Page 20 of Fractured Souls

“I’m always thorough,” Zharek snapped in Kordolian. “More so than you would ever understand. Now, how about you give this poor creature a bit of space? She’s intimidated enough as it is without having to look at your ugly face all the time.” He began to lead Alexis toward the treatment room.

“Nythian?” She looked at him again, going from guarded to vulnerable in a heartbeat.

Nobody had ever looked at him like that before. It made him want to destroy everything in the Universe that might try to harm her. “She doesn’t go out of my sight, especially when you’re with her.” Nythian moved to her side and was pleased when she visibly relaxed. Maybe he should have comm’ed the boss or Enki and asked for one of the humans to be here—Abbey or Layla would be able to explain things better—but it was the middle of the night in human time, and both females would be fast asleep.

He didn’t want to wake the mates. Didn’t want the hassle of dealing with an irritable Enki or Tarak right now. Why interrupt them over something so trivial? He could handle this. He’d observed enough human activity on Earth to know that they responded well to protection.

He moved to Alexis’s side, towering over Zharek, reminding the medic that he wasn’t going anywhere.

Nythian was a big guy. He knew how to use his physical presence to intimidate.

Zharek let out an aggravated sigh and led them into a large chamber filled with medical equipment. He gestured for Alexis to sit in an examination chair. “This won’t take long.” He retrieved a large ring-shaped metal device from some hidden receptacle. “I’m going to put this around your wrist. It’s a neural immobilizer. I’m going to temporarily block all nerve transmission. In a moment, your hand will go completely limp, and you won’t feel a thing. Then I’ll fix your bones.”

“Just like that, huh?”

“It’s the simplest of procedures.” There was a hint of arrogance in Zharek’s smile. Typical Noble. He always had this slight air of superiority about him. “Give me your hand.”

Gingerly, Alexis extended her hand toward the dark grey metal ring. Zharek slid it around her wrist and it tightened automatically until it sat flush with her skin.

“Here we go.”

She breathed in sharply as her hand dropped, going completely limp. Zharek guided it onto a black platform and activated a blue light overhead. He focused the light into a narrow beam that illuminated her entire hand, along with his.

“No gloves?” Alexis’s eyes narrowed.

“This is a completely sterile field,” Zharek said calmly, his attention narrowly focused on her hand. “And this is a bloodless procedure. Ready?”

Crack.

Before Alexis had a chance to answer, Nythian heard her bones slide back into place.

“I didn’t feel a thing,” Alexis whispered.

Zharek quickly injected a thick black substance into her hand. “Nanites. They’re freshly made. They’ll repair the bone and tissue damage before being excreted through your kidneys. In a moment, your hand will be completely healed. Now we just sit back and let them do their thi—”

Suddenly Zharek froze, his eyes widening in shock.

Alexis’s hand… something was happening to it.

Thin blue streaks appeared along her palm, stretching toward her fingers. Her smooth brown skin began to change.

“Wh-what the hell is this?” Alexis’s tough facade crumbled. Nythian had never seen someone look so damn lost. “Did you lie to me, Zharek?”

She tried to pull her arm away, but Zharek clamped his hand around hers. “I did not. Hold still and don’t panic. I need to run some tests and—”

Instantly, Nythian was by her side. “What the fuck have you done, Zharek?” Unsheathing his claws, he grabbed her wrist, slipped one claw under the immobilizer and cut it straight in two. As he pulled the damn thing off, Alexis’s now-blue fingers clamped around Zharek’s in a tight grip.

Her beautiful features twisted into a look of sheer panic. “I didn’t do that just now. I didn’t move my fingers. That wasn’t me. I swear it wasn’t me. What the hell did you do to me, Zharek?”

“The nanites didn’t cause this. Let go, Alexis. I need to figure out what’s—”

“I… I can’t.” Her right hand was almost entirely blue now, a color somewhere in-between Earth’s deep blue ocean and the cloudless midday sky, becoming smooth and shimmery. The fine lines that crisscrossed her once-brown skin disappeared altogether.

“Zharek.” Claws still bared, Nythian’s other hand went around the medic’s neck. His killing aura flared. “Whatever this is, reverse it, now.”

Zharek coughed and wheezed. “I can’t if I don’t know what it is. This isn’t my doing.” He went quiet for a moment, his gaze becoming distant. “Is it her?”

Alexis closed her eyes, her brow furrowing. Her breathing became sharp and shallow, and her heart rate went off the charts.

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