She heard the keys rattle before the door was dragged open. The twins walked down the hall laughing. There was no humor in that laugh. They stopped in front of Adele’s cage first, shaking the door.
“We have come for one of you. Any volunteers?”
They walked down and stood in front of Janis’s cage. “You cry so prettily. Want to spend some time with us?”
Janis curled into herself and watched as they walked down to Nicole’s cell. After threatening her, they went back and pulled out Adele.
“Say goodbye, Adele,” they said as they dragged her kicking and screaming to the door. “You won’t be back.”
Nicole stood at her cage screaming and cursing, while Janis sat in shock.
Day turned into night and Adele wasn’t back. Janis walked her cage and counted the blocks. She stood at the cell door and held on, waiting for Adele to be dragged back in. Night turned into day and she paced some more. The one thing she didn’t do was sleep.
Sleep would make it real. The terror she felt would finally win and overtake her like a living breathing nightmare.
Day turned into night and then finally the doors opened and a form was being dragged down the corridor. Janis clung to the bars, craning her neck to see Adele’s dark hair. The woman being dragged down and placed in Adele’s cell wasn’t Adele.
Finally, she crumbled to the concrete floor and allowed huge tears to silently stream down her face. She now knew what Nicole already knew. They were going to die.
Chapter Twenty
She stopped counting the days. Each day brought them closer to another death. Soon it would be her turn. Janis lay on the table as Dr. Young hovered over her with a scalpel. It wasn’t her time to die she told herself, without holding any faith in those words.
“Janis, when you were born there was an anomaly in your blood. After lots of blood test and talks, it was decided this anomaly was due to the testing we performed on you in the womb.”
Dr. Young made a shallow cut over her lower abdomen. The local anesthetic he gave her didn’t stop the pain.
“We were wrong. That same anomaly has shown up in several women since we first noticed it in you. Now the question is, can it be passed on to your offspring? What exactly does the anomaly do?”
He cut her again, bringing tears to her eyes. Whatever he’d given her, hadn’t taken affect.
He looked at her and smiled. “Whatever has stopped the pain from being touched, has also changed the nerve endings in your body, not allowing the local anesthesia to quickly take effect. I do believe you’ll feel this.”
The scream she let out was accompanied by black spots in front of her eyes. There was no way she was going to handle the pain.
“Before you pass out, let me tell you what I’m going to do. Today I’m going to take out an ovary as well as a fallopian tube. Don’t worry, you were never meant to live long enough to have children.”
Janis wanted to cry for what would never be, but the pain wouldn’t allow her to do anything but hallucinate. In her dream, the door was kicked open. Dr. Young was ripped away from her body and flung against the far wall.
She smiled, even as her tears fell. It was the second best dream ever. The best was the one she had of Nicolas reaching down to touch her and whisper in her ear that it would be alright. She could finally die in peace with him by her side.
***
He was systematically searching for her using the ships computers having programed her life signs into it. The area close to the mall had already been eliminated as well as the area to the east and west. He had a tentative beep in the north where he was now tightening his search pattern. He would find her today, she didn’t have much time left.
He rubbed the ache in his abdomen knowing it came from her. Although he couldn’t touch her mind because they hadn’t mated with the exchange of DNA, he could pick up on her feelings. She was hurting. The fact that he felt impotent had him in a rage unlike any he ever experienced. The perpetrators would live to regret their actions.
He watched as the program got closer, eliminating hundreds of life signs at a time as it closed in on hers. How did his brothers deal with the fact their mates were always in jeopardy. Rena had been threatened and traded to the tainted Created for Dee’s life. She’d been kidnapped by that tainted Created. The government tried to end Lorali’s life. Being the mate of the Created wasn’t easy. How many times could he whisper, “Hold on Janis, I’m coming for you?” He’d tried to connect with her mentally, even though he knew it was impossible. When he tried, he reached a wall of pain. Was it hers he wondered or was it his? He’d hoped it didn’t belong to her. The thought of her in agony was enough to stop him cold.
When he found her. He needed to say when. To say or think anything else was intolerable. When he found her, he wouldn’t let her go. He would cage her if that’s what it took. Both he and his other side flinched. Caging her would mean curtailing her freedom. He couldn’t do that.
He would find a compromise once she was back with him. Right now he just needed her back.
He closed his eyes and saw a pair of cloudy grey eyes looking into his. She was crying and accusing him of not taking better care of her. His body slumped even more as he agreed with her.
“I found her!” Hale’s mental roar slammed into his head with the force of a 9.9 level earthquake. He managed to get up and make it to his security room seconds before his brothers did.
“We found her.” Rena was bouncing around and singing that tune when Nicolas ran into the room.
Without conscious thought, he picked her up in order to get her to stop moving around. She needed to be careful, he couldn’t let his brother suffer as he had if something were to happen to her.
He placed her gently in the chair and turned to look at Aran who was frowning at his mate. He heard the private thank you in his mind and relaxed.
“Where is she?”
“They have her in the warehouse section on the other side of town.” Hale gave them the address.
“I’m going.” Nicolas was through the door before Sergey caught him.
“You’re not going alone.”
“She doesn’t have much time left.”
“Even more reason for us to go with you.”
They moved in tandem towards the garage. Nicolas grabbed his bag. He’d filled it with everything he could carry days ago, just in case he needed it.
“I’ll stay with Rena,” Lorali said in a low voice, trying not to draw attention to herself.
“Rena is coming with me,” Aran said swinging her up into his arms. He needed to make sure he was near her if anything happened.
“You’re coming with us,” Nicolas bit out, standing next to Sergey.
He turned and walked out. He would have to tell Lorali family was family no matter what happened, but he had to get to Janis first. Then he would have a talk with her.
They drove in silence, if you didn’t take into account Aran preparing them mentally for what was to come.
It wasn’t going to be a fight. Kill them all he’d said and no one protested.
The outside of the warehouse looked abandoned. They shifted, leaving Lorali to protect Rena and Dee. They also left Ash close by to protect all of the females.
Nicolas kicked the door open. He wasn’t sure how, but his other side walked into the room like he’d been led by a beacon. The scene he encountered horrified him. The room that should’ve been sterile was being used as a lab. It was clean, but not sterile. The trash can was over flowing and there were spills of liquids on the counters.
Janis lie on the table with a male standing over, her cutting into her body, telling her how he was going to mutilate her.
Nicolas tore him away from her and tossed the male against the far wall. He wanted the honor of killing him, but all he could see was Janis twisted and tortured on the table.
He went to her and whispered everything was going to be alright. He was there now. He let out a breath of relief when she passe
d out from the pain and then held it again as he saw what that monster did to her.
He started to turn. A bag was pushed into his hands. His brothers anticipated what he needed. Setting the bag down, the body of his beast, his other side, receded and the male stood there.
Her heartbeat was erratic and her blood pressure was all over the place. Her breathing was shallow. He touched her gently and she cried out. Given she wasn’t fully unconscious, she had to be in severe pain. He gave her a shot meant for the ones on his planet with a lower tolerance for pain.
Her heartbeat slowed, but not at the pace he would’ve preferred. However, she wasn’t in the danger she was before. He pulled out a syringe like cylinder and carefully began to plunge the handle in. Out came a strong see through barrier that quickly formed over Janis. Nicolas lifted her and soon she was covered. He sealed her in a sterile field that slowed her heartbeat almost to the point of death, it would slow the flow of blood to a trickle and give him the necessary time to get her back to his operating room.
He walked past Aran without speaking.
“Hale,” he heard Aran say.
“On it.”
In the background he could hear Aran ordering them to spread out and look for more women as well as collect any males they found.
Hale made sure the path was clear, and then jumped into the driver seat while Nicolas settled himself and Janis in the back. He was taking his mate home.
Chapter Twenty One
Dante was leaning against the wall when Hale pulled up. He stood and watched as Nicolas carried his bundle to the porch.
With a nod of his head, Dante followed them in. Nicholas took her to the room he always kept prepared for emergencies. Slowly easing her down, he looked at the bruising again, feeling anger, trying to take in all that had been done to her.
Hale brushed against him mentally before leaving the room giving him encouragement.
Dante handed him a vial of liquid. “When she comes to, have her drink that.”
“Dante.”
“Trust me.” With those words he left, leaving Nicolas alone with Janis.
Wasting no time, he ran his hands along the sterile field until he felt the seam slowly he pulled it back. Gently he woke Janis enough to give her the liquid from vial Dante handed him. She closed her eyes as it took effect. Quickly he cut the clothes off of her and disposed of them. Her abdomen was red and swollen. The doctor hacked into her having no intent to leave her alive.
Her reproductive system had been the target and the doctor hadn’t cared to take his time. He shook his head as the realization she might never bear a child became evident.
The bleeding slowed to a trickle. The sterile field did its job.
He carefully probed her womb, which was still intact. He’d gotten there just in time. The doctor nicked it, but had been too distracted by being tossed across the room to do any major damage.
One of her ovaries was destroyed. It would have to come out.
He carefully removed it, without doing any more damage. He picked up a short white tube with careful precision he used it sealing off the vessels once he made sure they were lined up. The beam would allow her body to work as if she the missing tube was never part of her original construction. The fallopian tube would survive. He checked the other side. The doctor never got a chance to touch her there, a small sigh of relief came from him.
Removing the field, he waited as her heart beat faster and her blood began to move through her veins at a normal pace. He was looking for a bleeder he may have missed.
Janis’s eyes fluttered open when the field no longer artificially simulated near death.
*******
She’d opened her eyes to see her alien knight standing over her. She hadn’t been dreaming earlier. He’d come for her.
“Angel, you should be under.”
“Rather look at you than be under any day.” Her voice was raspy. “Throat hurts.”
Nicolas reached for a syringe.
“Don’t, please. I want to stay awake so I can talk to you. I missed you.”
“I missed you too, Janis.
“Will I have to have everything taken out?” She wanted to call a spade a spade, but saying the word hurt. She never thought she’d have children, but to have the chance taken away just as she began to understand it was now an option was cruel.
“I had to take one of your ovaries out, he damaged it beyond repair.” He squeezed her hand giving her encouragement.”
“Nicolas. Will you still want me if I can’t get pregnant?”
The words stopped him cold.
The fear in her heart grew. What if he wanted the one thing she could no longer provide? She wouldn’t cry. Hadn’t she cried enough? How could she not cry when something so special had been taken away from her?
She could still remember her mom crying because she couldn’t hug her or kiss her like she wanted to. The memory of her mother’s sad eyes haunted her for years. Now they never saw each other in person. It was too hard for her mom. She made sure to call Janis every now and then so they could video chat. This way, they could pretend everything was normal.
Now, when she finally had a chance at being normal, it had all been snatched away. All that was left was to find out if she would lose Nicolas too.
“Angel! Are you listening to me?”
The sharpness of his voice brought her out of her thoughts. She shook her head. No, she hadn’t heard a word he said.
“Then listen now. When I met you, I never once thought about whether or not you could conceive. What I was attracted to was your smile and eventually your laughter. Your endurance and your willingness to fight captivated me. That you have gone through so much and are still willing to go on humbles me. I love you and not how your body functions. Children or no children, I’m never letting you go. Did you hear that?”
She nodded her head and blinked her eyes, not that it did any good. Those darn tears still fell.
She could’ve lived a lifetime without meeting him. All she could do was thank whoever or whatever had been watching over her without her knowing.
He looked down at her wound gently moving her organs.
“What’s the verdict?’
“There’s no bleeding which means I can seal you up without danger of you bleeding out. Do you feel any pain?”
“No, shouldn’t I feel pain?” An alarmed look flared in her eyes.
“I believe it is the combination of the field I wrapped you in and whatever Dante gave you. I’m going to close you up now. You’re lucky to have the best doctor in the know galaxies working on you.”
He picked up a deep red square container that held a healing beam in it. He took his time running it over her internal organs, then ran it over the ragged incision making sure to cover all the muscles with it. Once he was done he picked up his original beam and began to seal her wound confident she would be up and healthy in no time.
If she were Created she would be running in three days, since she was human it would take longer. He would simply have to wait and see how her body responded.
“Nicolas, what happened to the others?”
“Aran and the others searched the place. They liberated any women they found and took them to the safe house. There were only two.”
She gave a small smile trying to fight against the darkness puling at her.
“Janis, you can sleep now; you are safe.” She managed to nod her head before exhaustion claimed her.
***
Nicolas capped the vial and stored it. He would analyze it later. Whatever Dante put in there had been a powerful anesthetic. It placed her in a state where she could still speak, but it kept all of the pain at bay. He really wanted a chance to know what made him tick.
Dante stood between them and certain death more than once. He trusted him completely.
He carefully covered her, before picking her up and climbing the stairs to their room. He laid her on the bed and went to shower.
She’
d sleep for several hours before she woke. That should give him the time he needed.
He descended the stairs to the basement in his house where his brothers were gathered. He walked past the game room that held his brothers’ mates along with the females they rescued from the warehouse. Lorali was watching over them all, so there was no need to be concerned.
“You didn’t start without me, did you?”
“They’re just waking up” Sergey pointed to the other side of the room where three males shapes had been unceremoniously dropped onto the floor, a floor that wasn’t hard concrete like the one Janis had slept on.
The doctor awoke first. He moved and groaned, then cried out in real pain.
“Where am I?”
The brothers stared at him and said nothing as he managed to sit upright on the floor. His eyes grew big as he saw seven large males watching him. Dante stayed, not wanting to miss the fun.
The twins began to wake, making noises of distress when they moved, feeling the bumps and bruises they received in the process of being subdued.
“Where am I?” the doctor demanded indignantly.
No one moved to answer him.
“You’ve made a mistake. The government will be looking for me. When they find out I’m here, they will burn this place to the ground.”
“Before or after they liberate you?” Nicolas asked.
“You can’t do this, I’m a U.S. Citizen. This breaks the peace treaty we have with you.”
“He thinks there’s a peace treaty.” Dante laughed silently.
The twins were wide awake. They both held uncertain looks on their faces — they knew they were fucked.
“You like to hit women, I hear?” Nicolas asked. He’d learned a lot from Janis’s ramblings on the ride home.
They stayed quiet.
“You have two choices.” Aran spoke up. You tell us what we want to know or we take it. Either way we’ll have all our answers by the end of the day.”
“You can’t force me to talk.”
Dante walked up to the doctor making him cringe as he stood over him, tall and proud.
Nicolas: Love me Harder - Alien Paranormal Romance Page 13
