by Laurie Roma
“It could work,” Kahla said slowly. “You know my cousins will kill me if I let you do this?”
“They will die if we don’t.”
Kahla blew out a breath, then said, “You’ll pass two fans before you get to the med-center. You can drop the sleeping agent in the fan on your way back, then reactivate the air circulation system when you get here. We’ll attach a cord to you to help get you back up the vent.”
Mya nodded. Her heart was pounding so hard, it felt like it was going to burst right out of her chest. She tried not to let her nerves show as she put on the lightweight armor that Kahla insisted she wear over her torso, then she put on the face shield, activating it when Kahla showed her how.
They attached the cord to her utility belt, and Mya wanted to laugh. She’d been right when she’d said her warrior outfits were functional. She just wished she hadn’t had to prove it this way. When Kahla strapped a stunner to her thigh, Mya shot her a questioning glance.
“Just in case. Good luck, Madam Alpha,” Kahla whispered as she grabbed her into a hard hug.
Mya was damn glad that the face shield she was wearing hid the tears streaming down her cheeks. She had a bad feeling about this, but it was the only way. New Vega was her home, and these were her people.
She had to do everything she could to try to save them.
Setting a timer on her wrist unit, she started the countdown for when the air would run out. A beam of light shot out from the top of her face shield at her command, and she squatted down in front of the air vent, looking into the dark abyss before her. The officers had removed the vent panel for her already, so she just had to climb inside.
It was a good thing she wasn’t claustrophobic.
A few minutes later, she was rethinking that. As she squirmed her way through the metal tube, she felt short of breath and knew it had nothing to do with a lack of oxygen…yet. The vent ran between the main level and the second floor. There was no way anyone larger would have fit in there, and Mya wasn’t sure she fit either as she bumped her head for the third time. She maneuvered her way over two large circular fans, knowing that the drop off into the med-center was coming up.
“How are you doing in there?” Kahla asked over the comm link.
“I’m at the med-center. I just need to go in now.”
“I’ll have you on the monitors once you do.”
Mya took a deep breath, then pushed her head over the drop to look down. It was only a few feet to reach the vent cover, but then she would fall directly into the med-center below.
Awesome.
She tried to ease down on the vent cover, but lost her footing and slipped, crashing down into the med-center with a scream. The rope attached to her waist stopped her from slamming into the ground. Dr. Devin Deveaux rushed over with two of her staff to help ease her down.
“Holy nova! Mya, is that you?”
Mya unclipped the rope from her belt and pointed to her face shield. “Do you have masks? Something that will filter the air?”
“Of course we do. What—?”
“Put them on. Now!”
Devin and the others ran to get their masks on. They were haz-masks—used for medical purposes—which meant they were perfect for the situation. When they were in place, Devin said, “Mya, what is going on? And what the hell is going on out there?”
“It’s a long story. Devin, I need your help.”
“Anything you need, Madam Alpha.”
Mya winced at that. “Let’s stick with calling me Mya, please. Do you have anything in here that can put a bunch of people to sleep?”
Devin glanced toward the windows facing into the hallway where people were still fighting. “You mean those people? We could try somnium. It’s a sleep mist that we use a lot around here for people with space sickness. It puts them into a deep, dreamless sleep that gets them over the worse part of the sickness.”
“That’s perfect. I need as much as you have.” Mya cast a worried glance over at the windows as a body slammed into it. “And we need to hurry.”
The doctor snapped out orders to her staff, and they went running to gather up as much somnium as they could find. They got a container large enough to put the somnium in, filling it with the contents of all the smaller vials. As they worked, Mya filled them in on what was happening out in the pavilion.
Devin’s eyes filled with sorrow. “So many lives lost…for nothing.”
“I know.” Mya looked over to the only occupied med-bed and winced. “Is that Leanna?”
The doctor nodded. “She came in with a broken jaw earlier, but she should be better by this morning.”
Mya spared a few seconds to feel guilty, but then she pushed it aside. She had more important things to worry about at the moment. When they were almost finished, another body slammed into the window, cracking it.
“They’re breaking through,” Devin gasped.
“Do you have somewhere you can hide?”
“There’s a surgical room in back. It has its own internal air filter, too.”
Mya grabbed the canister, taking it with her to the rope hanging down from the vent. “Good. Get in there now, and lock yourselves in. The air from the hallway is leaking in. After I turn the fans back on, don’t come back in here without your masks on.”
Devin nodded and gestured the others toward the back room. They hurried over to it, but the doctor hesitated before she entered after the others. “Don’t you need help?”
“I’ve got it.”
“Ready for us to pull you up?” Kahla asked.
“Yes, do it now.”
Mya was about to clip the rope back to her belt when a low snarl sounded from the other side of the room. Turning her head, she saw a large cat springing toward her. She had just enough time to pull her stunner free and get a shot off before the cat barreled into her. The shot only grazed the cat, making it even more enraged. It fell, knocking Mya off her feet, and a sharp pain seared through her leg, making her scream.
“Mya!”
Kahla’s cry was echoed by Devin’s. The doctor started to rush forward, but froze as the cat turned on her, snarling. Mya sat up as the cat sprang at Devin. She raised her weapon and fired again. This time, her shot hit the cat dead center, dropping it to the ground. Devin let out cry when the cat’s body slammed into her. She fell, slamming her head back on the bed-med behind her, knocking her out cold.
At least, Mya hoped she was just knocked out.
“Mya? Helps coming! Just hold on!” Kahla yelled.
“I-I’m okay,” Mya panted out. But when she tried to move, she knew she really wasn’t. Glancing down, she saw that part of her leg had been shredded open by the cat’s claws when it had jumped on her. It was bad, but she still had a job to do.
And time was running out.
She braced herself for the pain, but still let out a scream when she started to drag herself across the floor toward the canister. When she picked it up, her hands were slick with her own blood. Shoving it into the front of her vest, she pulled herself to her feet using one of the med-beds.
“Oh, gods. You’re hurt bad, Mya. Get in one of the med-beds. Heal yourself.”
Kahla’s voice sounded tinny in Mya’s ear, but she continued to push herself. It was either heal herself or try to save New Vega.
The choice was simple.
“There’s no time. Get ready to pull me up.” She grabbed onto the rope, almost falling again, but managed to hold onto the thin cord by sheer will. She hooked it to her belt and said, “Pull.”
The rope tightened and immediately began to lift her. Her vision blurred, and she barely noticed when she reentered the vent. Not until her leg slammed into the side. As pain rushed through her, she felt like she was going to throw up, but panted for breath to ease the churning in her stomach. Looking down, she saw droplets of her own blood falling to the floor.
The sight of it confused her. She couldn’t have lost that much blood in the time she’d been standing there waiting f
or them to pull her up. It took her a few precious seconds to realize she was back inside the vent at the top of the shaft she needed to crawl into. Using her good leg, she boosted herself inside the tube, then lay there as she tried to gather the energy to move.
“Mya!”
Hearing the sound of Tavius’ voice in her ear made her sob. Stars, she’d needed to hear his voice. Needed to know he was still alive. “Tavius…”
“Mya, we’re coming for you.”
She felt herself being pulled backwards, and opened her eyes, wondering when she’d closed them in the first place. It took all her strength to lift her arm up to look at her wrist unit. Less than five minutes. She wasn’t going to have time to get back to the security center.
She wouldn’t be able to save her mates and all the other people on New Vega.
Be their alpha female…
The words kept repeating in her mind, helping to stabilize her a bit and keep her focused. As she got to the first fan on her return journey through the tube, she reached down and released the rope from her belt.
“Mya!” Kahla screamed. “What happened?”
“No…time…”
“There is! Hold on, tava. We’re coming.”
Daimon, she thought. He was safe…for the moment. But she could do something to ensure that. Remembering what she needed to do, she pulled the canister out of her vest and pushed the release button that would change the liquid inside into mist. She dropped the canister into the fan unit, where it fell onto the mesh above the blades.
“Computer? Alpha Mya. Activate air circulation system.”
When nothing happened, she felt the tears sliding out of her eyes, down the sides of her face.
She was too late. She’d failed them all.
“Computer, Adaro-alpha-one. Activate air circulation system!”
Had that been Maddox voice she heard?
The fan made a humming sound before it began to turn. Mya smiled as she began to drift. Had they really done it, or was she just dreaming? She wanted to hear Maddox’s deep voice again. To tell him, Daimon and Tavius how much she loved them.
That she wished they’d had more time together.
The loud sound of metal rending drowned out the hum of the fan, but Mya couldn’t move her head to see where it was coming from. Suddenly, she felt something tugging at her foot. She screamed as white-hot pain lanced through her injured leg. The tugging stopped, then switched to her other leg.
She was sliding over the metal tube, then she was being eased down, held against something hard and unyielding. Her eyes fluttered open, and she found herself looking up at Maddox in beast form.
Wow, this was a first. And she was too out of it to appreciate it.
“Love you…” she whispered.
And then there was nothing.
***
EPILOGUE
Pain came in many forms.
However, Mya found that what people said was true—pain could make you stronger, in ways you never thought were possible.
Over the last few days, she had experienced more pain than she ever had before. But what she’d gotten from it was more than worth the price she’d paid.
Mya had been delirious from blood loss after Leanna had shifted into her cat form and attacked her. She’d managed to get back into the vent system to release the somnium, but she hadn’t been able to complete her mission…not without help. She’d gotten the code wrong, using Alpha Mya instead of Adaro-Alpha-Four like she was supposed to. In her defense, she hadn’t been thinking clearly at that moment, but that mistake could have cost her everything.
Maddox had found her. He’d torn apart the metal vents with his clawed hands in beast form to get to her. She’d been out of it by that point, but she had woken again when he’d bit her. She hadn’t understood what he’d been doing until he made her drink his blood.
She’d started to drift off again, but then Daimon had been there, exchanging his blood for hers. They had taken her back into the med-center, treating her injured leg as best as they could in the secured surgical room. But they had realized she was too far gone to save…unless they converted her.
Tavius had lifted her into his arms so she’d been lying back against him as he’d lifted his wrist to her lips to drink from him. And he’d continued to hold her as the conversion had begun.
The pain of her leg being torn open was nothing compared to the sheer agony of the conversion. She’d felt as if her entire body was on fire, the white-hot heat burning through her until she’d prayed for death. But she’d held on. How could she do otherwise when her three mates were watching her with pain-filled eyes, pleading with her to stay with them?
It had felt like hours of torture as her body had made the change from human to Krytos. The pain so intense she could barely utter a whimper through clenched teeth. When Maddox could stand it no longer, he’d gotten a vial of the somnium that had been left on the counter, and had sprayed the mist on her, sending her into a deep, dreamless sleep.
She’d woken as a new woman, cradled between her mates on their bed. At first, she’d hoped that the attack on New Vega had all just been a bad dream, but then reality had set in. Becoming a Krytos hadn’t been the sacrifice her mates feared it would be. They had worried she would miss being human, but the truth was, she really didn’t feel any different.
Mya’s eyes had changed, forming a black ring around her gray irises, and she’d grown fangs, which was a little weird at first. She’d only shifted into beast form once so far, and it was something she was going to have to get used to. Unlike other converted humans, she hadn’t changed much in size. Dr. Deveaux had offered up a speculation that Mya’s leg had been too damaged at the time of her conversion for her to grow more. She’d tried to make a joke about being glad that most of her clothes would still fit her, but none of her mates thought it was funny.
While she’d been sleeping, Maddox, Daimon and Tavius had been dealing with the fallout of the Genesis Project. They’d called off the lockdown, but had refused to allow anyone to leave New Vega until they had been cleared by the doctors. Aid had arrived quickly, helping to deal with the bodies of the fallen, and offering anything else that people needed.
Maddox, Daimon and Tavius had been shocked when the majority of people had wanted to continue the TechCon. They had said the attack had brought everyone closer together. It hadn’t been race against race. It had been one individual who had destroyed countless lives for the sake of power…and that gave them a common enemy.
Mya had mourned for all the souls who lost their lives, but some of those losses had been more personal. Her mates had lost friends, but they had been happy that no one in their family had died. She had cried for hours when she’d found out that Reva’s mother and two fathers had been killed during the attack. After finding their bodies, Reva had gone to her suite, saying she needed time to deal with what had happened alone, and she hadn’t been seen since.
To Mya’s relief, Dr. Deveaux had only been knocked unconscious during the fall she’d taken. She’d woken up in time to help Mya with the conversion, and had treated her leg while she’d been sleeping. The males had wanted to banish Leanna for what she’d done to Mya, but she hadn’t let them. The Helios female had been drugged, and hadn’t known what she was doing. She was remorseful for what had happened and had been grateful for being allowed to stay, but they would never be friends, and Mya was fine with that.
Two individuals had been banished from New Vega before Mya had woken up. They had been the two medical staff members that had hidden in the surgical room while Mya and Devin had been attacked. They hadn’t tried to help, and for that, Maddox, Daimon and Tavius wanted them gone.
Her mates had been angry with Kahla, but nothing they could say would make her feel worse than she already did. She’d blamed herself for Mya’s injury, but Mya continuously explained that it had been her own choice to make.
Since Mya had moved to New Vega, so many things had changed. She had always been s
heltered, and a part of that was her own fault for allowing the people in her life to take over and make decisions for her. But with her mates, it was different. They protected her, but they still allowed her to be strong on her own.
And now it was time to prove how strong she had become.
“It’s time.”
Maddox looked up from where he was sitting on the sofa in the living room and quickly came over to lift her so she wouldn’t have to walk across the room on her own.
She sighed. “I can walk.”
“You can, but I enjoy carrying you.”
Resting her head on his shoulder as he sat down with her on his lap, she sighed again. She’d wanted a few minutes alone in their bedroom to prepare for what was to come, and he’d respected her wishes. He still had trouble allowing her out of his sight, though. Not because he didn’t think she was capable of taking care of herself. It had more to do with his fear of losing her. Because of that, she didn’t complain.
Compromise.
It was the only way to get along with any male, but it was especially required when she had three to deal with.
She lifted her head and brushed her lips over his. “Do you know how much I love you?”
His big body shuddered. “Enough to never leave me?”
“Oh, Maddox. Of course I never want to leave you.”
He grunted in response and held her tight. She knew that was a good grunt, opposed to the many variations of grunts she was beginning to be able to decipher. Before she could ask where Daimon and Tavius were, the door to the suite opened and they walked in carry two huge baskets full of stuff.
Her eyes widened. “What is all that?”
“Gifts for our tava,” Tavius said. “Everyone on New Vega seems to want to send you get well gifts, although I’m not sure how chocolate is supposed to make you heal faster.”
“Did you say chocolate? Gimme.”
Tavius laughed as he set his basket down on the table and leaned down to kiss her. “You can survey your spoils later. How are you feeling?”
