Page 46 of He is… Creed: Part Three

She reacts immediately, rounding the table and motioning for me to follow her—no fear whatsoever in her, but there’s apprehension. Christ. Do I really want to know what she has to say?

Like one of Julian’s damn wolves, I follow her like an obedient pup, entering the cracker-box-sized room and standing, arms crossed in front of my chest, legs planted firmly on the floor, as I await the bad news.

“Have a seat,” Katie orders, shutting the door and then claiming the rolling chair.

I don’t even think about sitting. “Why would you send Addie to that lunch? Those women—”

“Need to be grateful you saved their lives. After Addie gets done with them, they will be. And this gives her much-needed purpose here in Sunrise City. It also gives us time to talk.” She points to the chair. “I have your bloodwork.”

Fuck.

Fuck. Fuck.

“I’m not sitting. I already know the results. I’m X2 positive. It wasn’t a mistake.”

She pushes to her feet, as if she needs to be more level with me. “You’re still X2 positive, but in addition, you have an extra chromosome the other GTECHs do not have. At least, none of the GTECHs we’ve been able to examine, but from what we know of you, Creed, and what you know of yourself, it could easily be that you’re the outlier. You are like no other GTECH.”

“To tell you what that means, exactly, will take time and studies, but it stands to reason that this chromosome somehow links to your ability to control the wind. If there are other differences between you and the other GTECHs, it would help if you told me. I can…”

She keeps talking, but it’s all noise in my head. My God, what the hell am I? I jerk my attention back to Katie’s explanation. “…an MRI and a series of diagnostic—”

“What does this mean for Addie?”

“She hasn’t converted to GTECH as of yet. She does have the documented cellular abnormalities we’ve seen in other females who have the mark on the back of their necks, but hers are more pronounced. But then, none of those women carried the lifebond mark for a lengthy timespan without completing the bonding process.” She shoves her pen behind her ear. “We’re in uncharted territory.”

“Her second blood sample. Did it show the changes progressing?”

Katie’s lips press together. “Yes.”

“After we had sex.” It isn’t a question. I’d known Addie was reacting to our physical connection, and yet I’d touched her anyway.

“It’s too soon to be sure without more testing, but yes. If the timing was as you suggest, it seems that with every intimate contact, you come closer to completing the bond.” Her eyes light, and her expression animates. “The intriguing thing here is that when you were tested at Groom Lake, this extra chromosome didn’t show up. It may be why X2 isn’t making you aggressive like it has so many others. And I assume you and Addie were intimate while at Groom Lake, and yet she didn’t have the bonding symptoms she’s having now. It’s as if you are evolving, and so is the lifebonding process along with you. It’s really an exciting discovery.”

“I’m glad I’ve excited you, Doc,” I say roughly. “Forgive me if I don’t go throwing confetti. We don’t even know what the hell I am. I’m not allowing Addie to become the same. Fix this. Make it go away.”

She bristles at that, stiffening her spine. “You don’t just ‘fix’ cellular changes of this magnitude, Creed. And leaving her in a state of flux between human and GTECH isn’t good for her. Her vitamin C is low, which is consistent with a GTECH. Her blood count is all over the place.”

“If I don’t touch her again, will the effects fade?”

“Cellular changes do not fade, nor do they ‘fix.’ The sickness she’s experiencing most likely comes from the cellular changes taking place. As for her eyes, I’m not sure at what point they will stay black. She may already be there.”

“If the assumption that if one lifebond dies, the other does as well is accurate,” I say, “that would only occur if we are fully bound—correct?”

“That’s a hypothesis that remains unproven,” she says. “However, there have been physical links that create that unproven probability. A bullet wound to one causes physical trauma to the other, and so forth.”

“But she’s safe unless we fully bond,” I press.

“That’s impossible to say,” she replies. “We’ve never had someone in Addie’s physical condition to evaluate. As for the rest of your questions, you’re demanding answers, and I have nothing to go on. I need to run more tests.”

Like hell, I think. “Stabilize Addie. I’m irrelevant.”

“And if I can’t?”

“Try harder.”

“Creed—”

“I will not take Addie into this unknown territory.”

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