Page 107 of Rebirth

I stop short, staggering to a halt, my body swaying with the demands I’m placing upon it.

There, in the next tank, Soh’fee floats as if only sleeping. For a moment, I can only stand staring at her still form, something shattering to pieces within me.

Consciousness clicks and I move with staggered speed to pull up the light matrix attached to the chamber. But there are no neuron signals. Her life organ does not beat.

Her skin is pale. Even paler than before.

The scans show what I already know to be true.

My Soh’fee…is gone.

I press a hand to the transparent surface, wishing with all that I am that I could turn back time. That I could trade this worthless life of mine for hers. Soh’fee deserved so much more. But not this. Never this.

My legs give out and I crumble to the floor. A howl tears from my throat, calling on the gods of Edooria to come to my aid even as my fist slams into the unforgiving floor until my claws leave smears of lifeblood behind.

Rising, I force myself as I stumble over to my workstation.

The battle that happened in this room erased, it seems like nothing happened here. As if I didn’t lose the very thing keeping me whole in this very space.

The body of the Gryken is gone. The evidence of our fight removed.

Activating the files, my claw trembles as I force my digits to move.

There. Documented right there is my attempt at saving Soh’fee.

A new creation completely. A modified version of the ba’clan. Something I’d theorized on Edooria. Something I’d worked on but could never make a success. The ba’clan are not easily changed. They resist it. But I had hoped…

I’d hoped that my ba’clan’s will for survival was as great as my will to see Soh’fee live.

Back on Edooria, my attempt to change them had been a last resort for myself.

But for Soh’fee it was her only hope.

This genetically edited symbiote might have been able to disrupt the network’s hold and establish a new form of symbiotic control—one that she could coexist with, rather than be enslaved by.

The formula had almost been complete. Where did I go wrong?

And then I remember. The Gryken attacked her before the serum was ready. I rushed. Forced it to complete the process. I could think of no other way to save her. And in that simple moment, my entire existence was shattered.

Slipping to the floor, my gaze moves back to my mate.

There are no words for grief such as this. It shreds my soul into ribbons and fills the jagged, aching holes left behind. I cling to the faint hope that this is some nightmare I will wake from. That my light’s eyes will open once more and she will grace me with her radiant smile.

But nightmares end. This will not.

Crawling over to her tank, I lean against it. I would crawl inside too if it would not disrupt the tank’s mechanics.

I remain there, crumpled against Soh’fee’s tank, unwilling and unable to face a world without her in it.

She brought me back to life. Made me see new purpose. And now, with her gone, that life is over once more. There will be no second chance. No redemption from this.

The door to the lab opens silently, and Fer’ro steps in.

I’m thankful he is alone. For I do not think I could bear more than his presence.

I threatened his mate for my Soh’fee, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he decided to rend me here. But even as he approaches, I know I would do it again. And again.

“Welcome back, brother,” he clicks, sliding to the floor beside me. “You have not fully healed.”

---