Page 57 of A Monster’s Future

I didn’t feel like a hero. Not when I’d gone down so easily against the altered human. And because of that, she could’ve been hurt. I’d have to spend the rest of my life training to be better, to prove that I could keep her safe.

Slowly, sensation returned to my fingertips. I wiggled them, feeling the dampness of her tears still clinging to my skin. I also felt… hair? What kind of position was she in for her head to be resting near my hand? She must’ve been slouching, her body curled awkwardly in the chair.

I moved my fingertips again, this time brushing her damp cheek. Her breathing changed, and she moved.

“Grtirr?” Her voice was soft and hesitant.

As I fought through the last of the drugs holding me immobile, I heard and felt her moving, her weight depressing the bed. When I opened my eyes, I saw her beautiful but tear-stained face hovering over mine.

“Grtirr! You’re awake.”

I tried to speak, but my throat was dry. My voice came out as little more than a rasp. The medical bed kept me hydrated and fed with nutrients, but it couldn’t do anything about the desert in my mouth. Julie was there in an instant, pressing a flask to my lips. I drank the liquid down greedily.

Then I looked down at the cot pulled up beside the medical bed. She must’ve been curled around my arm, her body pressed against me.

“You were slouching,” I admonished. “I felt it.”

She stared at me for a long moment, incredulous. Then her gaze dropped to the spot where she’d been sleeping, and she burst out laughing.

“Yes,” she admitted, amusement plain in her voice. “Yes, I was.” Her voice turned mischievous. “I also didn’t take my vitamins. And I skipped the last meal. What are you going to do about it?”

I grinned at her, flashing my sharp teeth and fangs. “I already know. I heard you while I was sedated. I heard every word. Felt every teardrop on my skin.”

I’d also heard my alarm going off, the one I set to remind myself to send her those alerts every single day.

Her eyes went wide. “You did?”

“I did.” I tugged her over my body, cursing the fact that my right arm still wasn’t working as it should. "And now that I’m awake, you will say you love me again." My hand slid up to cup her jaw, thumb brushing over her cheek. "While looking me right in the eyes, so I know you mean it."

A spark lit in her eyes, and she narrowed them at me. Ah! There was that fire I loved so much. I knew how much she bristled at being given orders, even if she wanted to do it anyway. But that spark died the moment the medical bed beeped loudly, complaining of the extra weight on it.

She scrambled off. “I shouldn’t be on you.”

“Nonsense. You weigh nothing. And your touch helps heal me.”

“You’re just saying that.”

“I am the medic. Are you doubting my professional opinion?”

"You’re impossible," she muttered.

“But it’s true. You are my mate, and your touch is healing to me.” I caught her gaze and held it. “And I am your mate, and I love you.” I leaned in as much as I could with one shoulder still held immobilized by the bed. “Now tell me, my little mate. Tell me what I want to hear.”

She huffed, but the fight melted out of her as she finally whispered the words I’d been waiting for. "I love you too, Grtirr.”

I grinned and pulled her down for a kiss. And this time, when the medical bed protested, we ignored it.

***

The door to the Ellaston Gazette flew open before I could grab the handle, and Julie’s hand shot out to grab my wrist and haul me inside. Dana stood watching a screen with a huge grin. Her mate Gnnar was already inside, leaning against the wall. Chris and Mark were there too.

“Took you long enough,” Julie said, dragging me into the room. Screens covered the walls, numbers scrolling across them. My gaze locked onto the largest display, which showed Nova Vita’s most-watched list, and there, at the very top, was the headline Council Corruption Exposed: The Truth Behind Utopia.

“We’re trending! Not the trade agreement one,” Dana said, tapping the screen a little lower. “That’s doing fine. But this? This is the one that matters.”

I leaned in. This was the piece Julie had been working on, the one with the files from Dr. Kim’s shuttle. The proof that most of the remaining council members had funded him and Dr. Noble long after the Utopia Project was supposed to be shut down.

“Some people immediately questioned whether the information was real or not,” Julie said. “But since we also recovered the drones used to bring in the chemicals and they’d filmed everything, we put out those videos in response. We also filmed a tour of Dr. Kim’s shuttle, which we ‘leaked’ on purpose.”