jaw where I knew my skin there was no longer fully Atlan, but Hive. I had no idea what they’d done to me, or what the end game had been, but that part of me was permanently changed. Silver. Odd. And I could hear better than any other Atlan out of my left ear. I could hear every heartbeat in the room. I’d learned to ignore the overload of sound, unless I was with my mate.
And the sounds I heard were her pulse, her cries of pleasure. She turned and lifted her hand to cover mine, to the mark of the Hive on my flesh. There was no disgust or judgment in her eyes, just acceptance. Tenderness. Compassion.
I wanted to see love there. I wanted her to look at me the way Rachel looked at Maxim and Ryston. But I hadn’t earned that yet. But I would. I would make her whimper and moan and lose control. I would make her mindless with pleasure until she thought of nothing but me.
Gods, yes, I would listen to her for hours.
“Listen, Rezzer. This is good news, but as I have no idea how they managed to suppress your beast, I have no way to be certain the effects will not return, that there isn’t some hidden, microscopic implant capable of regenerating. They did something to you on a cellular level. I need more time.”
“When can I return to working with Hunter Kiel, Captain Marz and the security forces? I need to find the Hive and eliminate them. I need to return to the caves, the hunt.” Gods, the thought of it made my heart beat faster. I was born to fight. I was a Coalition fighter and would always be one. Nothing could stop me. And now that I had a mate to protect, I would be relentless. Could spend hours in the caves. The traitor, Krael, and his Hive minions would die. “I’ll tear the Hive in two with my bare hands. I’ll—
Caroline pulled away from me. “No.”
I stilled as that single word sliced through me like the largest Atlan blade. “What?” My beast began to prowl, and I felt my spine tingle, ready to lengthen further. “No? I will protect the Colony, mate. I will protect—“ I’d been about to say I would protect her, but the doctor cut me off this time.
“No, Rezzer. Your body might not keep you from returning to your role with the Colony forces as an Atlan Warlord, but your cuffs will.”
I glanced down at my cuffs, at those about Caroline’s slender wrists. “Fuck.” Gods be damned. I was blessed, and cursed. I was leashed like a dog now, but couldn’t make myself regret it. The beast, however, growled from deep within.
At the sound, Caroline stepped back, lifted her hands. “What’s so special about the bracelets?”
I chuffed out a quick laugh. “They aren’t bracelets. They’re mating cuffs.”