Chapter 11

Chapter 10

Heat hit Beth's cheeks hard and fast. But her arousal and frustration fed the indignation that sent her eyebrow toward her bangs. She didn't say anything, though, suddenly realizing the predicament she was in. He was much larger and stronger than she was, and they were alone. He could do whatever he wanted to her and she wouldn't be able to stop him.

He held her gaze, the corner of his lips quirking, and she knew he'd realized that as well… no, more than that. He'd always known. He had always been able to get out of that cage. So her impression of safety had been nothing more than that. An impression, an illusion, a lie she'd told herself. She'd come in here with no idea what the Izaean, or the ferals, were capable of.

A shiver rolled down her spine. She was nothing more than a delectable little fish in a sea full of sharks. And Banic was the biggest of them all.

But she lifted her chin anyway and met him look for look, ignoring the bright banners of heat on her cheeks. He'd been able to get out of the cage all along yet he hadn't. He could probably break free of the cuffs they'd put on him for all the procedures, but he hadn't. Instead, he'd let her do what she needed, well within grabbing distance.

And he hadn't hurt her once. She knew he wouldn't.

Straightening her spine and standing to her full—though not very impressive compared to his—height, she ignored his last statement. She wasn't ready to deal with the possessive statement or everything it entailed.

"I need to get back to work." She gave him her best "I'm in charge" look. She used the same one with students on work experience who'd ended up in her lab over the years and normally had even the cockiest youngster pulling their necks back in and behaving.

Banic just grinned at her, the wicked little expression doing nothing to quell the heat simmering in her veins. Oh shit, had she just let him do that, right on the work counter?

"Yes, Doc." His voice was a deep rumble, and even though he was agreeing with her, she was under no impression he was tamed. Banic was dangerous, pure and simple, and on more than a lethal killing machine with homicidal tendencies level. He was dangerous on a purely male level, in a way she'd never had to deal with before.

She ignored that as well, lifting her chin. "Okay, get the spider thing. The krevasta. We need to get a look at it."

He shook his head, folding thickly muscled arms over his broad chest and looking down at her as forbidding as an ancient stone sentinel.

"Not a chance."

She blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I saw what just a glimpse of that creature did to you." He watched her steadily, as immoveable as a mountain. "I won't allow you to put yourself through that again."

She opened her mouth, but for a second nothing came out. He was trying to protect her, in his own way. Frowning, she leveled a hard look at him. This was the second controlling comment he'd made, and no way was she allowing the trend to go unchallenged.

"First of all, you don't get to allow me to do anything or not. But I'm not the one who's going to be dissecting it. You are. Unless you can run the X-EV unit over there?" She nodded toward the examination and evaluation unit in its cradle over the dissection table.

Banic looked over his shoulder, keen intelligence in his eyes as he examined it. Then he shook his head, looking back down at her.

"I'd probably break the controllers off trying to use it," he admitted, holding out his hands with fingers spread.

They were huge; she already knew that. The tingles between her thighs added another level of knowing, but she ignored that and turned him around, pushing him gently toward the storage room that held the specimens.

"Good, then get that spider. We can process it and then get rid of it." She suppressed a shudder at the thought. The sooner that thing was out of the lab, the better. Even though she knew it was dead, it still gave her the creeps. Something about the way the light shone off its dark eyes and the red glint she saw there reminded her too much of the redness of Banic's eyes and the odd intelligence she spotted behind them occasionally.

But that was stupid talk, surely? No way could the spider have the same kind of intelligence she spotted watching her out of the backs of his eyes every now and then, the one he said was his Rage. She shook her head at the fanciful thought as she laid out scalpels and other dissection equipment on a tray, her movements automatic and swift. No, it couldn't possibly be. She was no arachnid expert, but most spider species didn't have a brain structure that was in any way comparable with a human… or, more importantly, an Izaean or feral. They weren't human, admittedly, but they were related genetically, so most of what she knew of humanity would hold true.

She had already retreated behind the controller's screen for the X-EV by the time Banic returned with the krevasta in its bucket. She busied herself setting the unit up for recording rather than watching as he laid the thing out on the table on its back.

"Spread out the legs as well," she ordered, focusing on the joints to record how they moved. It was easier when she focused on one small area rather than seeing the thing as a whole. Hey, move that one again. The mechanical action there was different."

He grunted in reply, one hand pressed against the spider's abdomen and the other wrapped around its leg as he manipulated the joint. She frowned, watching it on the screen. "That's definitely different. The other joints all look to be a hydraulic motion, but that one is acting differently. It's almost like flexor muscles are at play as well."

"There's more resistance on this leg," Banic replied, holding the leg out. "And the area around the joint where it attaches to the body is thicker. We've been noticing mutations in this species for some time."

"Hmmm." She frowned and reached for her notepad. "If it's a genetic mutation, it seems odd that it's only affecting one of the primary leg joints. Can you open that up and let's take a look at the internal structure, please? The tray is on a trolley right next to you. That hide looks thick. I recommend the number… seven scalpel."

He reached for the scalpel and then rumbled, "Oh… You've gotta be draanthing with me."

"What? Is there a problem?" She looked up from where she was making rapid notes and glanced at the view screen again. The spider hadn't moved.

"Look," he ordered, and she lifted up to peek over the screen. He held his hand up, the scalpel held between his thumb and forefinger. She bit back a snort of amusement. It looked like a toothpick in his big hand. "How am I supposed to use this?"

"Carefully?" She shrugged. "I'm afraid they're all one size, so you'll have to make do."

He muttered under his breath as he went back to work. She watched on the screen as he cut through the thick outer layer of skin.

"Use the clamps and pull all that back so we can see the joi… shit," she breathed, her eyes widening. There, wrapped around the spider's leg joint, was the same black material that covered Banic's skin. She leaned in. "It looks like it's created rudimentary extensor muscles in there. How is that even possible? And why isn't it on the other legs? Why just this one?"

"No idea," he replied. "This is definitely a mutation, though. The shape of the head and the fangs are different from usual."

That got her attention. "Different how?"

"The head is wider and flatter, bringing all the eyes further to the front," he said.

She moved the screen so she could see, taking a deep, fortifying breath before she focused in on its face. It was still horrifying with all those beady eyes looking back at her, but she forced her mind into analytical mode.

"Eyes on the front of the face in mammals usually indicates a hunter," she murmured as she zoomed in on the spider's eyes from all angles so the machine could record. "But arachnids are already predators, so that mutation in the species doesn't make a lot of sense. It's almost like the mutation is taking it from one kind of predator to another…"

"Sounds very science-y to me, Doc," he said, using the flat of the scalpel in his hand to manipulate the fangs. She bit her lip, feeling ill. Was it too hot in here?

"Okay, you said the fangs are different as well?" she asked, more to keep herself on track than to remind him. "What did you mean? What do they normally look like in this species?"

"This part, here." Using the scalpel, he indicated the spider's jaw. "It's bigger and more muscled than in a normal krevasta."

"Uh-huh, so mutated chelicerae," she muttered as she made another note. "That could be designed to put more bite force down with the fangs. I'm not an arachnid expert, but it would be logical to assume that's what's behind the mutated jaw. Can you open up one side, so we can see if the black tissue is also present there?"

She couldn't see him nodding but saw his movement through the camera as he held the fang out of the way with a clamp and cut into the jaw. She hissed in warning as she saw the blade skitter.

"Watch out!"

"Draanth it!" he spat as the scalpel handle broke at the exact same moment. "These draanthing child's toys are no draanthing use at all!"

She bit her lip as she looked over the screen at his indignant expression. "You really don't know your own strength. Do you?"

He leveled an exasperated look at her, so she shut up.

"Okay, let me just go get you a replacement," she offered, starting to slide off her stool. Normally with a research partner, she'd have let him go get it himself, but no way did she want to be left here with the alien spider. Even if it was dead. She'd read way too many zombie horror novels for that.

"No need," he growled, flashing the wicked-looking talons at the ends of his fingers. "I've got it covered."

She caught her breath. He had claws. How did she not know that? How had she missed that in his physical examination?

"Hmmm… okay, carry on. But I want a look at those later."

He grinned wickedly and shot her a wink. "You can look at any part of me you like, Doc. All you have to do is ask."

"Behave," she warned him, sliding behind the screen again as he used his claws to slice into the spider's jaw. He was quicker this time, using the edges of his claws to pull the skin back and reveal more black tissue, as she'd expected.

"Interesting," she breathed, fascinated. "Okay, let's open up both the sternum and abdomen, see what's going on in there."

It took Banic less than a few seconds and the spider's internal organs were completely laid open to view. Beth sat back, speechless for a moment, the hard edge of the stool digging into the backs of her thighs. The spider's internal cavities were completely infested with the black tissue, stark against the mottled grey of its flesh under the overhead lights.

"Oh my god." She blinked and shook her head, forcing herself to focus in on details. "Okay, so the largest mass of black seems to be around the stomach but not the digestive system, which means… shit, if this was an infection and it ingested the infecting agent, I'd say that's what this is, but…"

"But what?" Banic asked, his voice barely holding the edge of its usual growl. She looked over the top of the screen. His expression was intent and focused, as though he was as interested in solving this riddle as she was.

"Do you think it's something you guys ate?" she blurted out without thinking. "Not the Izaean genetic mutation, but the feralness and its associated mutations. Do you think they could be two different things? Something that you ingested on Parac'Norr? After you got here? Shit…" she broke off. "If I just had a sample from when you arrived, I'd be able to isolate any differences."

She leaned back in her chair again and ran her hands through her hair. "Why can't you people keep freaking records? Would that be too much to ask?"

He leaned against the edge of the screen, wiping his claws down with a sterilizing wipe. "I don't know. Perhaps because having feral samples in the system is dangerous. If the empire found out about us…" He mimed running a claw over the front of his throat. "Hence the reason Raalt keeps us all locked up."

"Yeah, well…" She huffed, her arms folded. "That's not barbaric at all."

He smiled slightly as he watched her, as if he couldn't quite work her out.

"Would a sample from my litaan help?"

She froze in place and then looked at him. "Litaan? What's that?"

His smile widened, and she got the sense he was enjoying this. A little too much.

"I believe humans call us twins? We were identical… before my feral mutations."

?

Beth's eyebrows shot up. "Wait… what? You have a twin?"

Banic grinned as he folded his arms, amusement dancing in his red eyes.

"Yes. His name is Jaax."

"And he's here?" she asked, trying not to get her hopes up. It would do her no good if his twin was on another planet somewhere out of reach.

"Well," Banic drawled, a grin still dancing on his lips. "He's Izaean, if that's what you mean. Whether he's on the planet or not, I don't know."

A wealth of emotion lay behind the way his smile flattened out, and she wanted to explore it but didn't think that would be welcome.

"I'll check on the system," she said, sliding off her stool. Built for Izaeans, it was a bit further down than she expected, and she stumbled. Instantly, he was there, a strong hand out to support her.

"Easy there," he murmured, setting her back on her feet. "Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself falling from such a great height."

"Hey!" She huffed at him. "No mocking my size. It's not my fault you Izaean are all built like giraffes. Well…" She added, looking up at the width of his shoulders. "Tank giraffes would be closer to the mark, I guess."

"I'm not mocking. You're the perfect size for me, and I can't wait to prove that to you." He winked, and heat flared over her cheeks again.

Yanking herself free from his arms before she could do something stupid, like throw herself at him and demand he kiss her again, she stomped past him to the access terminal on the workstation behind him. She logged on to search for Jaax's details as Banic busied himself cleaning up the krevasta specimen for storage, which she hoped was somewhere well offsite and nowhere near her.

"There is a Jaax I'Syad in the system." She glanced over her shoulder as he wiped down the dissection table. "Is I'Syad your family name?"

He grunted, flinging the dirtied rag at the bucket by his feet. "I don't have a family name. Not since they cut us off. I'm surprised that's on Jaax's records."

She pressed her lips together into a line, deciding not to tell him that he had the same family name listed on his records. If he was that opposed to his birth family, there was no reason to upset him further.

"Besides," he added, emptying the bucket and putting it away in the cleaner. The machine clicked on as he turned back toward her. "I'Syad was my mother's family name. So if he's listed as that, our father's family has completely disowned us."

Her eyes widened at the unexpected information. She'd known that anyone who registered with the Izaean mutation was forced to leave their homes and brought to Parac'Norr… but not even allowing them to use their birth names? Hell, that was cold and brutal.

"Well, he's listed on the roster, but it doesn't look like he's on the planet at the moment," she continued, scanning the information on the screen in front of her. Navigating the Izaean system was becoming easier and easier, and she found it far more intuitive than any she'd used in the past. It was almost like she knew where to look before she knew what she needed to look for.

Could that be because humans were from the same base genetic stock as Izaeans? It would make sense that they created and used similar systems in the same way the chairs here were all instantly recognizable. She focused on the screen again as Banic slid into the seat opposite.

"It says here that he's on the Ker'Danath."

"That's Raalt's ship. He must be on the crew there." Banic reached for her dataflex in the middle of the table, one eyebrow raised.

She nodded. "There's not much on there other than my research notes and some books I'm afraid. It's not linked up to the main system."

"I don't care." He shrugged. "Books are good. I haven't read anything in years."

She nodded, transferring her attention back to the screen in front of her. She pretended to read as she watched Banic out of the corner of her eye. He flicked the pad and didn't seem to need any instruction on how to use it or have any difficulty reading the Terran text.

Hadn't read anything in years… Yeah, that was because he'd been abandoned on a continent that was essentially a prison. Not like he could just nip down to the local library or anything.

She accessed the details for the Ker'Danath and smiled. "Looks like the ship is due back tomorrow. And… yes! I can put in a request for your brother to report here when he arrives." She hit the button for the request but then frowned. "Do you think I need to tell Isan I want to see him?"

Banic chuckled, his attention on the screen in front of him. "Nope. From what I hear, all Izaean must bow down to every request from the tiny human tyrant… sorry, Doctor." He looked up, a teasing twinkle in his eyes.

She gasped in outrage. "I am not a tyrant!"

"Sure you're not. But you're sure as hell enjoying having exactly what you want, when you ask for it. Aren't you?"

He swiped his thumb over the screen, his gaze tracking over whatever he was reading. She made a mental note that he could both read and concentrate on a conversation with her at the same time. Was that an ability granted by his base Latharian genetics or something added by the Izaean mutations?

"Maybe." She tilted her head to the side, wrinkling her nose. Then she laughed. "Okay, yes, but it's only because it's so rare. Usually, I have to fill out forms in triplicate and make an offering to the gods under a blue moon."

He looked up, interest on his face. "Gods? What gods do you worship?"

"Sorry, it's a figure of speech. I'm not religious. It means I have to go to ridiculous lengths sometimes just to get basic supplies for the lab."

He tilted his head, his red eyes glinting. "Sounds… inefficient."