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Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

P hotos shake on the wall. I struggle to remain standing.

"What the hell is going on?" Bo yells.

We run toward the dark energy pulsing like a heartbeat.

"Gray." Shouts of alarm and the heady scent of rich soil and musky jasmine flood the air. Kirk yanks the door open.

Gray hovers inches above the bed, long hair flowing out behind him. His eyes are opening but unseeing as he continues to rant. "They crawl in the ground. The darkness is spreading. Steal the sun. Turn the day into light." It's a manic nursery rhyme-style song he's singing in a creepy voice.

"This must be the crazy he talked about." Bo runs a hand down his face.

"What do we do, Doc?" Cadoc looks at Kirk.

"Sedate him before he hurts himself." The mirror across the room cracks.

"Or someone else," Fell adds. Fell steps forward and cries out waving his hand. "Something shocked me."

Cadoc holds his hand out in front of him. Wincing, he pulls his hand back. "There's a barrier." Cadoc studies the area surrounding the patient.

Gray's aura calls out to me. I step forward.

"Whoa. Careful, princess." Bo wraps an arm around my waist, anchoring me to his side.

"You sense something?" Fell meets my eyes.

"There's a glimmer around him." I stare at the iridescent bubble encircling him.

"What's his power?" Bo turns to Kirk.

"I don't know." Kirk shakes his head. "We haven't exactly had a lot of downtime since we arrived."

"You'd better figure it out, quick." Bo gestures to the man.

His eyes go wide and bleed to black. The air grows charged with energy.

"Shit. Let's get to the files."

"I can't leave him," I mumble.

"You've been weird about him since the lab. Want to share?" Fell crosses his arms. The muscles in his neck flex. His lips form a straight line.

My tongue tangles. "I can't explain it. There's a connection between us." I struggle to assign words to the maelstrom of emotions swirling inside me. "It's like I know him."

"And yet that's impossible unless you vacationed across the pond."

"Why? We know nothing about him. Maybe their paths crossed." Cadoc glances from me to Gray.

I move closer. Gray stops thrashing. His head turns to me, and he speaks in a strange lyrical language.

"Do you recognize this?" Cadoc jerks his thumb toward him.

"No." Kirk frowns.

"You two go look through the files. We'll stay." Fell's word is finite. Cadoc and Kirk stalk from the room grumbling and I inch closer to the supposed barrier. While it had kept the others out, I don't sense it.

"Glutton for punishment, princess? We saw what happened to the others."

I nibble my bottom lip as I hold out my hand. The wall of electricity is there, but it doesn't threaten me.

My ears twitch. I've never heard his language, but it's pleasant to my ear. I strain to make out syllables as he continues to ramble. Did I just make out a word?

"Ylva." Fell snaps his fingers beside my ear.

"Hmm?" I look at him.

"The hell? It's like he's drugging her."

"No. It's just nice." I shrug bashfully.

"It's gibberish." Bo's brow wrinkles.

"Listen harder," I encourage him.

"It's giving me a headache as it is." Bo grimaces.

"It's beautiful." I sigh.

There's an element to him that slots into a space long empty inside of me. He strikes a harmonious note with my soul.

"He is calmer with her nearby," Fell speaks after a few moments.

"I don't like it. They left him to die for a reason. Hell, we don't know what he is," Bo snaps.

"And who's fault was that? He's a victim, not a criminal." I defend him despite the fact that the words ring true.

"We-don't-know-that." Bo doubles down.

"It's not worth fighting over." Fell's stern voice brings reason.

"Are you going to ignore her odd behavior?" Bo stares at Fell.

"No. I'm going to observe it."

"Maybe you're willing to risk her safety, but I'm not." Bo steps into Fell's personal space.

Standing tall, Fell makes the most of his two-inch height difference. With them distracted, I creep through the barrier. It resists for half a second before it welcomes me in. The static ozone tickles.

With his curved ears and fine facial features, Gray is more fantastical than beastly.

"Ylva." Kirk's voice is full of warning.

"I'm fine." I glance over my shoulder. A hot hand wraps around my wrist. I turn back and freeze. Gray's eyes are wide.

"If they come from the earth or the air, the balance will tip. Their worlds can't exist together." He tightens his hold. His nails dig into my skin.

"Ow. I don't understand, Gray."

His eyes flicker shut, and he goes limp, falling onto the bed, out cold.

"Are you insane?" Bo grabs my wrist, yanking me to him.

"I told you he wouldn't hurt me. Looks like the barrier's gone now." I shake my arm free.

"I could wring your neck right now." He curls his hands, choking the air.

"You can try." I let the wolf come to the surface, showing my teeth.

"Brave little princess wants to fight?" His predatory grin makes my hackles rise.

"He has anomalies in his blood. They spent a lot of time speculating on what species he came from." Kirk enters with Cadoc, ending our standoff.

Cadoc narrows his gaze. "What did we miss?"

"What I'm starting to believe is their strange mating ritual," Fell mumbles.

I snort. "His Highness wishes."

"Lucky for her, she was immune to the barrier." Bo glares.

"I felt his magic calling to me." I twine my fingers, uncomfortable with their scrutiny.

"In what way?" Kirk's brow furrows.

"Our auras hum similar chords."

"Interesting." Kirk glances from him to me. "He has the same immunity to the sickness; I believe you do too."

"How?"

"That's the question," Kirk replies.

"Could they be related?" Cadoc asks.

"It would explain why she's drawn to him," Bo admits begrudgingly.

"No, this feels different. Somehow, he and I are the same." I look at the man who appears troubled even in sleep. What secrets hide under the layer of madness?

"Where did they find him?"

"A city-run orphanage in West Yorkshire."

"How the hell did they even locate him?" Bo shakes his head.

"They've isolated the genetic markers they believe cause immunity." Kirk waves the file in his hand.

The Alpha would've put me in a lab too if he'd figured it out sooner. Images of the cells turn my blood to ice.

"I need to finish reading up on him. But I believe he's the key to unlocking answers."

"Why would they sentence him to death if he's so important?" Cadoc's voice rumbles.

"He said they couldn't control him," I recall.

Bo snickers. "Don't forget, he's nuttier than a jar of peanut butter."

"Whatever the reason, he appears stable for the moment." Kirk takes his pulse. "His coloring has improved, and the antibiotics seem to be doing their job."

"I don't want you alone with him until we know more." Cadoc grips my forearm.

"Is that a command?" I scowl.

"No, it's a precaution."

"A necessary one," Kirk chimes in.

"Fine."

"Good. Now let's go eat breakfast. Your stomach's been talking to me since I walked in." Fell twines our fingers, and I allow him to lead me out of the infirmary.

There's something inside of me that wants to get out. Should I let it?

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