Page 74 of Anders
He’d spent the night poring over the data they’d gathered from the Chimera facility, including medical scans of Etta’s neural interface, and what he’d found had left him with a cold knot of dread in his stomach.
The eastern horizon was just beginning to lighten, painting Sunburst Mesa in shades of purple and gold.Any other morning, he might have paused to appreciate the desert’s stark beauty.Today, he barely registered it, his mind consumed with the blinking red data points on his tablet.
The door opened before he could knock.Larissa stood in the entrance, her expression serious as she took in his disheveled appearance.
You look like hell,she said, stepping aside to let him in.
Your mate said the same thing to me yesterday.
Must’ve been true.Come on—I have coffee ready.
I’ve been up all night,Anders said, following her into the kitchen where Malcolm sat nursing his own cup of coffee.
Malcolm’s gaze sharpened as he took in Anders’s expression.That bad?
Anders placed his tablet on the table, pulling up the three-dimensional model of Etta’s neural interface.The metallic implant glowed red against the blue outline of her central nervous system, its tendrils extending like poisonous roots into her brain stem and down her spine.
Worse than we thought,he said, his voice carefully controlled despite the rage simmering beneath the surface.The device truly is killing her.Slowly.
Larissa leaned closer to the screen, her brow furrowed.
Anders navigated to another image, this one showing the minute filaments that branched from the main device.These nanoscale connections were designed to integrate with her nervous system while the chemical suppressants remained active.Now that the suppressants are breaking down—
Her body’s rejecting the foreign technology,Malcolm finished, his expression grim.
Exactly.Anders zoomed in further, highlighting areas where inflammation had begun to develop.Her immune system is attacking the device, which might seem like a good thing, except—
The device has integrated too deeply with her neural pathways,Larissa said softly.Her body can’t tell where the device ends and she begins.
Anders nodded, jaw tight.The rejection process will eventually cause catastrophic nervous system damage.Based on these readings and Dr.Mercer’s projections, we’re looking at complete system failure within two to three weeks.Four at the outside.
System failure.A clinical term for what would be an excruciating death as Etta’s body destroyed itself trying to expel the implant.
Can anyone in the pack remove it?Malcolm asked, though his tone suggested he already knew the answer.
No.Anders closed the image, unable to look at it any longer.I’ve run my own projections.The technology is beyond anything we’ve encountered.Attempting removal with our current resources would be tantamount to murder.
Silence fell between them.Anders forced himself to breathe evenly, to maintain the professional detachment that had served him well throughout his career.
But beneath that carefully constructed calm, his wolf raged, howling at the thought of his mate suffering, dying from a violation so profound it defied comprehension.
We need specialized medical expertise,Larissa said finally.
Someone with experience in neural technology and shifter physiology,Anders added, having already considered this as well.That’s a rare combination.
Malcolm set down his coffee mug with sudden decision.We need to bring in Nick.
Anders raised an eyebrow.Nick?
The Moonstone Pack in Colorado,Malcolm said.Nick maintains connections with them.They’re larger than we are, with more resources.And if I remember correctly, they have a doctor with some unusual expertise.
A flicker of hope sparked in Anders’s chest.The neural interface contains classified intelligence about the Sunburst Pack.Sharing that information with another territory—
Is a security risk,Malcolm acknowledged.But at this point, I’d say Etta’s life outweighs that concern.Don’t you agree, Guardian?
There was no challenge in Malcolm’s tone, only a quiet understanding.He was giving Anders permission to prioritize his mate over his duty—something Anders hadn’t realized he needed until that moment.
Yes,he said.I agree.
