11. Chapter 11 #2
“Who’s Isla?” Nadia asked and I wasn’t sure how much I should tell her, what the situation would be now.
There shouldn’t be any secrets between us, but I was terrified of losing them both.
An alpha being in a relationship with multiple women was normal in lycan culture, but that concept could be extremely offputting for humans.
“She’s my, uh…” I chickened out, then I realized that I had to tell her the truth. “She’s my handler, but we also had a personal relationship.”
“Had or have?” Nadia asked, a smile twisting the corner of her lips.
“Have,” I finally said as I took a sip of coffee.
“Okay. I don’t mind.” Nadia said with a sly smile. I wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, but we had plenty of time to discuss it, to get to know each other better. “Where are we going in Washington DC?”
“It’s officially called The Institute for Extrahuman Research, sort of a public-private extra-governmental organization with a lot of funding, but we just call it the Peerage. They deal with people like us…Peers.”
“Why do you call them this?” she asked as she took a bite of eggs and I realized that I’d never actually asked.
“I guess because we live our lives outside of the human experience, we’re Peers, even though it encompasses all of the species who are sentient, but not human. It’s nice to know you’re not alone.”
“Peers, I like that.” She reached into her jeans pocket like she was retrieving something, then flinched, shaking her head as she tried to focus. “I…I have something…for you…” Her voice faded and she blinked a few times.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, just,” she gasped, then groaned lightly.
“I’m not feeling so well. Maybe I should go upstairs and lay down.
” She held her hand against her forehead and stood, then collapsed onto the floor.
I knelt next to her, checking her pulse and making sure that she was still breathing, feeling her head. She was warm, not hot. What happened?
Panic raced through me as I waved Eileen over. “Help! She collapsed, are there any medical facilities on the island? A way to get her back to the mainland?”
“Wait a minute, I’ll get Culver,” she rushed off and I cupped Nadia’s cheek.
“Wake up,” I murmured, pleading. I suddenly realized that I couldn't feel her and it was like part of myself had been ripped out and tossed away.
“What’s going on?” Culver stormed in, his boots caked with mud and knelt down next to me.
“I don’t know.” My eyes focused on the mark on her neck, compounding the fear that this was my fault.
“How long does a medevac take to get here? She needs help. She can’t wait!
” I grew more frantic with every second.
Was there a doctor on the island? Then I realized it was very likely that no doctors here would be able to do anything for her, this wasn’t pneumonia or a heart attack, her DNA could be breaking down like the woman we found. This could be fatal.
I needed to speak with Isla, she would be able to help. “Wait here with her. Make sure she’s comfortable. I have to make a call.”
I grabbed my phone from the table and rushed towards the lobby dialing Isla. “Pick up, pick up, pick up…”
“Hi Max…”
“I need help, she just…she collapsed. She’s on the floor unconscious.”
“Who? Calm down and tell me everything. I’ll do whatever I can to help.” I absolutely believed her.
“The lycan, Nadia. Are there any medical facilities nearby that can deal with her condition?”
“Hold tight, I’m making a call, just stay on the line.” Her voice was comfortingly authoritative and I trusted her completely. The phone went silent and I walked back to Nadia. Eileen was on the floor next to her, holding her hand and looked at me.
“She’s breathing. Maybe we should move her into the back room?” Eileen's suggestion made sense, but I wasn’t sure.
“Would it be better to leave her here? I don’t want to make whatever’s happening worse…”
“Max.” Isla returned and I backed away. “There’s a plane in Seattle. Albert’s ordering it to Talinsk. It should arrive in three hours. We’re sending a doctor who can stabilize her and give us updates on her condition.”
“Yes, I understand.” Eileen held a rag to Nadia’s forehead as she and Culver spoke in hushed tones.
“I’ll call thirty minutes before they land. Just keep her alive until then.”
“Yeah, yes…thank you.” I hung up and returned to Nadia, gently lifting her limp body and following Eileen to a backroom that had a sofa and gently placed her on it. I brushed the hair away from her face. Her skin was pale and her eyes shifted restlessly beneath her eyelids.
“Were you able to get transportation?” the older woman asked.
“Yes, the, uh, they're sending a plane. It should be here in a few hours.”
“Good, the Bethel medevac can take a while. I love this place, but getting seriously ill here is basically a death sentence.” I didn’t like the sound of that and thanked her, pulling a chair next to the sofa and grasping Nadia’s hand, watching her, holding a wet towel to her forehead, cursing the laws of physics and the plane for not flying faster.
An hour passed that way, then another, then a third and my phone rang.
“Are they here?”
“Almost. How is she?” Isla sounded genuinely concerned. I appreciated that.
“Stable. I’ll get Culver to drive us to the airport now.” I didn’t know what else to say, but decided to come clean. I ran my hand through my hair, exhaling sharply. “We mated…”
“Just get her on the plane, Max. We’ll discuss everything when you get here.”
“Okay, I…” I felt like I needed to say something else, but I let it hang there. “Thanks.”
She hung up and I raced upstairs, throwing my things into my bag, then grabbing Nadia’s satchel, taking one last look around the sparse room before racing downstairs.
“Can Culver drive us to the airport?”
“Yes of course,” she left and went outside to search for her husband and I gripped Nadia’s cool hand in mine.
“I promise you’ll be fine,” I murmured, hoping that it wasn’t a lie, wishing that it was me lying on the sofa instead of her. If there was a way, I’d give my life for hers, no questions asked.
“Culver’s waiting outside,” Eileen said and I picked up Nadia, her body light in my arms as I carefully carried her through the lobby and out into the frigid air. I positioned her in the front seat, fastening the seatbelt and gently closing the door before leaning down and giving Eileen a warm hug.
“Thanks for everything,” I said as I pulled away, then slid into the back seat, waving goodbye as Culver pulled away.
The ride took forever and I kept checking my watch as we got closer to the airstrip.
The plane hadn’t arrived yet and I got out, staring at the sky, relieved when I saw the small jet break through the clouds.
“Sorry this happened,” Culver said, helping me with my bags as I lifted Nadia out of the Bronco. “She’s young, she’ll be fine.”
I thanked him, but his words didn’t comfort me. The plane landed smoothly, then turned, and I approached. The door opened and the pilot stepped out. Culver handed off my things and waved goodbye as another man came down the stairs and looked at Nadia.
“This is her?” The man asked and I nodded, boarding and carrying her through the tight aisle and into the back bedroom, placing her on the mattress as the pilot closed the door and prepared for departure.
“I’m Dr Serkis. Albert told me that she’s a lycan.” I nodded again, unsure what to tell him, then stepped away as he began working on her and the plane took off. He ripped her shirt open, holding his stethoscope against her heart. “What were the symptoms?”
“She said that she felt faint, then she collapsed. It was sudden, there were no other symptoms.” I paused as he pressed his fingers against random places on her abdomen. “We mated last night.”
“Mating wouldn’t cause this.” He sounded confident and I hoped that was the case.
“Do you have experience with lycans?” I asked.
“Yes, I worked with a pack in the pacific northwest for a few years dealing with a specific genetic disorder. This woman isn’t lycan though.
” The words were like a punch to the gut.
“Lycans have a distinct heartbeat. Hers is…different.” He squinted as he listened, holding her wrist, then pressing his fingers against her neck.
I stared at him, suddenly distracted as I attempted to figure out if he was human or Peer.
His outward appearance was human, normal skin color, hair and features, but his eyes appeared almost feline and I’d never seen anyone move the way he did before.
Each motion was so precise that it was almost imperceptible and he noticed me looking.
“I’m not human,” he responded vaguely and I returned my attention to Nadia.
“Is she human?”
“I can’t answer that right now. We’ll need to run some bloodwork when we’re back at the facility to determine what exactly she is.
” His voice faded as he reached into his bag and took out a needle, then rolled up her sleeve and wrapped a rubber tube around her arm, finding her vein and injecting the contents.
“This will help her rest easier. She’s extremely stressed, but will survive.
Once we’re in DC, I’ll be able to give you more information.
” He stood, then motioned for me to leave, but I wanted to stay.
“She’ll be fine. We should let her rest.”
“Just a few more minutes,” I said and he walked out as I sat on the bed next to her, a brief wave of turbulence rocking the plane as I grasped her hand.
“I promise…” I started, but didn’t know what I wanted to say.
I knew she wasn’t a true lycan, but hearing the doctor say it hurt.
I pulled her hand to my lips, then stood and left, closing the door behind me.