Chapter 16
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I’m sitting alone again during the meal. Rupert is busy at Juan and Timmy’s table, of course. I could join them, but I deliberately pick a different seat. Rupert doesn’t even blink when he notices it, just goes back to his conversation with Juan, laughter and silly jokes flying around.
I’m finishing my plate of bacon, sausages, and soft-boiled eggs when I spot Reed heading my way.
Great. I raise my eyebrows slightly as he approaches. He leans in over my table, getting uncomfortably close, and speaks way too loudly for it to be a private message.
"Red Mug wants you. He’s got another procedure today. Not exactly a pleasant one."
I catch the looks from the other participants. You can practically read their reactions: amusement and disapproval. Unsurprisingly, Rupert doesn’t seem bothered at all by Reed talking to me like that. He glances over but says nothing.
"Another painful procedure? You’re seriously putting that man through torture." I make sure my voice carries. "Of course I’ll help."
He pretends to be indifferent to my comment.
I stand up with exaggerated annoyance and follow Reed out, feeling everyone’s eyes on me.
Once we’re in the hallway, he says, "By the way, I can see Rupert doesn’t have a problem with Red Mug.
Since you’re all so relaxed about it, don’t forget about our offer.
Wilhelm’s and mine. If you’re interested, you know where to find us.
" He makes a casual gesture with his hands, like he’s reminding me of a possible favor to come.
I give him a freezing cold look and say nothing. I just keep walking behind him toward the lab, the same one where Fenn had his procedure before.
We go in, and I find him sitting at a specialized table, similar to a blood-draw station.
He looks a little different. I notice he must have had his hair cut. His dark hair is now very short, military style.
I have this strange feeling he did it for me, because he wants to look well-groomed.
He’s only wearing hospital pants, and his bare, massive chest draws the eye, powerful slabs of muscle shifting slightly as he turns toward me.
Dr. Lee is beside him, giving me his usual detached look.
But I go straight to Fenn.
"Marlow…" he says, his face brightening instantly, as if a spark ignites inside him.
It has to be obvious to everyone in the room, the shift in his energy, his smile, the light in his eyes.
He’s so happy to see me, he appreciates me… Something tightens in my chest.
I’ve never seen anyone look at me like that. Not once in my life.
I remember a couple of my unsuccessful dates, when I showed up and the guys I was meeting kept looking around nervously, convinced that someone they knew would spot them with me, like I was some stain on their reputation or a reason for shame.
But Fenn Drax… His aura transforms, softens, as if the whole room is filled with sunlight now.
I move toward him, almost carried in on a wave.
The markings across his body seem to burn with a deep purple glow.
Our eyes meet. Fuck. He’s so handsome. And sexy.
And he… likes me, he's into me. So sweetly and so intensely.
Ignoring everyone else in the room, I reach out and rest my hand gently on his shoulder, saying just one word, as softly as I can.
"Fenn…"
In response, his hand lifts and wraps around my wrist. His fingers slide gently along the inside of my forearm, brushing over my scars. For some reason, I don’t react the way I usually do, no nervous flinch, nothing.
I let him touch that intimate part of me, the place that represents my failures, my pain, and my sense of not being accepted.
It feels like he’s pouring something mending into it, soothing it with his acceptance. It’s powerful, all-encompassing.
"Marlow…" he repeats, even quieter this time.
We hold eye contact. There’s something in this connection that makes me feel dizzy, as though I'd just downed a few drinks in quick succession, my head filling with a pleasant buzz.
Only then do I notice Dr. Lee staring at me, his eyebrows subtly raised, like he’s somewhat shocked.
Reed is still there too, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. His face twists into something between disgust and contempt.
"Can we begin the procedure?" Dr. Lee asks in a tentative tone, looking between us.
"What are you going to do to him?" The words slip out of me, even though it’s not really my business. I’m not some kind of watchdog over Fenn Drax’s medical care, but for some reason I feel entitled to know the details of the procedure.
"We’re taking a sample from his neck gland."
My eyes widen, I'm fully aware that this is one of the most painful procedures for any AO. The glands are an extremely intimate area for us; during a mating bite, they’re capable of turning pain into pleasure, but outside of that one exception, they’re highly sensitive to touch and to any kind of damage.
A chill runs through me as I think about what he’s about to endure.
For now, I step back from Fenn as Dr. Lee begins preparing the extraction site. He adjusts the articulated exam lamp and studies the scan hovering beside Fenn’s chair.
But he has to pause his work for a moment because he lets out a powerful sneeze.
"Excuse me," he murmurs and shoots me a sharp glance. Does he still think I have a feline allergen on my clothes? Well, guilty as charged.
In the meantime, the image of the neck gland rotates slowly, layers of tissue highlighted in pale blue.
"We only need a core sample," the doctor says. "Three millimeters in diameter. Depth approximately twelve."
His voice stays flat. "After the procedure, you’ll likely sleep for about an hour. Your accelerated regeneration will handle the rest."
On the tray beside him lies a biopsy punch unlike anything I’ve ever seen. A narrow hollow cylinder mounted on a precision handle, its circular cutting edge catching the light. Next to it are micro-forceps, a tissue vial, and a syringe filled with local anesthetic.
Fenn doesn’t move when Dr. Lee swabs the side of his neck with antiseptic and injects the anesthetic around the gland. He waits exactly thirty seconds, watching the monitor and not his patient.
"The surface tissue is numb," he states. "The gland itself will not be."
Fenn’s jaw tightens.
Dr. Lee picks up the coring instrument and aligns it with a marker projected onto the skin. The hollow blade is designed to advance straight into the tissue and extract an intact cylindrical sample, like a geological core.
For some reason, the sight of it makes my stomach knot.
Before the doctor can begin, I step forward on instinct and place my hand on Fenn’s opposite shoulder. His massive muscles are rigid beneath my fingers. Then, almost immediately, they loosen.
On his face that same expression returns, bliss, and I know he’s no longer afraid of the pain.
Dr. Lee begins the tissue extraction, but I don’t watch. I usually have no issue with medical procedures. I’ve seen plenty, and performed many during my veterinary studies. But this time it’s happening to someone who has become close to me.
Close…
Fuck. I actually admit it to myself. He’s not just some strange mutant with an unusual appearance and a complicated history anymore.
Fenn Drax.
He’s now more than that.
His purple eyes stay fixed on my face, widened. I can see how three-dimensional and crystalline they seem, the irises so beautiful, with thin, almost violet dots and patterns radiating from the pupil and spreading outward toward the slightly darker, deep burgundy edges.
His hand lifts again to lace with my fingers.
The procedure continues. Dr. Lee takes the sample.
Drax doesn’t make a sound, not even a grimace. Most AOs would be writhing in pain by now, but it appears that the odd Bond between us protects Drax from suffering.
Makes me wonder why…
"Thank you," he whispers softly.
In a sudden surge of something spontaneous, I lift my other hand and softly run my fingers along his jaw and cheek.
I've never felt tenderness toward anyone, maybe because I never received it myself.
To me, touch has always been purely sexual, but now something rises inside me, spilling over.
I find myself wanting more, the best, the sweetest things that perhaps only this hurt, longing monster can give me.
Fenn slightly closes his eyes, as if sinking into the touch, immersing himself in it, savoring it, while I slowly trail my finger along the sharp contours of his masculine face, brushing his temple and his lips, realizing with sudden clarity that my painful loneliness has an opening, a chance to end in the most unexpected way.
"I’m sorry," Dr. Lee says suddenly behind me, an already prepared dressing in his hand. His dark eyes lock onto me in a way that is impossible to read.
"Uh… sure," I step to the side, making space for him, but I still hold Fenn’s hand. The doctor begins to dress the tissue extraction site, but that doesn’t mean the eye contact between me and Fenn breaks. His gaze keeps following me the entire time.
Dr. Lee finishes dressing the wound.
"All done," he says calmly, placing the sample into a small medical cooler. "Appreciate your assistance, Marlow," he adds shortly, but it sounds genuine.
When I let go of Fenn’s hand, I immediately see the change in his face. Like something has struck him. He blinks and swallows hard. I’m sure he’s feeling the aftershock in his gland now.
"Reed, take Drax to his room. He needs to sleep, one hour minimum," Dr. Lee says, gesturing toward Reed, who had been standing there the entire time, staring at us with narrowed eyes and a very clear hostility.
Reed approaches and brings over a rolling bed with rattling wheels.
Fenn Drax lowers himself onto it with a strained expression, looking slightly disoriented.
"I’ll walk with you," I say.
He nods.
I notice Reed fastening metal restraints around Fenn’s wrists.
"Don’t forget to lie down for an hour and take a nap so you can regenerate properly," the doctor calls after us, then sneezes loudly once again.