Page 19 of Brody
“Help him,” a woman screamed from the back.
I moved without conscious thought, grabbing my medical bag as doctor’s instincts overrode personal chaos.
“Everyone back,” I commanded.“Give him space.”
Logan’s mismatched eyes focused on me as I approached.One human brown, one feral gold.A guttural snarl tore from his throat, primal and terrified.
I’d seen this before.The partial shift wasn’t just a physical crisis; it was a war between human and animal consciousness.His animal was fighting for complete control.If the animal won, Logan’s human mind would be lost forever.
Despite the chaos, something unexpected happened.The people who’d been questioning my credentials moments ago now moved with unified purpose.Even Shane cleared the chairs to make space.Others ushered children toward exits.They were a community watching one of their own suffer.
Freya moved forward, her fingers weaving complex patterns that left gold light trails in the air.“I can create a magic binding to hold his human consciousness intact.”
Magic.Freya was working actual magic.
“But it’s temporary,” she added.“We need someone he trusts to reach his human mind before it’s completely submerged.”
“He knows me,” Brody said quietly, his professional focus overriding whatever personal chaos simmered between us.“I’ve been supplying him with tonic.It helps prevent episodes where his cheetah fights for control.”
And then we were working together.Despite years of suppressed fury.
The three of us snapped into coordinated action like we’d rehearsed for this exact scenario.Freya’s fingers painted glowing sigils in the air, golden light weaving around Logan in intricate patterns.I prepared the neural stabilizer with practiced precision, measuring the exact dosage for his body weight and severity of symptoms.
Logan’s half-shifted form thrashed against invisible restraints, a guttural snarl tearing from his throat as his cheetah fought for dominance.He lunged suddenly; claws aimed at my face with deadly precision.
I didn’t have time to react, but Brody was there, moving with supernatural speed.He inserted his body between us, his hands catching Logan’s wrists mid-strike.The sound of bone meeting bone echoed through the suddenly silent room.
Our eyes met over Logan’s shoulder, and something wordless passed between us.Instinctively, I knew what he was planning before he moved.Where he would alter his grip and exactly when to advance with the syringe.
“Easy, Logan,” Brody murmured, his voice a low, soothing rumble.“It’s me.You’re safe.We’re going to help you.”
He shifted his grip on Logan’s wrists, exposing the vein I needed with a subtle movement that synchronized perfectly with my advance.We moved like dancers who had practiced the same routine for years, my body anticipating his movements before he made them, his strength complementing my precision.
“Look at me, Logan,” Brody commanded, his voice carrying the unmistakable weight of an alpha predator.“Focus on my voice.Remember who you are.”
As I moved in with the neural stabilizer, my arm brushed against Brody’s.Even in that fleeting contact, the mate bond flared to life with such intensity that I nearly dropped the syringe.His eyes flashed to mine, pupils dilating in response to the same rush of sensation.
For a heartbeat, we were locked in each other’s gaze, years of separation collapsing like a house of cards.Then professional training took over, and I plunged the needle home with perfect accuracy just as recognition sparked in Logan’s mismatched eyes.
“Brody?”Logan gasped, his voice hoarse from the strain of fighting his animal.“Can’t… control it.Hurts too much.”
“I know,” Brody replied, and the raw understanding in his voice revealed more than words ever could.“Let Dr.Dhahabu help you,” he continued, still holding Logan steady.“She can stop the pain.”
We worked in harmony, our bodies remembering a connection our minds had spent decades denying.For those few intense minutes, there was no past between us, only the shared purpose of saving a life.
As the neural stabilizer took effect and Logan’s convulsions subsided, the professional walls between Brody and me rebuilt themselves brick by brick.I stepped back, putting deliberate distance between us.
Something clicked in my mind as I watched him with Logan.The too-careful precision in his movements, like someone compensating for something.Whatever was happening with Brody, it was more than just stress or fatigue.Something was wrong.
I caught myself leaning forward, the doctor in me already formulating questions, potential tests, diagnostic pathways.I forced myself to lean back, crossing my arms over my chest like a physical barrier against my own curiosity.
Not my problem.Not my business.Not my fated mate.
But as I repeated these mantras in my head, my treacherous eyes kept drifting back to his left hand, the way he subtly steadied it against his thigh when he thought no one was looking.
My focus moved back to Logan, blowing out a breath when his form slowly settled back into fully human.The relief in his eyes was almost painful to witness.
“I thought I was going to lose myself,” Logan said.“I could feel myself slipping away, like watching through a window while someone else controlled my body.”
