Page 29 of Stolen By the Wraiths
The cell was polished metal walls and environmental controls designed to crush hope. None of that mattered compared to the agony ripping through me.
Separation. Forced, violent separation from my mate.
The pain was indescribable. Not physical trauma I could endure, but a biological catastrophe striking at my core. Every cell screamed for Alix's proximity, her scent, the completeness only she could provide. My skin burned for her touch—not just comfort, but the claiming contact that marked her as mine. The memory of her beneath me, crying out as I drove into her, made the separation a thousand times worse.
My body's chemical signals went haywire, leaking distress signals in waves. The cell's air grew thick with territorial musk and desperate need. Somewhere in the facility, alarms were blaring. The ventilation couldn't handle the chemical overflow from my biological crisis—the raw scent of a mated male cut off from his female.
Every breath reminded me of what I'd lost. Her taste was still on my tongue from hours ago, the memory of claiming her so thoroughly she'd screamed my name. Now I couldn't even sense her properly, and my body was shutting down like an addict deprived of essential drugs.
But underneath the torture, something persisted. Faint, damaged, but there—the bond itself. Strained to breaking but not severed, a lifeline stretched across an impossible distance. Through the static of separation trauma, her presence was faint warmth somewhere in this place. Alive. Unbroken. Still mine.
That was the only thing keeping me sane.
The door opened, admitting a human female, middle-aged, wearing sterile medical gear that screamed authority. She carried herself with clinical detachment more horrifying than sadism.
"Subject designation T-Prime," she said, consulting a data pad like I was interesting bacteria. "Remarkable. Your biochemical output is causing discomfort to others three levels away."
"Dr. Jannika Hessler." She introduced herself like we were meeting at a conference instead of a torture facility. "I've been studying your species' bonding mechanisms for years, but this is my first genuine bonded pair. When Venturi confirmed the primary assets were en route, I must admit, I didn't expect the data to be so... perfect."
My hands clenched against the restraints. "Where is?—"
"Your mate?" Hessler didn't bother to look up from her notes. "Safe enough."
"If you've hurt her?—"
"I want to understand how this works before I make it better," she cut me off like I hadn't spoken. "Natural bonding is so... messy."
She moved closer with a scanner. "Tell me about the feedback mechanism. How does proximity affect your balance? What triggers the cascades during intimacy?"
My jaw clenched so hard it ached. "Go to hell."
"The claiming behaviors are particularly interesting." She ignored my response completely, making notes. "The territorial marking so central to your species."
"I said?—"
"Your bonding event was extensively monitored." She flipped through data like she was discussing the weather. "Environmental filters captured pheromonal spikes during your... encounter. Your partner showed remarkable adaptation."
I jerked against the restraints. "You were watching us?"
"Monitoring, yes. The data was quite illuminating."
My vision went red. "You're going to die."
"Fascinating." She didn't even look up from her notes. "Protective instincts persist despite obvious distress."
"When I escape this place?—"
"You won't." She finally met my eyes, calm as discussing lunch plans. "This facility is designed specifically for bonded pairs. Your emotional attachment becomes quite the liability."
I pulled against the restraints hard enough to make them creak. "You don't understand what you're dealing with."
"Don't I?" She tilted her head. "Your people got lucky—stumbled onto something amazing by accident. I'm fixing the flaws, making it work the way it should."
"That's not love. That's slavery."
"I prefer 'evolution.'" She smiled like she was teaching a slow child. "Your species stumbled onto something remarkable. I'm perfecting it."
She leaned forward, her scanner recording with mechanical precision. "The human will give us valuable information about adaptation. I'm particularly interested in how much pain separation causes."
