3013: Targeted (19 page)

“I love you,” she whispered in his ear before sinking her fangs into his neck. Blood, thick and hot, flowed past her lips and she drank it down. There wasn’t any fire this time, no surge of lust, there was only his life passing into her. When she’d taken enough, she lifted her wrist to her mouth and bit deep. At the first taste of her own blood, she let go and placed her wrist over Brandt’s slack mouth. His breath was faint, but she could still feel the warmth of it against her skin. Where there was life, there was hope. All he had to do was drink.

“Open your mouth for me, Brandt. If you want to stay with me, you have to drink,” she urged. Somewhere nearby she could hear raised voices, arguments and orders, but she couldn’t make out the words. She was afraid if she looked away, if she didn’t stay focused, Brandt would be gone, and she’d never get him back again.

For a terrible eternity, nothing happened, but then his lips parted slightly, and he swallowed. Hope blazed through her. “That’s right, swallow again and don’t stop. Stay with me, Brandt. Don’t you dare quit on me now.”

He swallowed again and again, then he was sucking at her wrist, the pain of it lost in the joy of seeing him rally. She kept up a constant babble of encouragement as tears she refused to acknowledge flowed down her cheeks. Spots danced in her vision, and her head began to spin, but she didn’t pull away. She didn’t dare.

“That’s enough, T’karra. The rest is up to your mate.” The familiar voice of her father reached her through the fog. She glanced up and saw him standing over her, worry etched into every line of his face.

“If he needs more, I can give it to him,” she argued, but her tongue felt thick and the floor was starting a slow, lazy spin.

“That part is done. You need rest, and he needs time.”

Hawke appeared beside her, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her tight. “I’ve got you, baby. You’ve done what you can. The rest is up to Brandt.”

“If he doesn’t make it, I’m going to kill him,” she muttered, too tired to care she wasn’t making sense anymore.

“He’ll make it. He promised you a lifetime together, and I’ve never known him to break a promise. Come on. Let’s get you and Brandt to the med-bay before the techs have another round of conniptions. And for the record, this is not how I envisioned meeting your fathers. Talk about a hell of a first impression.”

Verak snickered from somewhere nearby. “Welcome to the Ryvern family. No one does drama like we do.”

She looked up at Hawke and gave him a tired smile. “Starting to rethink this mating idea, yet?”

“Not even a little bit. We’re just going to have to skip the usual bonding gifts and ask for body armor instead. Being mated to you is more dangerous than I expected.”

***

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Brandt woke up slowly, a myriad of minor aches and pains making themselves known as he stretched and yawned. What the hell had he been doing? It felt like he’d gone a few rounds with Hawke and then taken a ten-mile run just for fun. He tried to remember what he could have done to feel like this, but his memory was a blank. In his experience, that meant he wasn’t going to like finding out what had actually happened.

Everything seemed too loud, from the voices in the background to the squeak of someone’s shoes as they walked, and the stink of antiseptic and other chemicals was so strong they stung his nose. Apparently, he was in medical, another sign something unpleasant had happened. He opened his eyes and sat up, ignoring the pang and protest of his aching muscles.

“Brandt?” T’karra said and came out of her chair with a joyful laugh that made his ears ring. She grabbed his hand and kissed him. “Thank the stars, you’re awake!”

“I’m okay, I think. Just, can you keep your voice down? Everything’s too loud. It’s like I have the mother of all hangovers. And what’s wrong with my mouth? My teeth feel funny.”

“I’ll explain everything in a minute. Give me a moment to be mushy here. It’s been a long couple of days.”

“Days? What the fuck happened to me?” he asked, sitting up slowly and carefully. Nothing hurt any worse than it had when he was laying down, so he called it a win.

“Let me call Hawke and tell him you’re awake, then I’ll explain.” She stared at him for a long moment, then leaned in and kissed his cheek. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you up and around,
tikta
.”

She stepped outside the room, out of sight, but he could still hear every whispered word she spoke. When she returned she had a glass of water in her hand and a smile on her face. “The med-techs are dying to check you out, but I told them they needed to wait a little while. There are a few things you need to know first. Thirsty?”

“Parched.” He took the water and sipped it, but he never took his eyes off T’karra. There was something going on here, and he was waiting for her to fill him in.

“Do you remember the attack?”

He frowned. Attack? Memories danced just out of reach, but finally something came back to him. A name first, then more details. “Nina Khin. She didn’t show up for her scan. I came looking for you, to warn you…”

“And she shot you. Shot both you and Hawke, actually, but his was only a graze. You weren’t so lucky.”

“I got shot? So why aren’t I in any pain? How long have I been out?”

“You’ve been here two and a half days.” She started pacing the room, one hand tugging absently at her braids as she continued talking. “I…fuck. I’ve been trying to figure out how to have this conversation, and I still don’t know what to tell you.”

“Well, I’m not dead. I can still move my arms and legs, and I’m not hooked up to any machines, so I’d say things are pretty good for a guy who spent two days in medical and doesn’t remember any of it.”

“You were dying, Brandt. You were bleeding out in my arms, and there was nothing else we could do. I did what I had to do to save your life, but it came at a cost.” She sucked in a breath and looked straight at him. “You’re not human anymore. Only a Krytos could have healed from the wound you had, so I made you one.”

“You made me—what?”

“I see this is going well.” Hawke poked his head through the door and then did a double take. “Holy shit, it really worked. I mean, I know it worked, but, shit!”

“If someone doesn’t start making sense soon, I’m going to hurt you both.” Brandt snarled in frustration, and for a moment he could have sworn his teeth tingled and his fingertips itched.

“Easy, big guy. I think in this case, show is going to work better than tell.” Hawke grinned at him. “Get your ass out of that bed and you’ll understand.”

“What the hell is standing up going to prove?” Brandt asked, but he was already throwing back the sheet and easing himself off the gel-bed. It wasn’t until he tried to stand that it dawned on him that nothing felt quite right. It was like he was a teenager again. His limbs felt too long and his hands and feet weren’t where they should be. Hawke grabbed his arm to steady him, and he finally got his balance. Straightening up, he looked down at Hawke and swore.

“When the fuck did you shrink, hotshot?”

“I didn’t. You grew. Freaked out every doctor in medical, too. It seems none of them have ever seen a human-to-Krytos conversion before.”

“It was the only way to save you,” T’karra said, a note of worry in her voice.

“When you said you made me one, you meant you made me Krytos? How the hell is that even possible?”

“Apparently it’s a mate thing. Fuck, it is really weird seeing you tower over me, and the fangs are going to take some getting used to.” 

“Fangs? I have fucking fangs?” He stuck a finger in his mouth. There were definitely fangs there, which explained why his teeth felt weird and his words were coming out distorted.

“That’s a cute lisp you’ve got going on there, Commander Carver.”

Brandt caught himself baring his new fangs and growling at Hawke. Yeah, this was going to take some getting used to.

“Watch yourself, Hawke. He can kick your ass now, remember?”

Brandt looked down at himself, amazed at the changes. His legs were longer, and his body was more muscular than it had been before. If all of this had happened in a matter of days, it was no wonder he was stiff and sore. “You did this to save me?”

“I did. Do you forgive me? I know you didn’t get a choice, but I couldn’t let you die.”

“There’s nothing to forgive. I love you, and I’m grateful we have more time together.” He opened his arms to her and she stepped into them with a soft sigh. It was strange, she was more than half a foot shorter than him now and their bodies fitted together differently.

T’karra felt like she could breathe properly for the first time in days. Watching Brandt go through the transformation had been a trial, but neither she nor Hawke had left his side until it was over. Her family had stayed nearby the entire time, making sure they had what they needed, and the Alliance personnel had been nothing but helpful and supportive. It wasn’t only Brandt who had undergone a transformation in the last few days, it was the entire station. They had come together and supported each other, like a family.

Her family.

“You need to get back to bed,
tikta
, then we’ll give you a quick update. After that, the med-techs need to check you over. They’re still trying to figure out why you’re not dead.”

“I’m not dead because my mate loves me too much to let me die,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

“She does. She very nearly killed herself saving you, too. Get back to bed so I can get her sitting down again. She’s supposed to be resting, but she hasn’t left your side,” Hawke said.

“You nearly died?” Brandt frowned and pulled back to glower at her.

“He’s exaggerating. Conversion requires draining most of the blood from the person, then feeding them the blood of their Krytos mate. It’s often fatal for the one being converted, which is why it’s rarely done. I’m fine, I just need another day or so for my blood levels to get back to normal.”

She brushed a hand against his face. He looked the same, but at the same time, so very different. The most stunning change was his eyes. His glacier-blue irises now had a black outer ring. She knew he’d need time to adjust to the changes. Not just his appearance, but to everything else. His senses were keener than he was used to, his strength would be greater, his body altered, and there was the ability to shift to battle-form. He had been a formidable man before, but now…now he was a Krytos warrior with a human soul. And he was all hers.

She helped him back to bed, tucking him in and then taking the chair closest to him. “There’s a lot to tell, but I’ll give you the highlights quickly. Nina’s dead. She cut her own throat with my dagger when Hawke stopped me from killing her. The shuttle she used to ambush us had the same kind of faked transponder codes as that mercenary ship, and so far, we’ve had no luck tracing its owner or where it came from. We don’t even know when it arrived at the station.”

Hawke chimed in. “She was knocking boots with an Alliance crewman. She didn’t need to use
xili
to get him to do what she needed, just hot sex and the promise of eternal devotion. He wasn’t tainted, so he passed the scan with flying colors. She had him moving vessels around, altering the docking logs, and generally screwing with things he shouldn’t have been. This morning she got him to clear her shuttle to dock in the area I’d ordered cleared. The plan was for him to meet her after his shift so they could run away together. The idiot is locked up in the brig, awaiting transport to Mars.”

“And why did she shoot at us? Why didn’t she just run?” Brandt asked.

T’karra offered up a shrug. “We don’t know. While I was fighting with her she was ranting about the two of you screwing everything up, then she cut her own throat. She was crazy. I think she snapped when everything started falling apart. I still can’t believe she fooled us all. I swear, it’ll be a cold day on the surface of Sol before I trust
anyone
from the Shaula colonies again.”

Brandt sighed, and she could see he was starting to tire. It would be a few more days before he was back to his full strength. “And that leaves us back where we started.”

“We do have one other lead, a tattoo. Nina had the same symbol tattooed on her arm as the mercenary leader who died in the raid against the Black Hole. A scorpion with its tail wrapped around a four pointed star.”

“So, she was part of the
Scorpii
?” he asked, naming the Shaulian crime syndicate that had been implicated in the death of Commander Janes.

“It looks that way,” Hawke agreed. “The rest of the details can wait until you’re cleared for release. I’m glad you’re back with us. Running this place alone seriously sucks. You’ll find out what I mean when it’s your turn.”

“My turn? You going somewhere?” Brandt asked.

T’karra sighed. “You’re still determined to go through with it after watching Brandt’s conversion?”

Hawke nodded, his expression solemn. “I am. I’ve talked to your fathers, and they believe that my Krytos ancestry will make it easier for me. I want a full, Krytos lifespan with you, T’karra. I don’t want to grow old before the two of you.” His mouth quirked into a small smile. “Besides, do you really think I’m going to let Brandt kick my ass just because he got converted and I didn’t? Not going to happen.”

“You could die,” she said softly. Watching Brandt go through the transformation had been brutal. T’karra wouldn’t wish that pain on anyone, but she understood why Hawke would face that pain and risk death. She’d converted Brandt because she loved him too much to let him go, and now Hawke would do it for the same reason. For love.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’ve got too much to live for. When Brandt’s back on his feet and you’re fully recovered, we’re going to do this.” Hawke came to stand beside her, his hand on her shoulder, and she reached up to cover it with her own. Brandt reached out to take her other hand, and the three of them held onto each other in silence.

Her mates. Her family. Her future.