Page 34 of Wrath
Once all of the wing’s nutrients had been consumed, the speed at which the Jadozor regenerated plummeted, although it didn’t stop. Without a concentrated source of nutrients, it would take the creatures a long time to be whole again. This was some good news.
“Toss that head into the incinerator,” Wrath said to Varnog. “Let’s see if we can reproduce our first results.”
I had feared that with more of the Jadozor going into the incinerator, it would affect the burn time. That had been silly of me. With the type of temperature we needed to achieve, the extra bit of flesh and bones became ancient history long before we crossed the 1,000°C threshold. Once again, the pituitary gland cracked as soon as we reached 1300°C before sizzling into dust.
With that second conclusive test, we felt confident to have this part of the solution in the bag. Nevertheless, we put that second set of ashes into another container similar to the first one, and placed both inside a detention cell of the brig. Even though the chances of the creatures coming back to life were slim to none, we’d rather be safe than sorry.
Moving on to the next stage of the experiment, we debated long and hard about the best approach. Finally, we agreed to directly expose one of the heads to the ‘virus’ that Nathalie and Liena had concocted, and to which Myriam had added encoded nanobots. As we only had two Jadozors left, we needed to make the most out of them.
For the first experiment, we placed the head inside one of the cells of the brig. Next to it, we put a small tube containing the virus—which we called VR-canisters, or just canisters for short—then all went to stand outside, aside from Wrath. We then replaced the oxygen inside the cell with carbon dioxide to reproduce the conditions that currently existed in the base as closely as possible. With the cell properly sealed, Nathalie used her remote control to open the canister to release the virus.
The girls had designed it to target a specific protein that only existed on the zogesterone producing cells. Therefore, inhaling it represented no danger to any of us. Nevertheless, Wrath once more served as our Guinea pig. First, he breathed normally to inhale a certain quantity of the virus before putting on a helmet, due to the lack of oxygen. We would therefore kill two birds with one stone by confirming the lack of damage from the virus to us while testing its efficacy on the creatures under that setting.
The Jadozor couldn’t reconstruct itself as the air lacked sufficient nutrients for it to feed from. It still seemed shaken by the occasional spasm, but nothing more. Looking at the interface of her medical pad, Nathalie and Myriam kept track of the concentration of nanobots making their way inside the creature’s body. It took nearly eight minutes for enough of them to have congregated around the pituitary gland.
“Now is good I think, Wrath,” Nathalie said to him.
My man seemed both happy and concerned as he partially shifted, his scythed blade extending from his forearm. He used it to slice open the head of the creature and then dug in with his claws to retrieve the gland.
“It’s not foaming!” I exclaimed with a stupid grin.
The same excitement I felt reflected on my companions’ faces. Even the mutilated flesh of the Jadozor’s head didn’t start unraveling like the previous one had done to feed the gland. Wrath carefully placed the organ inside the analyzer Nathalie had given him, and we held our breaths while waiting for the confirmation we were almost certain to receive.
And then it came.
“The zogesterone has been neutralized,” Nathalie said.
“The gland’s outer shell is still unbreakable,” Wrath said with a sliver of concern. “I hate not knowing what’s going on inside it.”
“I agree,” Myriam said. “I suggest we take a recess for a while so that Nathalie and I can have a look at that shell. We should be able to get the nanobots to unravel it as well.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Wrath says. “While you two sort that out, it will give us time to see if this damn thing kicks back to life.”
With everyone in agreement, we scattered. I hesitated, a part of me wanting to wait for Wrath.
“Go on, Love,”he mind-spoke to me, as if he’d guessed my dilemma.“I’ll come see you once I’ve cleaned up.”
“Okay,”I said, giving him a psychic caress before disconnecting from his mind.
The first days of a new relationship were always awkward. You wanted to spend time with your partner but also didn’t want to come across as clingy. My own emotions confused the heck out of me. Was I now gung ho about exploring the bond between us as a reaction to yesterday or because I was ready to move on with my life? I tended to overthink things, and right this instant, I couldn’t say if it was the case. But being around Wrath felt good, and I fully intended to embrace whatever the future had in store for us. My insecurities and uncertainties could take a hike.
Life was too short.
Chapter 11
Kwan
Ireturned to my room and immediately got back to work. Now that I had a better sense of how we could eliminate the creatures, I delved back into the 3D schematics of the base. I already had a pretty good idea of how to go about it but wanted to validate my theory. In no time, I was in the zone, entirely focused on my task.
The chime of my doorbell startled me, then my stomach flip-flopped in anticipation. A quick look on my clock indicated that more than thirty minutes had already gone by. I ordered the door open while rising to my feet. My stomach fluttered some more at the sight of the tall and broad silhouette of Wrath standing in the doorframe. He walked in with a gentle smile, my own feet carrying me towards him. The door quietly shut behind Wrath as I came to stop in the middle of my bedroom. I stood right in front of him, close enough to feel the heat of his skin.
Without a word, Wrath placed his hands on my hips. I immediately slipped mine in his hair while he drew me against him. Good heavens! The feel of his muscular body against mine and of his hard yet supple scales was intoxicating. A small yelp tore out of me when his palms slid down my hips to settle behind my thighs before he lifted me up. I held onto his shoulders, my legs instinctively wrapping around his waist.
Although I wasn’t anywhere near as short and petite as Linette, compared to Wrath, I qualified as a tiny thing. He towered over me by a good head and a half. Carrying me like this put us face to face, which couldn’t be more perfect to kiss my man. I suspected Wrath would carry me this way quite often in the future. I wasn’t submissive and, while alpha, Wrath didn’t strike me as a strong dominant type, which pleased me. I didn’t want someone bossing me around or trying to subject me to their will. And yet, his incredible strength, his intensity, and the peaceful confidence he exuded made me feel wonderfully fragile and vulnerable but also safe and protected.
The possessiveness with which Wrath kissed me set my blood on fire. My man was a quick learner. The first time we’d kissed yesterday, my Warrior’s inexperience had shown. It hadn’t been clumsy per se, more like tentative. However, he had followed my lead and quickly adapted before gradually taking charge. Knowing that Wrath was a virgin turned me on beyond words. I’d always thought that men’s obsession with popping a woman’s cherry was dumb and retrograde. But now, I could see the appeal of knowing that I would be the first and only woman Wrath would ever lie with.
Our kiss deepened, and his chest vibrated against mine with a deep purr. I was starting to think that my Wrath was a wild cat. I loved the way he sounded, and how he responded to intimate moments between us. The thought of how he would fall apart for me, his moans in my ears, and the sensual expression on his face had me throbbing in all the right places. It boggled my mind how this man could get me from zero to three hundred in a blink.