Chapter 21 Holly
HOLLY
Ihad no idea of how long I slept or the passage of time. It might have been five years—or five minutes. All I had to gauge was how my body felt as I stirred.
And I felt like crap.
Turning my head made it feel like broken pieces of glass and gigantic boulders rattled around inside my skull. My temples felt thin and fragile like an eggshell. My mouth was stuffed with cotton balls. My stomach a lake of acid, quickly reaching the boiling point.
I rolled over as quickly as I dared and heaved over the side of the bed.
Low chimes repeatedly dinged. Red lights flashed. For a moment, I thought Syko might have gotten free. Hope exploded up inside me like an excited bird taking flight—only to slam against an invisible glass ceiling when the computer spoke.
“Medical emergency. All available agents report to Holly’s cabin. Repeat, medical emergency.”
Damn. The alert was for me, not because the guys had found a way to escape.
“Activate transport to exam table,” a male voice said.
Black swallowed me, empty and endless. I’m not sure how long they kept me knocked out.
Again, it might have only been seconds—or hours.
Longer. There was no clock. No windows revealing day or night or even if we were still in my solar system.
For all I knew, we were parked by one of the stars Syko had recited.
Maybe I wasn’t even supposed to be able to hear them.
“Blood pressure is ninety-six over sixty-two. Heart rate at one hundred eighty beats per minute. Body temperature forty degrees Celsius. Glomerular Filtration Rate down to eighty-nine with elevated levels of creatinine.”
“Damn it,” Snyder retorted. “Why are her kidneys failing? Did you introduce bacteria when draining her urinary and digestive tracts? Run her panels again to see if we missed an infection.”
Huh. I just realized that’s why I hadn’t needed to use the bathroom at all since I got here.
They were automatically clearing me out.
I must be loopy on drugs because my next thought was, “hope they can drain the period blood out too when its time. Just suck all that shit out of me.” In my head, I giggled.
“Negative,” the agent replied. “White blood cell counts are in the normal range for humans. Though she’s anemic.”
“She wasn’t anemic last time we checked,” Snyder said.
“Confirmed, her iron levels have fallen twenty-five percent since the last scan.”
“Does she have internal bleeding we missed? Perhaps the BGR++ damaged her kidneys.”
“Negative.”
Snyder barked out, “Provide a comprehensive list of possible reasons for her illness.”
“Computing.” Paused for several seconds. “Unknown. My available references on humans have no other recommendations.”
“We cannot let her die. There are no others like her without going after the mother.”
Oh shit. I was dying? I did feel floaty. Weak. Almost pale and insubstantial. I licked my lips, surprised I could move. They were chapped and dry despite the hydration they’d given me. “Rekt.”
Snyder leaned closer, gripping my shoulder. “What did you say, Holly?”
:One mrion.: I struggled to put words together but hopefully they understood. :Track. His. Controllers.:
Then aloud, I tried again. “Rekt.”
“I suppose we don’t have a choice, though I’m not sure what the SPTD could do that our medic can’t.
” He sighed, his fingers tightening on my shoulder, his fingers drumming against my skin.
Like I was a fucking desk. An object. “It’s not ideal to bring him into this sterilized area in case of mrion contamination.
Compute probability we are able to detect mrion contamination in the SPTD. ”
“Based on Draco Sirius Command’s current standard operating procedures, we are able to identify mrion contamination with ninety-nine percent accuracy.”
“Scan the SPTD again and then get him up here.” Snyder shook my shoulder, rattling the shards inside my head. As if my being ill was a personal affront. “I suppose we don’t have any other choice.”
REKT
:Medical emergency,: the ship’s computer announced on the network. :All available agents report to Holly’s cabin. Repeat, medical emergency.:
I shouldn’t have heard it down here in the hold, but because Snyder’s controllers hadn’t thought to disconnect me, I still had full access.
Leaping to my feet, I rushed to the cell door, pounding my fists against the tungsten when it didn’t open. :I’m medical staff!: I roared on the ship’s grid. :Let me assist!:
:Access her scans but don’t provide solutions,: Syko ordered on our private grid, calm and cool despite whatever medical emergency our mate might be experiencing. :Make them get you and bring you to her.:
Irrationally, his controlled alpha demeanor pissed me off. How dare the unstable dynos remain calm when our mate was in danger? :Accessing now.:
Holly’s scans made me grind my teeth with fury. Her body was failing. Her organs were beginning to shut down. Death was imminent if we didn’t quickly stabilize her. :We may not have time for them to come get me.:
A wall of blistering black fire rolled over me through our private grid, but his mental voice remained fully composed. :We’ll do her no good if we’re dead. She needs us at our best. Run through all contingencies and be prepared to leap into action. The mrions are helping her suggest she needs you.:
Standing here helpless while our mate died was the hardest thing I could ever imagine doing. They were already trying the basic solutions, and none of them were working. What was the core issue?
Something they were missing. Then the alpha’s words echoed in my head. “She needs us at our best.”
Not just our best. She needs us. Her mates.
They’d taken her away from us, and her body started to shut down.
:The agent is coming to release you,: Syko said. :I know it doesn’t make sense, but you need to go at a normal pace. Be clinical. Precise. Cold if you can manage it. If you’re overly possessive or emotional, they’ll be more concerned and remove you as soon as she’s out of danger.:
A tremor shook my body. Clinical I could do. Precise was written into my DNA. But cold? To our mate? I wasn’t sure I could pull that off.
:Once she’s on the grid, she’ll understand. Snyder has something planned with one of the dyni on ice. Why are they pumping him with clomiphene, epinephrine, and gonadotropin?:
Fury rippled through me. If I wasn’t surrounded by tungsten, I would have shifted to my beast. :They’re trying to bring him into rut. They’ll counteract the testosterone inhibitors.:
I’d thought the wave of black fire I’d felt from Syko was intense but that was nothing compared to the pulverizing pressure I now felt on the grid.
He turned into a supermassive black hole.
:Stabilize her. Then we get the fuck out of here.
I need you to buy as much time as possible, though don’t fuck around with her safety and wellbeing. :
:Never, and getting the fuck out sounds good to me.: The door to my cell slid up with impossible slowness, reminding me to stay calm and cool.
“SPTD, your presence is requested in the medical laboratory,” the silver agent said in a pleasant voice.
I closed my eyes for a moment, deliberately dumping all my thoughts. Wiping my frontal cortex, just in case they were looking. “Acknowledged.”
“Please wait while I scan you for mrion contamination.”
I clenched my jaws, biting back an impatient curse, while the agent connected an implement for a cursory search.
“No contamination detected. Please proceed to the medical laboratory.”
The agent melted back into the tungsten floor.
Fighting myself every step of the way, I walked—not ran—to the waiting lift.
I performed basic breathing exercises to calm my mind in those few seconds and then disembarked in a new level.
The hallway was bathed in red light and silent flashing sirens, automatically increasing my urgency.
Yet I made myself walk steadily down the short hallway into the circular laboratory, though I extended both implements, ready for action, with a full list of tests prioritized on standby.
My mate lay on an exam table. Fully naked and exposed to the chill of the room. Her pale, wan face was clammy with sweat, her hair damp and lackluster. At a glance, I could tell she’d lost more weight despite my warning to Snyder.
The medic agent dumped a summary to me on the network.
“I already accessed her file,” I said as coldly as possible. “Please step aside and let me examine her.”
Snyder stood close on her other side as I approached.
I didn’t need a verbal warning to proceed with caution.
I saw the innocuous silver wand in his hand.
One touch from that device and I’d be knocked out, likely forever.
It acted as a kill switch, overriding all programming and systems, shutting down all connections.
Though every cell in my body raged at me to scoop her up into my arms and bite anything and anyone who dared come near her, I merely placed my palm on her forehead and clasped her hand in my other, while my implements touched her temple and over her heart.
Her eyelids fluttered, her dry, chapped lips mumbling my name. Tears flooded her eyes.
My beast slammed his armored head back and forth inside me, crushing my ribs and organs. It pained me to breathe. To speak. But that allowed me to keep up the illusion of calm.
“Her fingertips are cold, and her forehead is damp with sweat. A warmed blanket is required to prevent her from going further into shock.”
“Chamber temperature has been adjusted,” the medic said. “She shouldn’t experience any further temperature fluctuation requiring—”
“It’s for comfort,” I growled out. Caught myself. Regulated my tone to something more clinical. “Soft, warm blankets are given to patients in human hospitals after procedures. It helps them regulate after surgery or illness.”
The agent paused a moment as if checking the databanks to confirm. Then a compartment door opened with a low ding. He fetched the warmed blanket and offered it to me. It was all I could do not to snatch it out of his hands with bared teeth.
I quickly tucked the blanket around her and then placed my hand back on her forehead, waiting for the results to begin dropping into my databanks.
“I’m sick,” she rasped out. “Weak. Don’t like.”
Of course she felt weak. Not just her iron levels were low but also blood platelets.
Her kidneys were failing. Then the rest of her organs would fail one after another.
Even her brain scans showed decreased activity, where her neural network had been firing at exponentially higher levels just hours ago.
“Well?” Snyder asked.
“Thrombocytopenia, renal failure, depression of synaptic plasticity, anemia, hypotension, tachycardia.”
“Cause?”
“It’s merely a hypothesis but I suspect acute hormonal shock, similar to anaphylactic shock.”
“Acute hormonal shock is not a valid or known diagnosis,” the other medic said.
My beast wanted to snap off his head with irritation.
It wouldn’t kill him but it’d make me feel better.
Instead, I allowed my lip to curl slightly with derision.
“As I said, it’s my personal opinion, which is why I was ordered to attend our patient and provide my expertise.
She’s in shock because of withdrawal. Her body isn’t getting the hormones it needs. ”
“Then inject her with whatever’s missing,” Snyder replied. “I don’t see why we need a detailed discussion or explanation.”
I inhaled deeply and held it for five full seconds before I could sound like a medic and not a mate on the rampage. “It’s not so simple. Anything I could inject as a medic is synthetic. Her body is smart enough to know the difference.” I paused, letting them digest my words. “But I can help her.”
“What are you suggesting?”
:Careful,: Syko whispered on our private grid. :She was uncomfortable with the thought of Snyder watching us mate.:
:I know. I don’t think coitus will be necessary. I will protect her human sensibilities as much as possible.:
Making my voice as robotic and unemotional as possible, I looked directly into Snyder’s silver eyes. “I need to come on her.”