The ankle cuffs were removed first and finally his arms were released. 880 attempted to sit but his body responded sluggishly. Justice and Destiny gripped his arms—he allowed it—as they helped him into an upright position. Tiger shoved pillows behind his back before they all withdrew a few feet to watch him.
“You have been sleeping for months.” Destiny spoke. “Your body needs to recover but you should be fine. We’ll get you on solid foods to help you quickly regain your full strength.”
880 lifted the blanket to stare down at his body.
He could see his belly had shrunken, his skin tight over his bones, and he growled when he saw his dick. Something was taped to it and a tube trailed out of sight over one thigh. His head jerked up to shoot them an accusatory glare.
“It’s a catheter,” Destiny informed him. “It’s there to help you go to the bathroom without soiling your bedding. I’ll remove it as soon as you are strong enough to stand.”
“Take it out now.” He wanted free of it and the thin tubes hooked to his arm. “Take it all off.”
Destiny hesitated.
Justice cleared his throat. “Do it. We’ll help him stand until he is able to on his own. Give him his pride back.”
880 lifted his chin as his gaze swept around the room. It wasn’t a cell, just a room. The walls were not concrete or bars. The door was open to allow him to leave if he wished. No armed guards were in sight and he couldn’t detect any human scent as he inhaled but he knew his senses were still dulled. His body relaxed and he began to believe the males. He was free.
Bitterness gripped him next. It wasn’t right that he’d survived long enough to know this day when 46 had not. He’d let his female down. He’d somehow done something to cause her death. Pain filled his heart.
Chapter Five
“What were you thinking?”
Alli hesitated, staring at Trisha, the doctor who not only had become her friend but was mated to a New Species. “I just wanted to save him and no one would listen to my suggestions on how to get him to wake from his coma.”
“You could have called me or waited until I got back. I was only going to be gone for six weeks at Reservation.”
“880 was getting worse. He’d lost too much weight. I couldn’t stand to watch him waste away.
How is he? No one will say a word about him. Did he wake up again?”
Trisha took a seat on her bed a few feet away and sighed. “He’s awake.”
Tears of joy filled Alli’s eyes. “Really? That’s great.”
“He’s recovering amazingly fast. He’s already on his feet. He demanded food, ate more than they wanted, and took a walk down the hallway before he almost crashed into the floor when his legs gave out on him.”
“Does he look better?”
“No humans are allowed on that level so I haven’t been able to examine him in person.
Justice thinks it’s best right now if he’s not exposed to any. Destiny and Field are living down there to tend to him around the clock. I did get a look at the live feed from the cameras. I insisted and I could tell his coloring is much better from what I saw. You can imagine how difficult it is trying to evaluate a patient by video monitoring though.”
“How is his mental state? Is he showing any signs of brain damage or depression? We have no idea what was done to him or how traumatic his brain injuries were before he arrived at Homeland.”
“He seems fine.” Trisha frowned. “I’d be worried about my own ass right now, Alli. You kidnapped a Species and took him from behind the gates. Do you know how dangerous that was?
What if someone not associated with the NSO had found you with him? Did you think about that?”
“I just wanted to help him and they wouldn’t let me do that. I thought it would be safe and I took every precaution I could think of. I planned to call Homeland on day seven if 880 didn’t show any signs of improvement or if he worsened.”
“You unchained him.” Trisha hesitated. “Did you think about what could have happened if he’d woken, thought you were his enemy, and he killed you? He would have been out there alone.
He wouldn’t have known what to do and he could have killed innocent people, thinking everyone he saw worked for Mercile.”
Alli shook her head. “He would have been too weak to do much damage to me and I was sure I could handle him.”
“He attacked Tim Oberto’s team. He not only got out of his bed but put two of them on their asses. Think of what he could have done if he’d opened his eyes to see you there.”
The blood drained from her face as she did just that. “He would or could have killed me.”
“Exactly.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I know.” Trisha reached out and took her hand. “You’re in a lot of trouble and I don’t know what they are going to do with you. Justice won’t even discuss it with me. Slade is my mate but he is Species too. You put one of his males at risk and none of them can ignore that. You were obviously right about a female scent drawing 880 out of his coma but it doesn’t cancel out the danger you exposed him to. At the very least, you’re fired. You could be facing some jail time.”
Tears filled Alli’s eyes but she blinked them back. “I knew that and I’m ready to take whatever sentence they hand out to me. 880 was worth it.”
“Damn it.” Trisha released her and stood to pace the small area. “This is a mess. So far they’ve kept you in this holding cell but they can’t keep you here indefinitely. Justice is against Species imprisoning humans. They’ll have to hand you over to the people who used to manage Homeland. They opened a prison run by them to hold Mercile employees.” Trisha hesitated and met her stare. “It’s a hellish place full of people who will hate you and you’ll hate them since they are monsters. You’re not one.”
“I knew the risks and I took them.”
Trisha’s gaze narrowed. “Do you think I’m going to sleep at night, knowing where you’re going? The NSO doesn’t control it and I’ve heard horror stories about that place. I’m trying to talk them into just firing you and escorting you to the gates. You’ll be banned from having any further contact with the NSO or discussing Species in public. I just don’t know if they are going to go for it. Would you sign a total confidentially clause if they offered it to you?”
More tears filled her eyes. “I just wanted to help New Species, 880 in particular.”
“I know but you did the wrong thing. It was insane, irrational, and you did put 880 in severe danger. If someone had gotten a hold of him they could have killed him, ransomed him to the NSO for millions, or worst case, someone from Mercile could have gotten their hands on him again.
There are a lot of those assholes out there who haven’t been caught yet. They are desperate.”
Alli’s shoulders dropped. “I’m sorry.”
Trisha stared at her grimly. “Hang in there.”
Alli watched her go. The officer guarding her glanced in before the door closed. The sounds of locks being turned made her curl up on the bed.
Her room was small, consisting of a bed, a handful of books she’d been given, and nothing else. It had been two days since she’d been arrested. Tiger and now Trisha were the only ones who had visited her besides a few humans on the task force who had come to ask her questions. At least she knew 880 had regained consciousness and he was getting stronger.
“It was worth it,” she whispered and squeezed her eyes closed as more tears slipped out.
Trisha glared at Justice, then at her mate. Slade took a step closer, his hand lifted to caress her but she stepped out of his reach. She was furious.
“There’s your criminal. The big bad threat to New Species. Give me a damn break. Alli did something stupid but she shouldn’t be locked up.” Trisha pointed to the camera feed inside Allison Baker’s cell. “She’s a doctor. We will do anything to save a patient and nobody here would listen to her. I would have raised hell until someone caved if I had a suggestion I believed in but she’s different. I can’t see her yelling or getting in someone’s face. She secretly plotted to get 880 out of here where she could try to do what it took to save him.” She paused. “And it worked. I want Tiger in here right now.”