Chapter 16
siXteeN
I WASN'T THERE. HAVEN was sprawled on the floor, unconscious, and my brain was a constant repeating refrain of I wasn't there. I failed. I hadn't been there to help her when she was attacked. I'd stayed close enough to see the back of her house. I would have seen anyone sneaking around.
I never saw who'd done this.
Her vitals were stable.
I ran through the various knockout drugs BioSynth trained me to use and counteract, but the second part of that variable was laughably lacking since 'fangs didn't react to knockout drugs.
I had no baseline for what a human would look like under any of those compounds.
She needed a human doctor. I pulled my phone out of my waist pack and hit the speed dial for Kendal.
"Quin?"
"It's Haven. Something happened. She's unconscious."
"Where are you?"
"Her house."
"Send me a pin. I'll get the van."
Before she hung up I heard her talking to Drym. "Haven's hurt, I'm going to—"
I paced the living room. It took forever for the van to pull up out front. I peeked through the curtains every thirty seconds, then finally saw it and yanked the door open. "Her vitals are stable, but I can't wake her up."
Jade, Bull and River followed Kendal. The purveyor of excellent popcorn, River worked with Superhuman Security. She went straight through to the back door and opened it, letting Drym inside.
Bull scooped Haven into his arms and headed back outside. I almost walked out with him, but Drym held me back. He explained what I already knew. I couldn't go into the hospital with them, and I'd just take up space in the van.
My chest twinged. The bond lights were still dark, but the hollow ache in my stomach sharpened as she moved farther away.
Drym patted my back. "Let's get back to your house. Kendal will update us when she knows something."
I followed him through the woods to my front porch.
I gripped my phone, hoping for a notification that didn't come.
He seemed surprised to find me right behind him when he stopped in the kitchen.
He nodded at someone over my shoulder. Meaty hands fell on my shoulders, turned me, and led me into the living room.
Roul stepped around and shoved me onto the couch.
I was dimly aware of my brothers crowded in the kitchen, talking low. If I concentrated, I could hear what they were saying, but the ability to concentrate had abandoned me. My head—usually a nonstop cacophony of thoughts—was blank.
I only knew three things: Someone attacked Haven. I hadn't been there. And if she died, I would burn the world.
I was suddenly sure that even if she was a BioSynth plot; she wasn't aware of it. That made her innocent. My instincts wouldn't be this frantic over someone complicit in our destruction. The fates wouldn't be so cruel to send me someone involved in such a scheme.
She was mine. That single thought bounced around my head like a pinball. Mine. Mine. Mine.
Red crept into the corners of my vision, and the rage built.
I wasn't aware he'd left the kitchen, but when I stood, fists clenched, chest heaving, Roul was in front of me.
He's the last brother I'd expect to have words of wisdom, but in this instance he was exactly what I needed. He knew anger. Had lived in it, stewed in it, for months.
"It's hard. Being separated. Being unsure."
I nodded, unable to speak.
"Hold onto the fact that you'll know something soon. Kendal won't make you wait longer than necessary."
I pinned my ears and snarled. "What do I do with this in the meantime?"
"You take deep breaths. You pace. If you need to, go outside and claw at a tree. The feeling will ebb... eventually."
Sympathy filled my chest, pushing the anger away. I grabbed him in a hug and we stood like that until my phone rang.
I dropped it trying to answer, but he picked it up and put it on speaker.
"Quin?"
River's voice was clear and sure, but I couldn't answer her. Good thing I had five brothers all willing to speak for me.
Roul slashed his hand through the air and stopped the jumble of everyone talking at once.
"He's here."
"Haven is stable. Kendal is sitting with her while Jade and Bull talk to the doctor. She's running a tox screen to try to determine what caused her to lose consciousness, but she doesn't think any permanent damage has been done."
I whined and Roul shoved me back onto the couch. Rude.
"How long will it take to get the results?"
"About twenty minutes, longer if the lab is backed up." She chuckled. "Zeus is on his way. I doubt it will be that long."
Zeus was commanding and scary. I was sure he'd take charge and make things happen.
I never would have believed, when we were caged experiments, that we would have friends willing to fight for us. To stand beside us. We'd felt so alone, not knowing that freedom included all manner of wonderful things.
I trusted Haven was taken care of. It didn't soothe anything, but it stopped me from tearing out of the house and sprinting to the hospital. It allowed me to wait.
River was right. Barely ten minutes later she called back.
"Haven is awake and asking for Quin."
I whined and Roul's hand wrapped around my muzzle and shook. Calm down. Don't barrel through a hospital wall. Point taken.
"Zeus is working on getting her released as soon as possible. We'll be coming straight to Quin's house when that happens."
A door opened and then closed, and when she spoke again her voice echoed slightly.
"Zeus got a copy of the blood test results.
Bacon and Nuke are on their way. They'll probably beat us there, knowing how slow human hospitals are.
" She paused and took a deep breath. "Quin, you'll need to be patient, but we will figure this out. "
The others asking more questions and River saying goodbye were background noise.
Bacon, I understood. She was compiling a Society history, so she knew how things like mate bonds worked—generally.
But Nuke was Jackal Division's lead scientist—"scientist" being the most triggering word imaginable right now. Why a scientist? I shuddered a bit.
We knew the names of everyone working with Superhuman Security and Jackal Division, but we hadn't met all of them. Nuke had been staying away, aware that we might still be wary of a scientist in our midst.
I had no reason not to trust her, but the part of my brain that was still traumatized by BioSynth rebelled at the idea of a scientist anywhere near Haven.
I pinned my ears to the back of my head and when the door opened I snarled and growled.
Roul smacked me on the side of the head. I blinked, recognizing Nanna. She bustled in on a cloud of sugar carrying three tote bags stuffed with cooking implements.
They dropped to the floor with a metallic clang, and her hands went to her hips. "Well, don't just stand there, boys." She waved toward the front yard. "Bring everything else in."
We'd fought soldiers. Survived the lab. We still all asked 'how high' when Nanna said jump.
Four seven-foot wyrfangs—engineered to be killing machines—jumped to their feet and rushed the door. I remained rooted to the couch, and Roul remained my self-imposed babysitter.
The smell of butter, cinnamon, and sugar hit me like a tranquilizer dart. Nanna shuffled over and patted Roul on the forearm.
"How are you, dear?"
Roul grunted, and Nanna squeezed his arm before turning to me.
"And him?"
"He'll be fine. Enjoy the silence while it lasts."
Rude.