“Yes, Mother,” Sasha answered automatically.
Jenna frowned, perhaps noticing for the first time that her perfect doll wasn’t responding as she normally did. She didn’t let her slow her as she dragged Sasha back to the hotel, though.
“We need to get out of here,” Jenna declared, throwing their things into bags. “We have to get back into the city.”
Sasha watched out the door as Preor hurried through the streets, their tall stature and colorful wings marking them as strange and alien to any onlooker. She knew they were in a hurry to leave now that the sun was easing toward the horizon. They all had places to be.
Sasha knew they would return, but seeing them leave kicked a hard knot of nausea in her gut. Or was that the Knowing sickness resurging already? She knew she would get sicker the longer she was away from Whelon and she would have to find a solution to that very soon.
We can’t be apart, but we can’t be together! Her thoughts were dark and twisted, frantic and close to hysteria. She had felt fine walking away from him, but now that he was literally flying away, panic nipped at her with sharp-edged teeth.
Her eyes stung, dampening with tears, and she could hear her mother screaming about something. She wasn’t sure if her mother screamed at her or the rest of the team, and she… didn’t really care.
I could jump on that shuttle and never come back, she thought with longing. But then the Preor would never be welcome on Earth again. No one would find their mates.
Sasha couldn’t live with that eventuality. The only choice she had was an impossible one—to be separated from Whelon.
Chapter Sixteen
Climbing onto the short flight shuttle to leave was the hardest thing Whelon had ever done. His dragon roared with such menace he felt as if his skin were being shredded from inside out. There was no way to explain to the beast that there was a good reason for his actions.
He settled into a seat among the other Preor warriors, the Knowing sickness creeping into him ever so slowly. The dragon fought, demanding he take his mate back no matter her choices. Whelon kept his eyes closed and took deep, cleansing breaths until the shuttle took to the air. He knew it would not take much for his dragon to shift right then and there and tear the machine apart in an effort to get back to Sasha.
He focused on his duties back at Preor tower. He still had not seen Ellie, Delaney, Lily nor Hannah, and he was concerned for them all. Lily’s implants had changed her body in ways no one had ever seen. Even though they had been removed, the process had given her a unique cellular structure. Subsequently, no one had any idea how pregnancy would affect her.
Delaney was a similar case—years of enhancements and then a complete collapse back to her original state. She was an anomaly in the same way as Lily.
Then there was Ellie… and Charlie.
Damn the skies, he thought. I forgot about the invisible rat. I thought her physical changes came from injuries sustained in the crash, but I forgot about the little friend that constantly messes with her molecular structure.
His dragon scratched around in his head, but Whelon shoved the beast aside. He was on track now, focused on his duties so he could forget about the Knowing sickness for a short time, at least.
He let his thoughts slip to Hannah and Melissa. Hanna would be fine, he was sure. She still had her other babe at the breast, and from what Chashan had said, was bearing well. She may become fatigued by the strain of her earlier pregnancy, but her problems did not have the same potential for complications as the others endured.
Melissa truly worried him. She was young, strong, and healthy, yet she developed high blood pressure and showed signs of extreme fatigue. Some women simply did not cope well with the strain of pregnancy and perhaps Melissa was one of those human females.
Whelon carefully cycled his thoughts through all of his patients, thoroughly examining every detail he could recall so he would not think about Sasha. The Knowing sickness continued to creep up on him and he would do anything to ignore its presence.
When the shuttle bumped down softly on the roof of Preor tower, he was so startled he actually jumped within his seat. He had been so absorbed in his thoughts, he had not even noticed they neared their destination. He wandered out of the shuttle toward the roof doors, disorientated and dizzy. The feeling didn’t ease as he made it to the clinic, where he was now gripped with cold shivers that ran through his joints.
“Whelon! There you are. I have been waiting—” Chashan’s voice cut off as his healer’s instincts surged. “Whelon, you are not well,” Chashan said carefully. He came closer and leaned in to examine Whelon’s face. “Your eyes are tinted yellow,” Chashan reported quietly. “Your internal organs are under extreme duress and your liver and kidneys are not functioning properly.”
“It is Knowing sickness,” Whelon snapped shortly and Chashan’s eyes widened.
“I heard a rumor you had found your mate and were being kept from her, but I never imagined it was the truth! This is unprecedented, Whelon. You need to be by her side.”
Whelon shook his head. “It is not possible.”
Chashan took a step back, a tortured expression overtaking his features. “I am your healer now, Whelon,” he spoke sternly, his wings tense and his form rigid. “If I want you transported to her, you will not get a choice in the matter.”
“Fair enough, healer. For now, let me assist
