Broken and Bonded

Chapter 2 - Choku

The beta female doctor stiffens and fixes her hair—a gesture she employs to hide her discomfort—and looks behind me despite the closed door.

I focus on her aura and swallow my disappointment when I read nothing but a jumble of murky greys. My ancestral forms perk up and study her from head to toe.

Something about her interests them, but the energy they give off doesn't relay whether it's positive or negative. They react the same way every time I see her. After a moment, they settle back into watching her silently. Whatever they sense keeps them on edge, but I absorb their hyper-vigilance and lean into my other senses.

A glance down the hall shows Commander Minette's bright hair. Without full access to my mind's eye, I can't tell what her aural colors are, but I see her presence in the astral plane more clearly than I see the beta's. Further down the hall, Fleet Commander Minette's massive mate, Commander Draukir, emanates a darker light, but he's no less obvious through the dark portal swirling at the forefront of my mind. After a flick of interest at the alpha's strength, my ancestral forms settle back into lurking within my bone marrow.

Weeks ago, an attack in the lower levels of an ISC facility trapped me in my human form with severely limited access to my astral and ancestral forms. Beta guards broke through a hidden passageway and hit me—along with the rest of my teammates—with a new type of weapon. My teammate Thret, the male in the room I just left, has made a full recovery from the blasts.

I have not.

While my ancestral forms—two identical, primal creatures—returned with a vengeance, I struggle to maintain my connection with the astral realm. Between the ache in my bones from the overwhelming power of my ancestral beings and the weakening of my astral portal, I've never felt so unbalanced.

I push my frustration aside and step away from the closed door, not wanting to wake the exhausted omega nestled in Thret's lap.

I brought the weapon back from the attack, but they haven't figured out where it came from, why it affected only alphas, or why I still don't have my natural powers back.

They don't know to look for answers to the last issue, since the only person I've told of my continued dulled senses is Thret.

My commanders would never allow me to leave base if they knew, but Thret needs me to bring back his newly adopted offspring, so for now, the best option is to keep it between the two of us.

Fleet Commander Minette nods at Director Icarr before turning and studying me. Her brow rises, but she says nothing, merely taps her watch before holding up three fingers to indicate thirty minutes and turns to collect her lifemate on her way out of the hospital tent.

With a definitive departure time scheduled, the band around my chest loosens. The sooner we leave, the sooner I can collect Armista, Thret's newest family member. Chariot's daughter needs to be on base as soon as possible to help heal their emotional trauma.

Director Icarr turns toward me. Her guarded expression twists something in my spine, agitating my ancestral forms.

"Do they need anything?" she asks with a nod toward the door behind me. Her voice washes over me as it always does, the feminine timbre at odds with her clipped tone. My heart pounds against my sternum and I struggle to remain in control of my ancestral forms. My voice emerges colder than I intend.

"They need rest."

Her shoulders stiffen impossibly further at my harsh response, but she softens her stance and clasps her hands in front of her with an understanding demeanor.