Chapter Six #2
Groaning as I straightened, I barely had time to realize I’d dozed off before my stomach heaved. It was a good thing I had a solid trashcan beside my desk instead of the stiff mesh one at the clinic, because I emptied myself of everything my mother had forced me to eat while I was with her.
It took more effort than it should have to clean up, and I had to give myself a pep talk to swallow enough water to take the next dose of meds. It swirled in my stomach, making fresh sweat pop up along my spine, but I managed to keep it down.
Although it was late and I felt like trash, I forced myself to follow up on the placements for the last few dogs. I didn’t have time to curl up in bed the way I wanted to, and when my stomach continued to rebel, I washed out my trashcan again and kept working until the next wave hit.
It was midnight before I let myself crawl into bed, but the relief of having the preparations settled for another of my charges allowed me to excuse the need for rest. Even my stomach cooperated long enough for me to get a five-hour stretch of uninterrupted sleep, so when it forced me from my blankets, I felt alive enough to wash the sweat away and put on a fresh pair of scrubs to head to the clinic
Without Angela, and with the handlers already reassigned to new units, I was the only one left to care for the dogs. We’d always had extra kennels, so the dogs were familiar with being moved to a new one each day so the one they’d been in could be cleaned while they ate their morning meal.
My head spun as I forced myself through the motions, my stomach still churning, but the worst of the nausea seemed to have passed. Either that, or my stomach was finally empty of everything that could be ejected, even bile.
By the time the dogs were fed and the kennels cleaned, it was time to prep the one who was leaving for their new home, and once that was done I had a message waiting accepting the last one who could be placed.
I didn’t have time to acknowledge the way my joints ached or how much I was sweating despite the medication to control my fever, and when the cramps kicked in, all I could do was grit my teeth and push through.
The speeder I’d scheduled to take me to the station to return to New NewYork arrived before I’d finished everything I wanted to do, so I transferred the info to my phone and kept working on the travel arrangements and paperwork for the last dog during the trip.
I barely got it all finished by the time the shuttle landed and I had to climb into another speeder to go to the North American Alliance Building.
I had only taken one dose of meds with me to the clinic, and I’d taken it hours before, so on top of smelling like dogs, there were sweat stains on my scrubs, and I knew my face was flushed by the heat I felt radiating from my cheeks.
Everything had an extra sparkle to it, dizziness threatening each time I turned my head, and the steady throb of my pulse was a distant rush in my ears.
The other two women must have left earlier because the waiting room was empty of everyone except the golden-eyed alien scowling at me from where he propped up the wall.
“Some of us have lives to rearrange before we up and leave for a new planet with a jerk who only wants us for our breeding hips.”
One knobby brow arched at the venom in my tone as I stomped past him.
The words had escaped before I even knew they were coming, a wave of irritation rising from nowhere once I was no longer focused on work, but I wouldn’t have taken them back.
They were true, and they cut off any comment he’d been going to make about me waiting until the end of the day to return for the confirmation test.
The doctor who had administered the injection the prior day was in the little room where I’d seen her last. She raised her head when I stopped in the doorway, and I was surprised to find a Morraki male at her side, tail wrapped around her ankle.
I hadn’t paid much attention to the other warriors the previous day, but none of them had blue markings the way he did.
“Taryn! I was about to call to be sure you were okay. How are you feeling?”
She smiled but there was a crease between her brows. I’d known a few research doctors and knew they had a tendency to have poor bedside manners, but she seemed to see us as more than test subjects even if I knew that’s what we were.
“I’m fine. I had work to finish in case I have to leave. I’ve been controlling the side effects with medication.”
The way her expression shifted told me the wisp of hope I’d held onto that the serum would fail was nothing more than smoke.
“Come, have a seat and tell me what symptoms you’re having.”
She gestured toward the seat I’d used the day before and I dropped into it. All the energy I’d thought I still had seemed to evaporate after snapping at Rhydek, that thought making my eyes turn to the door as a dark shape blocked the white room beyond.
I tried to school my face into something other than a scowl. It wasn’t his fault I felt like crap.
At least, not directly, even if he was the reason behind it.
“Fever, nausea and vomiting, muscle and joint aches, cramps. I’d think I had the flu if I didn’t know better.”
Doctor Keene nodded, humming under her breath while the other Morraki started typing on the tablet they’d been bent over.
It was likely where they were keeping their notes, and part of me stirred with curiosity.
I had never been interested in Human health issues, but I’d found genetics fascinating.
I had considered looking into the genetics of the dogs I worked with to see if there were ways to improve their lines, but it had been one of the things I’d never found the time for.
“The serum typically does feel similar, and it means your body is right on track. I know it sucks to feel ill, but it’s a good sign.”
I grunted, not sure good was the appropriate word.
Gold eyes stayed locked on me as the doctor took my hand in hers and swabbed the tip of my pointer finger. I’d expected a blood draw, but it seemed only a prick was needed for them to check if my DNA had accepted the new material.
Collecting a drop, she turned and inserted it into a machine across the room, and I held my breath as I waited. Rhydek remained silent, watching me, the intensity of his stare making goosebumps break out along my flesh as my belly cramped.
Movement behind him caught my eye and my focus shifted to the tail waving beyond his legs. It moved more than a cat’s, but didn’t wag like a dog’s. It almost reminded me of a serpent, flexing back and forth in a way that made me think perhaps Rhydek was as anxious as I was trying to deny I felt.
“Three for three. It worked.”
I didn’t have to turn my head to know it was the other Morraki who spoke, the deep tone typical of the others I’d heard. I kept watching Rhydek’s tail as I let out a sigh, slumping lower in the seat as his orange markings brightened.
At least I could look forward to studying new animals on Morrakan.