Ch. 46
I stand on the edge of a platform, overlooking the smaller observation tank where Wake is being transferred. The water churns beneath me as I prepare my diagnostic equipment, the cold metal of the tools feeling heavy in my hands. Around me, the crew is bustling, their movements jumpy and uneasy. They’ve been like this ever since I told them not to bother sedating Wake for today’s move.
“Do you need anything else, Dr. Addison?” one of the crew members asks, his voice tight with nerves.
“This is all,” I say, but the words barely register with them. Their eyes are fixed on Wake, who’s been unusually quiet, though it’s clear he’s aware of their fear.
Wake suddenly lunges at the glass, his teeth bared in a flash of black and red scales. The crew jumps back, cursing loudly as they scramble to put more distance between themselves and the tank.
“That’s all!” I say again, louder this time, and the crew quickly gathers their things and leaves, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife.
When we’re finally alone, the water calms, and Wake rises to the surface, his gaze locked onto mine. “Why do I not simply transform while you administer these tests?” he asks, his voice low but insistent.
I shush him immediately, casting a wary glance around the room. “Don’t say things like that so loudly,” I whisper. “There’s always someone listening here, even when it doesn’t look like it.”
Wake rolls his eyes, clearly unimpressed with my caution. “I do not like this place,” he mutters.
I reach out for his arm, and he offers it to me without hesitation. The heat of his skin is almost startling against the coolness of the air. “I don’t like it here very much either,” I admit as I prep the syringe.
“Then tell me, what is this place?” he asks, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Others have attempted to explain it to me, but I trust none of them.”
“This is a place where people make things,” I say, focusing on the needle as I draw his blood. The liquid is darker than human blood, richer. “Wonderful and terrible things.”
“Like what?” he asks, watching me with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.
“Like the machine that first allowed us to communicate,” I say, carefully setting the vial of blood aside.
“And what do they want from me?” His voice carries an edge of frustration, of barely restrained anger.
I hesitate, my fingers trembling slightly as I arrange the equipment. “Lily told me that Enigma wants you to produce offspring,” I finally say, keeping my voice steady. “They’re hoping that because of our connection, I can convince you to try. Not with me, but with Marina.”
Wake’s eyes flash with anger, but there’s no worry in them, no fear. “And what do they want the offspring for?” he asks, his voice growing darker.
“I don’t know,” I admit, feeling a knot form in my stomach. “I was told it wasn’t for nefarious reasons, but now…I’m not so sure.”
He growls low in his throat, his muscles tensing beneath my touch. “They will not succeed,” he says, his tone dripping with contempt.
“Why?” I ask, desperate to understand. “Why aren’t you worried about it?”
“Because I can only procreate with my mate,” he says. “And only in the waters of my homesea. Since my mate cannot reach my homesea, there is no worry about such things.”
My heart sinks at his words. “Wake, this can’t be it,” I say, my voice trembling. “They’ll kill you.”
“That is the least of my concerns,” he replies coldly. “If I cannot fulfill my duty and bring my mate home before the others, I do not deserve to return. I would rather die than be proven a disgrace and a failure.”
His words cut through me, sharp and unforgiving. “What others?” I ask, but he doesn’t answer.
“Wake, please,” I plead, my voice barely above a whisper. “Tell me why it’s so imperative you find your mate. Why did you spend the last twenty years seeking me out?”
He hesitates, his gaze distant, lost in memories. “I waited much longer than twenty years,” he says quietly. “When I found you as a child, I was in my own youth, but that was still decades longer than you’ve been alive. I’ve been searching for my mate for most of that time; finding you was nothing short of miraculous, and yet…it seems it’s all for nothing.”
A bitter laugh escapes me before I can stop it. “Sorry for disappointing you,” I say, the words laced with hurt.
“It is not for myself that I rage,” he says, his voice barely a growl.
“Then why?” I ask again, my patience fraying at the edges. “You’re not being fair to me, Wake. All I’ve ever done is try to help you, and you owe me more than to be shut out and disrespected just because I’m not like you.”
He whirls on me, snarling with a ferocity that makes my heart skip a beat. “I am no disgrace, human or not,” he snaps. “I would never debase myself by disrespecting my mate.”
The anger in his voice cuts through me, but it’s the raw emotion behind it that leaves me reeling. “You don’t trust me either,” I say, my voice shaking. “And that hurts me just as deeply.”
He takes a deep breath, his expression softening slightly. “My people are running out of time,” he finally admits, his voice filled with a quiet desperation. “I am not the only male in search of his mate, Phoebe. The fate of my people depends on who finds them first.”
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