Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Pain invaded his consciousness. He couldn’t see because his eyes had been burned. He couldn’t smell, because the small fibers of his olfactory nerve had probably been seared in the blast. But he could still hear, and he’d heard everything those humans had said to his beautiful mate.
They’d restrained her, stripped her, and tried to violate her right in front of him.
Her soft gasps, laced with pain and fury, had drawn him out of his comatose state, thrusting him into a world of darkness where everything was agony, and those pitiful humans scurried about, thinking they could mess with him and mess with his mate.
Despicable humans. They had almost killed him, and then ironically, they had saved him.
Because if his body hadn’t been brought to this place, he would have died in space, starved of oxygen, his nanites in desperate need of protein as they guarded his most vital organs.
They were eating away what was left of his flesh; his muscles, connective tissue, and skin, in order to protect and maintain the necessities of life.
They surrounded his heart, brain, major blood vessels, and abdominal organs, sustaining him even as Kaiin, lord of death, called his name, trying to drag him into the underworld.
A dark vortex opened up inside him, a swirling mass of hatred and fury and emptiness. He could barely move because his muscle tissue was hopelessly depleted, but as the human approached, he drew on the cold fury within him and willed himself to move.
He drew on his pain, embracing agony.
He drew on the presence of his mate. He could hear her. He could feel her. He knew exactly where she was.
Hold on, my love. I’m coming.
He heard the human, its footsteps drawing near until it was right beside him, probably preparing to extract more of his tissue.
Rykal fought his body, which didn’t want to move. His damaged nerve endings felt as if they’d been shredded and dipped in molten lava. It would be so much easier to give up and allow Kaiin’s embrace to take hold.
But the thought of Arin spurred him on. He forced himself to move, his left arm shooting upwards and grabbing whatever he could of the human. He was weak, and he almost failed to form a decent grip, but his fingers found purchase, curling around the fabric-encased upper limb of the human.
All Rykal needed was a little bit of protein, blood, or tissue, anything organic that could feed his hungry nanites, to stop them from eating him alive.
He squeezed hard and felt bones cracking underneath his fingers. Through excruciating pain, he forced his sharp claws out past the mutilated flesh of his fingertips, digging through cloth and skin and flesh, drawing blood.
The human screamed. Rykal dug harder, and precious life-giving blood started to run down his arm, coating his raw flesh. Nano-particles swarmed to the surface, drawn by the promise of sustenance. They began absorbing the blood, drawing energy from it as they retreated back into Rykal’s body.
The human struggled, but Rykal held firm, even as two other humans entered the room.
His insides were on fire. The nanites were repairing the most essential organs first. His heartbeat went from a faint flutter to a steady thud.
His lungs expanded, drawing in vital oxygen.
Blood started to course through his body.
Neural connections in his brain were repaired.
His olfactory nerve was replaced, and now he could smell the coppery tang of the human’s blood.
A piercing sensation hit his eyes, like a thousand shards of glass, as the nanites worked on his retinas and eyeballs, restoring sight.
Hands were on him, trying to restrain him. Someone thrust something towards him, trying to inject him, but Rykal batted the offender away with his free arm, sending them crashing to the floor. He could see a little now. The room was blindingly bright. He craved darkness.
Bit by bit, the world came into focus, and bit by bit, Rykal grew stronger.
The human’s screams were growing louder. Someone was trying to place restraints on his legs. He kicked blindly and was rewarded with another scream.
Rykal sat up and gasped, his world coming into sharp relief.
He was alive, and he was angry.
Because they had dared to touch what was his. They’d intended to violate her.
Unforgivable.
As he squeezed harder, drenching himself in human blood, he turned to look at her, and what he saw made him blind with rage.
She was strapped to a bench, wearing only a flimsy white gown. The garment was pushed up, revealing her sleek thighs and a glimpse of her delicate sex. She couldn’t move, not even to preserve her modesty.
They’d rendered her utterly helpless, and to Rykal that was a crime far worse than all of the deaths he was about to cause.
His chest heaved as he looked at her face. Sympathy cut through his pain and anger. She was his precious female, more precious than all the stars combined, and she should never ever have had to endure what they’d just put her through.
He wished she didn’t have to see what happened next, but time was scarce. The humans would send backup, and he needed to be in good enough condition to fight.
He would have to become like the Ancestors of old and do as the savages of the Lost Tribes once did when they encountered a particularly hated enemy.
She was staring at him, her blue eyes wide, the tracks of dried tears visible on her perfect cheeks.
Unforgivable.
But her face was serene; she was the very image of the Goddess herself, and her eyes were filled with love and warmth, even though he must appear monstrous right now. She was the calm in the center of the storm.
Her lips parted, and she silently mouthed one word: go.
The way she looked at him and that simple word meant everything in the Universe.
Do what you have to do. I’m on your side.
Rykal sat up, dragging the screaming human with him. The man was losing a lot of blood, and Rykal was benefiting. The human started to go limp as Rykal squeezed, growing stronger with every waking moment.
The other three humans had managed to get their hands on some surgical equipment: blades, clamps, and long needles. They advanced on him, and Rykal grinned, his fangs protruding from his lipless mouth.
He was the perfect embodiment of a monster right now, and for once, he embraced it.