Mateer Read online

  Decision made, he carried her to the alcove and laid her gently on the mattress. Remembering the tech’s advice, he paced through the main portion of the cell, gathered several blankets, returning to cover her carefully, but not before examining her arm. The red streaks were gone, and it was no longer swollen, bending easily as he conducted his careful examination.

  I hope my blood helped her.

  Megan murmured something and rolled over onto her side. He sat on the edge of the bed and combed his hand gently through her hair, which was wild and tousled from the treatment she’d endured since the bug bite turned toxic. Her hair was a darker red than Lily’s and as he untangled snarls he marveled at the many subtle shades of the strands and the silken feel. Once he had the tangles smoothed away, he fetched a cup of water and set it by the table, to be ready when she roused, no matter how long her slumber might be. Her breathing was faint but regular, and he told himself she must be asleep, not in a coma. Leaning against the wall, he settled in to keep watch.

  Megan wanted to sleep forever, but the voices were keeping her from immersion in her dreams, especially the really nice one about sitting in her own prefab house, comfortable in her robe, drinking synth coffee. Grumpily, she blinked and brushed her hair off her face. “Can you guys please keep it down?”

  When she focused, there was only Mateer sitting on the edge of the bed. Confused, she pulled the blanket more closely around her and took in the confines of the cell. “I thought I heard voices—who were you talking to?”

  Eyes narrowed he seemed annoyed or unsettled by her question. “I think you were dreaming. How do you feel?”

  His tone irritated her. “Listen, I know when I’m dreaming and when I’m awake. Don’t try to change the subject. You were talking to another man—you were telling him about this lab and me—”

  Mateer pulled her close. Holding her in an intimate embrace, he whispered in her ear. “If you truly heard me, then you know a secret the Khagrish must never learn.”

  She stopped pushing against him. “What do you mean?”

  The answer was in her head, in his voice, although his lips didn’t move. We can talk mind to mind.

  She swallowed hard and forced herself not to speak aloud. Then how can I hear you? I don’t have psychic abilities.

  You do now, apparently. His smile was a bit rueful. Mateer let her go, and she scooted against the pillows. “Drink some water,” he said, “And eat this special energy bar I was given for you, and I’ll bring you up to speed on recent events.”

  She eyed him and reached for the ration he was unwrapping. “The last thing I remember was going to sleep in the cave, running a fever, with general malaise and body aches.” Gasping as memory returned, she examined her arm, running the fingers of her other hand gently along the skin’s surface. “The edema was highly pronounced, tenderness, red streaks—I self-diagnosed possible sepsis, blood poisoning. How did you treat the condition? And why are we back inside, alone?”

  “I’ll talk if you eat,” he said, cutting off her questions with a raised hand. “I’d ask you for a promise not to be angry with me, but I fear that’s going to be impossible.”

  Megan settled against the pillows and allowed Mateer to arrange the blankets over her legs. “This had better be a good story.” She munched on the energy bar and sipped at the water as he recounted his mad sprint through the rain to bring her to the lab. At the end she had one question, “So Lampergg cured me out of the goodness of his heart?”

  “The Khagrish have no hearts,” Mateer said. “I had to tell him we were mates.”

  At this point in the narrative, she’d already reached the conclusion for herself—why else would Lampergg have agreed to help her? He’d shown before he didn’t care about any individual’s fate. “Yeah, I kinda expected you were going to say that.”

  Eyebrows raised, he seemed surprised. “You’re not angry with me?”

  Megan reached out to squeeze his hand. “Your intentions were good, and I’m grateful. You and I know the truth, don’t we?”

  Eyes glowing a bit golden, he avoided looking directly at her. “Yes. “

  Her perception was that he was restraining himself from saying a lot more, and she was grateful. Mateer was an attractive man, and she was certainly drawn to him, but this entire situation was artificial, uncanny, and dangerous, and Megan sensed she had to walk carefully. “So what happened after you spilled the magic beans about us?”

  “I did tell him we hadn’t yet —that we hadn’t—that we weren’t physical mates.” Mateer stumbled over the words. “He’ll expect us to proceed to that step, you know.”

  “He can do all the expecting he wants.”

  “I would never force you—or any woman—”

  “I know. I can tell you’re an honorable man.” Paying close attention to the boundary between ceiling and walls, where she was sure vidcams must be located, she conducted a visual examination of the cell from her vantage point on the bed. “And I suppose he’s a voyeur? He’ll want to watch? Not happening even on a cold day in hell.” Deliberately, she bit into the ration bar again and chewed slowly. After swallowing, she said, “We got a bit off topic. You were going to explain how I, um, enhanced my ability to hear you? How my life was saved?”

  Mateer’s explanation about the blood transfusion had her frowning. She stretched out her arms, examining the skin closely, then kicked her legs free of the blankets and repeated the scrutiny. She undid the fastening of her garment while Mateer looked away and checked the skin of her chest and abdomen. No purple marks anywhere. “Inter species transfusion should never have worked unless the Badari and the humans are virtually identical.”

  “Which we can’t be since I’m a genetic experiment,” Mateer said. “You did have huge purple bruises for a while after the transfusion, but the marks faded.”

  Examining her forearm once more, Megan tilted her head and peered closely. “Part of the adverse reaction to mismatched blood types. I should be dead.”

  Mateer shrugged. “I’m glad you’re not. Lampergg ran my blood through one of the Khagrish infernal machines so he may have treated it with other fluids or altered the composition in some fashion. Anything is possible with their science. He wants to use Badari blood on other beings now he knows it can be done.”

  A shiver of fear for him went through her, and she took his hand again. “You mean he’d make you into a donor for other experiments?”

  “Megan, over the centuries of our existence the Badari have been subjected to many cruelties, countless procedures and tortures. Don’t doubt Lampergg’s ability to conduct twisted science on both of us. We have to walk carefully, not collaborate as your man Harker seems inclined to do, but provide enough co-operation to keep Lampergg content for now. Just for now.” He emphasized the last word and gave her a meaningful glance.

  “You know something.”

  I was talking to my alpha, Jill’s mate Aydarr. They’ll be rescuing us, but not as soon as I’d hoped. There’s been a problem. He tilted his head as if challenging her to respond to him mentally.

  She frowned and said words to him in her mind. What kind of problem?

  Mateer grinned as he approved of her mental question. “Very good.” Jordah, the head of security at this lab isn’t accepting Lampergg’s comforting belief I’m a lone survivor. He’s made adjustments to the patrols, tightened protocols, and a few other things. My people are few in number, and there’ll be only one chance to succeed and pull us all out.

  “So things have to go right.” She realized she’d spoken out loud and covered her mouth with her hand. This telepathy stuff was tricky.

  Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it in time.

  Megan shook her head. “I’m getting a headache.”

  Instantly, Mateer was on the alert. “A delayed reaction to my blood?”

  “I doubt it. Probably caused by stress.” Grimacing at the last bit of the ration bar, she added, “Or this awful thing you ordered me to eat. Listen, if I made it through the transfusion sickness, I’ll probably be fine from here on out, so stop worrying. And the effects of your blood may not last in my body either, you know. I imagine my immune system is working right now to try to eliminate all traces of the Badari intruder cells.” She patted his hand to take the sting out of the remark. “Thank you for saving my life.”

  “I couldn’t allow you to die in the Preserve if there was any smallest hope,” he said.

  She surveyed the cell. “This place is pretty grim.”

  Mateer was unfazed by their current location. “At our lab it was merely a place to sleep and eat in between drills, training and experiments. The Khagrish regard us as lesser beings, who don’t need mental stimulation. They didn’t care if we got bored. We did have cards, though, for games. Want me to see if there’s anything similar in the drawers here?”

  “I’d rather have a shower,” she said.

  “There is one, but no privacy. I’d swear not to watch, but the Khagrish vids are set to observe even there.”

  “At some point I may have no choice, I guess, but entertaining the peeping tom guards isn’t high on my list of choices.” She studied him and concentrated. How long before we might be rescued? What about the others, out in the Preserve?

  “We can demand more appropriate quarters from Lampergg,” Mateer said. “Such were provided to my Alpha for the, uh, mating experiment.” Aydarr said give him three more days. And yes, the rescue will be of everyone. Jill was thrilled to hear you were okay.

  “Can we ask to go out to the Preserve with the others? At least there we had the illusion of privacy and open spaces.”

  “Since you’d prefer it, I’ll ask, the next time the guards come and perhaps the request will be relayed to Lampergg. Of course, we may see him in person, since he’ll want to know how you’re doing.”

  “And how we’re doing?” She gave him a smile. “Guess you’d better go search for those cards.”

  After dinner of mush and hard rolls, brought by surly guards who refused to carry any messages to Lampergg, Megan was tired and ready to fall asleep in the alpha’s bed. At first Mateer insisted on sleeping on the floor next to her, but the idea of him on the cold concrete bothered her.

  “There are the bunk beds, or at least the ones you didn’t destroy,” she said, trying to be reasonable. “You don’t have to sleep on the floor.”

  “I’m not going to be any distance away from you now we’re inside the lab,” he said, making a stack of the blankets he’d scavenged and lying down. “Anything could happen and seconds count in an emergency. I’ll be fine. I’ve had worse.”

  “Have it your way then.” She laid back on the pillow in solitary splendor and closed her eyes for all of a minute before sitting up and patting the mattress. “All right, tough guy, you can join me on the bed, but don’t be a blanket hog.”

  “A what?” he asked, getting to his feet.

  She shook her finger at him. “Don’t try to steal my covers.” And don’t try anything else.

  I gave you my word. Mateer grabbed three of the thin blankets and brought them with him onto the bed. “There isn’t much room.”

  “Well, if you weren’t seven foot something and built like a space cruiser, there might be,” she grumbled in mock anger, scooting over and turning on her side, her back to him. “You’d better not snore either.”

  Inevitably their bodies touched, although she’d tucked her blankets around herself like a protective cocoon, and Mateer stayed precariously on the far edge of the bed. Megan liked the feeling of his protective presence right next to her and had to fight not to curl into his warmth. Her memories of being held in his arms, out in the Preserve, were pleasant. She was sure doing more in his embrace than simply being carried from one point to another would be a sensuous experience she’d never forget. Megan shifted her hips as her innermost nerves warmed and tingled at the idea of intimacy with Mateer, so massive and yet so solicitous of her.

  A fuzzy memory of him reaching out to her when she was being transfused in Lampergg’s medical lab surfaced. How could a sentient raised in this terrible lab environment be so compassionate and caring? Megan wished she knew more about him and his pack. If her sister Jill had truly mated with the alpha, that said a lot about the Badari because Jill was definitely no fool. It’d take more than a warrior with a hot body to entice her into a lifelong commitment. The guy would have to possess smarts, including the emotional kind. Well, he’d have to be the total package, like Mateer.

  “Get some sleep,” Mateer said softly. “The Great Mother alone knows what the Khagrish might spring on us tomorrow, and it’s best to be at full strength.”

  She didn’t deny her inability to sleep. “I do feel much stronger, thanks to you. I kinda hope the effect isn’t temporary.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you since no one else has ever received Badari blood, to my knowledge. As long as it does no harm, I’ll be satisfied.” And I like being able to talk to you mind to mind.

  She grinned in the dark at how shy his mental voice sounded, unlike him. Yeah, I like it too. Punching the pillow, Megan found a more comfortable position and she closed her eyes. Hey, what were you like as a kid?

  Why do you ask? But at the same time she got a vivid mental image of a much younger Mateer, maybe eight or nine, shaggy haired, barefoot, dressed in a smaller version of the one-piece utility overalls they both wore right now.

  “I was just curious,” she said. “I don’t know how you grew up to be such a nice person in this awful place.”

  “Aydarr, Reede and I formed a team from the earliest age. Reede’s the other enforcer, slightly less dominant than I am. We all knew Aydarr would be the alpha of our generation, and we’d be his seconds. We did our best to protect our pack.”

  An image flickered through her mind and was gone before she could focus. Who was that?

  For a long moment there was silence, and she wondered if Mateer was going to answer.

  Chirron. One we could not save. He was too sweet natured for the horrors the Khagrish visited upon us and his health was fragile. He never perceived the world the way it truly was, which may have been a blessing from the Great Mother. Now I ask myself if he’d been given my blood, or Aydarr’s, if he would have had more strength and survived.

  Megan rolled over, facing Mateer, and reached for his hand. “I’m sorry. Stupid and thoughtless of me, asking about childhood memories in a place like this.”

  I haven’t allowed myself to think of Chirron in years. He was like a little brother to me, even though we were from the same generation batch. When the guards took him away I killed my first opponents with fang and claws, three of them, trying to save him. Aydarr had to save me, telling the Khagrish I was essential to the pack structure for generation 8. We never saw Chirron again. He wasn’t the only one we lost before the pack matured.

  Impacted by the weight of Mateer’s grief like she’d taken a physical blow, Megan followed her instincts and scooted closer to hug him. He’ll be one of the last, though, right? Your people have their freedom now, and the Khagrish won’t ever get to hurt any Badari children again. The other children are safe with Jill and Aydarr, right?

  He put his arms around her, drawing her close. True. We have to finish the job of killing all the Khagrish, though. And then the Chimmer to ensure our safety. We also don’t know exactly how the Khagrish create Badari.

  “What do you mean?”

  He shook his head. We know it’s done in some automated way, more Khagrish biotechnology. When we destroyed the other lab, we made sure there were no new members of any pack anywhere then we blew the hell out of the facility.

  So we may never know. Megan found the thought comforting. There was no need to preserve certain dark knowledge. But they can’t create more.

  I would have agreed before being captured. Now I see how this lab is a duplicate of the other, ready to house packs, and doubt creeps in.

  But you said you caught no scent of any other Badari ever having been here. She felt she had to remind him. That Lampergg does other kinds of research here.

  “With the Khagrish, who can ever be sure?” He spoke out loud, as if to add to the finality of his remark. “We need our sleep.” He hugged her again then carefully released her, sliding away on the lumpy mattress.

  Feeling a bit abandoned, not sure if she was disappointed, Megan said, “Good night,” before she rolled over and closed her eyes. Clearly, Mateer was unused to having conversations touching upon his deep emotions, and she was sorry she’d stirred up the unhappy memories. Keeping her thought private, she speculated whether Lampergg believed he could create more Badari using human women—using her. What would she and Mateer do if they weren’t assured of an impending rescue?

  Glad she didn’t have to face the prospect of unwilling participation in advancing Lampergg’s bogus and frightening scientific aspirations, regretful at having met this amazing man under such unfavorable circumstances, she finally allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

  In the morning, she was disoriented when the lights blinked on and an alarm blared. At some point she’d evidently moved right next to Mateer and now he tightened his embrace. “Morning wake up call,” he said. “Standard routine in the lab cells. The guards will bring breakfast soon. You should hurry if you wish to take care of personal needs before the squad arrives.”

  Reluctant to leave his warmth, she sat up, placing her feet on the floor and giving a shriek. “That’s cold!”

  “No one gave you any shoes, did they?” Mateer left the bed and scooped her into his arms, carrying her across the cell to the semi-private bathroom area. Apparently the cold floor didn’t bother him. Megan could get used to being carried hither and yon on occasion, as long as she was consulted first. Being held safe in Mateer’s arms made her tingle deep inside and consider what it would be like to do more intimate activities with him. “I’ll see if there are any spare shoes in the drawers,” he said over his shoulder as he moved away.

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