No. No. No.
Mate.
Oh hell. I’d barely held my beast back when we were in the human lab. She wanted to rip those Silver Scion assholes a new one. Problem was, I was enhanced, but so were they. They were bigger. Stronger. More tech. Despite everything, I was still female, and they were… not. Attacking them would have gotten us all killed.
Guilt at Doctor Pearson’s death ate away at my peace of mind, but there was nothing I could have done. I asked him to leave. He ignored me and confronted the Scions.
I’d barely chained my beast when the fight exploded around us. One second I had Ethan shoved beneath me, shielding his human body with mine, ready to take the blast for him. The next, he twisted us—fast, decisive—and caged me under him like I was the fragile one. The moment his body pressed into mine, something primal snapped through me. My beast arched inside my skin, purring at the strength in him, the command in that single, instinctive move. She wanted him—wanted the male who’d dared to protect her, who moved with that raw, fearless certainty.
And gods help me… the heat that lit through my belly when he pinned me should’ve been impossible. He was human. Human, and now shot because I couldn’t tear those Silver Scion bastards apart the way she wanted. I should’ve been focused on keeping him alive, not on the imprint of his hips between my thighs or the memory of his chest crushing the air between us. Guilt twisted through me, sharp as a blade, but my beast didn’t care. She liked him claiming the top position. She liked his protectiveness even more.
It didn’t matter that he was the vulnerable one, the one who needed me to keep breathing. My instincts warred—half wanting to wrap around him and shield my mate, half wanting to drag him closer and mark him for choosing to protect me when danger hit.
A small part of me had hoped the she-beast would be gone after transport. That having my cells ripped apart and put back together would erase her. Make me feel normal again. Not sex starved, obsessed and totally out of character.
Mine.
So much for that idea.
None of this mental chaos should’ve been happening. Not with him lying here bleeding. Not with me knowing he might not survive when my beast had already he belonged to her
Scrambling to my feet, I ran my palm over what appeared to be an empty section of countertop. My toolbox appeared. I shoved the scanner I’d used to take the DNA sample from the dead Silver Scion’s spine, and Doctor Pearson’s samples, inside and grabbed the hand-held ReGen wand. My detective still hadn’t moved.
I forced myself to move with cold efficiency, ignoring the clawing, screaming wench inside me, the beast, who was freaking the fuck out over Ethan’s condition.
Calm down. Humans do not react well to their initial transport experience. This is normal.
Blood. Hurt!
I know. I’m taking care of it.I activated the ReGen wand and knelt on the floor next to our ma—Ethan. The human detective we would use to track down the location of the Silver Scions base. That was the only reason I so desperately needed to save him. I ruthlessly quashed any other misguided emotions. I was on a mission, nothing more. Nothing. More.
No! Mine. Heal. Now!
Bossy fucking bitch. “Settle down.” Speaking to her out loud made me, somehow, feel slightly less psychotic for communicating with her at all. She was nothing. A voice in my head. A figment of my imagination. A mental disorder I would need to divulge to Doctor Mersan, Commander Helion, and the I.C. medical teams so they could warn any other Atlan females like me they had deployed. Females whose DNA had been tampered with.Enhanced.
Although, I didn’t know of any others like me. What Atlan female would choose this life? No sane female. None with any family. Friends. A mate. A lover.
I had nothing. This war, and the Intelligence Core, had taken everything from me, and now they were taking my sanity.
Female Atlans did not have beasts. Did not.
Heal mate. I come out.
No!My reaction was instant and full of panic. I could feel her satisfied smirk inside me. Great. Worse, I wasn’t sure if her threat was real. Could I transform? Was that possible?
She wasn’t supposed to exist at all. So far, she was just in my head. I was not going to literally transform into a gigantic monster with mating fever and unnatural strength. Right?
What would happen—to me, and to Ethan—if I was wrong?
Moving quickly, I took off the medical lab coat I’d borrowed and rolled it up under Ethan’s shoulder. I held the ReGen wand over the entry wound and gently rolled him to inspect his back. When I couldn’t see well enough, I ripped the seams of his dark blue shirt so I could take a better look at the wound.
The bullet went clean through. Thank the gods. At least I wouldn’t have to dig it out of him. I couldn’t tolerate the thought of hurting him.
Mine.
“Shut. Up.” I was going to kill her. I settled the ReGen wand over the worst section of his injury and sighed in relief when the bleeding stopped immediately. I watched for several seconds, satisfaction thrumming through my system—and hers—as his flesh began to knit back together in front of our eyes. He’d be weak from blood loss, but he would live. He would be healed soon.
Then what?
