Chapter 14

Chapter 13

Beth woke with a start, her heart pounding and her skin slick with sweat. For a moment, she lay blinking in the darkness, trying to orient herself. A quick look at the clock told her she still had an hour before she needed to get up. Groaning, she rolled over and buried her face in the pillow. She'd barely slept, her mind whirling with the events of the day, what was happening to Tor, and the discoveries they'd made with the krevasta. But that wasn't the half of it and wasn't what had kept her awake, tossing and turning in the middle of erotic dreams.

He had. Banic had.

She couldn't stop thinking about him—about the way he looked at her, the way he made her feel—like she was the center of his universe, the only thing that mattered in a world gone mad. That intensity and single-minded focus was utterly terrifying, like a fire that seared her to her very soul. But it was also thrilling, exhilarating in a way she'd never known before. Because when he looked at her like that, when he touched her with those strong, callused hands, she felt alive and whole. Like she'd been sleeping her entire life and was finally awake. Finally feeling something.

It was all-consuming and terrifying and wonderful. And she wanted more of it.

The chirp of her comm unit jerked her out of her thoughts, the high, electronic tone grating on her exhausted nerves. Lurching half out of bed, she fumbled for the device, squinting at the screen through bleary eyes.

It was an incoming call from an unknown identity code.

She frowned, her finger hovering over the accept button. After the disastrous conversation with Banic's family yesterday, she wasn't sure she was ready for another emotional gutting. Not before coffee anyway.

Curiosity won out. Sitting up and smoothing her hair down, she tapped the screen to accept the call.

"Hello?" Her voice was rough with sleep, little more than a croak as the image on the other end resolved. Her eyes widened as she found herself looking at the same silver-haired warrior from yesterday.

"Hello. My name is Raavn. From the V'Taak clan. We spoke yesterday," he said, his voice low and gruff.

"Yes, I remember." She sat up, suddenly wide awake. "But… forgive me for the bluntness. You couldn't help me yesterday, Mr. Raavn… so why call now?"

"It's just Raavn." The old warrior sighed, the sound heavy with weariness and regret. "And that's why I'm calling."

He paused as if gathering his thoughts. She waited, her heart in her throat and her fingers white-knuckled around the comm unit.

"I wanted to apologize," he said at last, his voice rough. "For yesterday. For the way I acted, the things I said. I couldn't... tell you the truth, not with the others around. But now..."

He trailed off, and she heard the soft rustle of fabric as if he were shifting in his seat. "The family are gone now. Off on some huntin' trip, leavin' me behind like the useless old relic I am."

Bitterness leached into his voice, a deep, aching hurt that made Beth's heart clench. But beneath it, she heard something else—something that sounded almost like... relief.

"Banic and Jaax," Raavn said, his voice low and urgent. "They were the best warriors I ever trained. Strong, fierce, fearless. They should've been the ones to lead the clan, to carry on the V'Taak name. But then..." He swallowed hard, the sound audible even over the comm. "We'd thought they were too old, that the family curse had bypassed them. But then the mutation showed up during a routine medical, and everything changed."

Her breath caught in her throat. "The family curse? You mean the mutation... it's common in your clan?"

The old warrior laughed, the sound harsh and humorless.

"Common? My lady, it's practically a family tradition. Banic and Jaax's grandfather's litaan, she had it too—one of many in the line to show the signs."

Beth's mind reeled as she struggled to process the implications. Female Izaean? But how... why had no one ever mentioned that the females of the Lathar could have the mutation as well?

"What happened to her?"

He shrugged, his face heavy with sorrow. "Died, most likely. This was before the plague, before everything went to trall. But then the plague came and with it wipin' out most of the babies, any female who could breed was too valuable to lose. Even if they was carryin' the mutation."

She swallowed hard, nausea churning in her gut. The thought of those women, those brave, fierce females being reduced to little more than broodmares... it made her sick to her stomach. But even as the horror washed over her, a tiny, selfish part of her couldn't help but feel a flicker of relief. Because if female Izaeans had existed before, if the mutation wasn't limited to just the males... that meant she had more to go on. If she could find DNA from those females, even from a grave and a fragment of bone, maybe she could put all this together.

"Raavn," she said slowly. "I don't know what to say. Thank you for telling me this. For trusting me with the truth. You don't know how important this could be."

The old warrior was silent for a long moment, the only sound the soft, even rasp of his breathing. Then, quietly, almost hesitantly, he spoke.

"How are they? Banic and Jaax? Are they... are they still... They're not…" He couldn't bring himself to finish the question, but she heard the unspoken plea loud and clear. She saw the desperate, aching need in his pale eyes to know that his boys, his fierce, proud warriors, were still alive, were still fighting.

"They're okay," she said, a smile curving her lips. "They're survivors, Raavn. No matter what this universe throws at them, they just keep getting back up."

"Good," he whispered, his voice barely audible over the static. "That's... that's good."

She didn't speak, letting him have a moment to gather himself. When he spoke again, his voice was steady, almost calm.

"Will you tell them..." He paused and cleared his throat. "Will you tell them I asked after them? That I... that I'm proud of them, no matter what?"

Her throat tightened, tears pricking at the backs of her eyes.

"Of course," she promised with a smile. "I'm seeing both of them later. And thank you again."

The old warrior huffed out a soft, wry chuckle. "Don't thank me yet, Doc. You've got a long road ahead of you, and if you're dealing with my boys… They ain't gonna make it easy on you, especially Jaax. Banic's the easier one to deal with."

She laughed at that, the sound bright and warm in the stillness of her quarters. Forewarned was forearmed, didn't they say? But a world where anyone was more difficult to deal with than Banic…

"I know. But I'm not going anywhere. I'm in this for the long haul. Your boys will be okay."

He nodded, his eyes glinting with approval as they looked her over. "They're lucky to have a female like you looking out for them. Tell them I said that and not to screw it up, or I'll come over there and crack their heads together."

She chuckled. "I'm sure they'd be delighted to see you."

"Perhaps in the future sometime." His smile turned sad and brittle. "I need to get back to my duties. May the goddess be with you, my lady, and my boys."

A soft beep signaled the end of the call, and she lowered the comm unit, staring at the blank screen. Blinking away the tears that blurred her vision, she opened her inbox and started typing out messages.

She would get to the bottom of this riddle, but she was going to need some help to do so.

?

An hour later Beth walked into the lab, her mind whirling.

She'd replayed her conversation with Raavn over and over in her head as she showered and got ready for the day. The revelation that the Izaean mutation was common in Banic's family was staggering. But not as much as the fact that women had also carried the mutation.

Looking up, she automatically searched for him, but when she found him, her stomach clenched. He looked tense, his jaw tight and his shoulders hunched as he sat on the edge of his bunk. His red eyes were fixed on something on the other side of the lab, a muscle ticking in his cheek.

He didn't look at her like he had every other time she'd walked in, his gaze trained on the door as though he'd been waiting for her. Shit. Was he still angry with her? Still hurt by her decision to contact his family without warning him first?

Her shoulders slumped, and her chest tightened. She'd been so focused on helping him, on finding answers, that she hadn't stopped to think how he might feel about it. Hadn't thought that it might bring up painful memories and old wounds that had never fully healed. She should have. It was a dick move on her part, and she couldn't claim she didn't know his history. She should have known better, been better. And she would, especially after her conversation with Raavn.

She opened her mouth to apologize, to try and explain, but then she frowned and turned to look where Banic was glaring.

They weren't alone.

Zeke leaned back against one of the counters, his arms folded across his chest as his big body filled up the far corner of the room like a wall of solid muscle. Kal sat on a stool next to him, his eyes bright with curiosity and awe as he looked at the third person in that area of the lab.

He was an Izaean she hadn't met before, a stranger in the same kind of uniform Isan had worn on the ship that brought her to this planet. The newcomer was tall and lean with chiseled features and piercing green eyes that seemed to look right through her.

And for some reason, he was familiar.

Before she could figure out why, he crossed the room toward her, his hand outstretched in greeting.

"Dr. Godwin," he said, his voice low and smooth with just a hint of a rough edge. "It's a pleasure to meet you finally. I'm Jaax."

Her brain slammed into gear, the pieces falling into place with an almost audible click. Jaax. Banic's twin.

She took his hand automatically, shaking it even as her gaze cut to Banic. His face was a mask, his eyes shuttered and his expression blank, giving her nothing to go on.

"Jaax," she said, her voice distant and strange to her ears. "I… it's good to meet you, too."

And it was. She looked at Jaax, really looked at him, and her breath caught in her throat. He was so like Banic yet so different all at the same time.

They had the same strong, angular features, the same proud bearing and aura of coiled power. But where Banic was larger, with hard edges and barely leashed aggression, Jaax was... somehow softer. More polished, more refined.

Oh, he was still every inch the deadly Izaean warrior. She could see it in the way he moved with the grace and precision of a born predator. But he had a calmness and a sense of control to him that Banic lacked. As if he'd made peace with the beast inside him and had learned to harness its strength without being consumed by its Rage.

It was a stark contrast to his brother who sat tense and coiled on the edge of his bunk, his muscles bunched and his eyes blazing with ferocity as he glared at his twin. Banic was definitely bigger, his frame packed with more raw, savage power. The feral mutations twisted across his skin, and the black, metallic armor, increased skeletal size, and muscle mass only added to his aura of danger and barely contained violence. He was a wild, untamable thing and that both terrified and thrilled her all at the same time.

Looking at Jaax was like seeing a glimpse of the man Banic had been before the Rage had taken hold. Before it had reshaped him, inside and out, into the lethal predator he was now. But even then, even at his most basic level, at the heart of him, she knew Banic could never have been described as soft. It just wasn't in his nature. No, he was hard and sharp and dangerously, devastatingly real.

But before she could say anything else, all hell broke loose.

Banic moved, a blur of speed and fury as he crossed the lab to slam into Jaax with a roar that shook the very walls around them. The brothers went down in a tangle of limbs and snarls, rolling across the floor in a vicious, no-holds-barred brawl that scattered equipment and sent work counters toppling.

She scrambled back, her heart in her throat as Zeke and Kal leaped into action, trying to pull the brothers apart. But it was like trying to separate two raging bulls, all coiled muscle, snapping teeth, and mindless, primal aggression.

She darted for the relative safety of Banic's cage, tucking herself behind the bars. Her pulse pounded in her ears, her eyes wide as she watched the males tear into each other, their faces twisted with Rage and their eyes blazing with a madness that terrified her.

Jaax wrenched himself free of Banic's grip for a moment and then shoved his arm in his brother's face. "I'm not after your female, you great draanthing idiot! I'm mated!"

Banic froze, his chest heaving. For a moment, he just stared at Jaax, confusion and disbelief warring on his bruised, blood-streaked face.

"What?"

She took the chance and darted out of the cage without thinking. Her heart pounded in her chest as she shoved herself between the two men and plastered herself against Banic's hard body.

"Zeke," she ordered, her voice shaking but determined. "Take Kal and Jaax to the other lab. Show Kal how to take a genetic sample. I'll handle things here."

Zeke hesitated, his yellow eyes flicking from Beth to Banic and back again. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife, the air crackling with tension. But before he could make a move, Jaax stepped forward, his eyes hard and his jaw set with determination.

"Dr. Godwin," he said, his voice low and urgent. "I know you think you have this under control, but you need to understand... my brother is dangerous. More dangerous than you can possibly imagine."

Her eyes narrowed, a hot rush of anger surging through her veins.

"I'm well aware of what Banic is capable of," she snapped, her voice cold as ice. "But I also know what he's not. He's not a monster or a mindless beast that needs to be caged and controlled."

Jaax shook his head, frustration etched into every line of his face. "You don't understand. The Rage, the madness... it's not something that can be reasoned with. It's a force of nature, a destructive power that consumes everything in its path."

"I understand perfectly," she ground out, each word sharp and precise. "But I also understand that Banic is more than his Rage. More than his mutations. He's a man with a heart and a soul and a will of his own. And I will not let anyone, not even his own brother, reduce him to nothing more than a dangerous animal."

Jaax's eyes widened, surprise and something like respect flickering across his face. But it was quickly replaced by a hard, unyielding determination.

"Dr. Godwin, I know you mean well. But you're playing with fire here. Banic... he's not stable. He's not safe. And if you continue down this path, if you keep trying to tame him, to control him... it's going to end badly. For you. For everyone. We're relying on your research, and I can't allow that to be put at risk. Not even for my own brother."

Her temper, already frayed to the breaking point, snapped like a twig.

"Enough!" she snapped, her voice ringing out like a whip crack. "I am not some naive little girl who needs to be protected from the big, bad Izaean. I am a grown woman, a trained scientist, and I am perfectly capable of assessing the risk in my work and of making my own decisions. And right now, I am deciding that this conversation is over."

She turned to Zeke, almost shaking with fury.

"Zeke, take Kal and Jaax to the other lab. Now. I won't ask again."

For a moment, Zeke looked like he might argue, but then he obviously thought better of it.

"Of course. Kal, Captain… if you'd like to follow me?"

The big lab tech didn't give either of them the chance to argue. He simply grabbed Kal by his arm to hustle him out the door, using his larger body to herd Jaax, even though she was fairly sure the other Izaean was his superior officer. Thankfully, Jaax went with it, shooting a last look at his brother and her over his shoulder.

And then they were gone, leaving just her and Banic alone in the wreckage of the lab.

She turned to face him, her heart pounding and her skin prickling with a heat that had nothing to do with fear. He was staring at her, his red eyes intense and focused, his big body practically vibrating with barely leashed energy.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly, smoothing her hands over the broad swell of his muscled chest.

"No." He shook his head, a short, sharp jerk. "I'm not okay. I'm..."

He swallowed hard, his throat working.

"I'm sorry. For losing control like that. For scaring you."

She let out a shaky laugh. "I'm not scared. I know you would never hurt me."

His eyes flashed, something dark and primal in the back of the red that sent a shiver over her skin.

"No," he agreed, in a low, rough growl. "I would never hurt you. But, Beth..."

His face was hard and intense as he walked her backward until she felt the cool metal of the cage bars against her spine.

"I can't be gentle. Not when it comes to you. Not when every instinct in my body is screaming at me to claim you, to make you mine."

Heat pooled low in her belly, a sweet, aching throb between her thighs that made her knees go weak. He looked at her like she was the only thing in the world that mattered, and she couldn't refuse him.

"Then don't be gentle," she whispered, tilting her chin up in challenge. "Be you. Be the fierce, passionate, stubborn man I know you are. The man I..."

She broke off, the words sticking in her throat. But he heard the pause, tilting his head and pinning her with a look as he eased his hard body against hers. Not enough to hurt her. Just enough to keep her in place as he slid his hands down her sides, exploring her curves like he had every right to.

Like she belonged to him.

"The man you what, Beth?" he prompted, his voice a low, rough rumble that vibrated through her like a caress. "Say it. Now."

She swallowed hard, her heart pounding so loudly she was sure he could hear it.

"The man I love," she breathed, her words little more than a whisper. "The man I want, more than anything in this world or any other."

For a moment, he just stared at her, his expression unreadable. And then, with a groan that sounded like it was ripped from the very depths of his soul, he crushed her to him. His mouth dropped to hers, claiming her lips in a kiss that seared her to her very bones.

She kissed him back with everything she had, wrapping her arms around his neck and pouring all the desperate, aching need she felt into the press of her lips against his.

With a groan, he broke away and lifted her easily. Keeping her nestled against his broad chest, he carried her toward the cage in silence, his eyes blazing with hunger.

He paused at the doorway, looking down at her.

"Be sure, Beth, because once I get you in there, there's no going back. You're mine, and I'm going to have you. Understand?"