He’d known it.
As soon as the ship landed, he grasped her against his and hopped from the vessel.
He was vaguely aware of V’Alen watching him as he rushed toward the med bay, hardly seeing the beings on the streets stop to watch him hurry with the human clutched against his chest.
The med bay felt like it was farther than it used to be, his feet too slow, time moving sluggishly as he pushed forward, and when he burst into the medical facility, all eyes turned to look at him.
He must have made some entrance, because the humans still getting treatment gasped, some of them covering their mouths, their eyes wide.
Xul’s mate rushed toward him, her eyes wide.
“Ajos! What the fuck happened? What’s wrong with her? Is she all right?”
His throat moved. He didn’t know.
He’d done this to her.
He didn’t know if she was all right.
Aker exited a room, pausing mid-movement.
The medic rushed toward an empty gurney. “Bring her here.”
Ajos took two long strides toward the gurney and stood there, his arms trembling as he looked down at Keh-reh-nah’s face.
She was flushed.
“Put her down, Ajos.”
Ajos did what he was told, his eyes still on Keh-reh-nah.
Only when it hit him that nothing was happening did he raise his eyes to Aker.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” he growled, unable to hold back his fear, his anger, the strain.
The medic was looking at him strangely. “You have to let her go if I have any chance of figuring out what’s wrong with her,” Aker said, reaching forward to pry away his arm from Keh-reh-nah.
A snarl left his lips that he could not control, and Aker jumped back.
“Easy there, Ajos,” someone said from behind him and the voice made him stiffen.
Akur.
His brother.
What was he doing back so soon from his mission off-world?
His brother reached forward and touched him on the shoulder. He was looking at him strangely too.
“You need to release the human so Aker can heal her,” Akur pressed.
His brother actually sounded reasonable, for once, and Ajos slowly released Keh-reh-nah till her body lay limp against the white surface of the gurney.
Before he knew it, he was being pushed backward and into an empty room.
The door shut behind them with a click, and Ajos rushed toward it but he was pulled back again.
A roar left his lips as his fist surged forward.
Akur ducked his punch and shot out with one of his own, grazing Ajos on the cheek and he could feel the burn of broken skin.
“The qef is wrong with you?!” Akur shouted his question, making it sound like a demand more than a request.
Ajos growled, stalking away from his brother, but Akur moved to block the door.
Ajos narrowed his eyes at his brother.
He hated the qeffer.
“Move.”
Akur crossed his arms over his chest. “No. Not until you tell me why you’re acting like this and why there was a half-dead human in your arms.”
Akur’s voice held such strong accusation that Ajos felt it deep, deep within him.
It was the same voice his brother had used with him many, many times before, ever since that day when Nama had died.
Ajos turned away and ran a hand down his nefre before he spun back around and punched the door beside his brother’s head.
Akur didn’t flinch.
He was like that.
Nothing ever seemed to faze him.
Akur’s gaze studied him, and Ajos bit back another snarl.
Akur was keeping him from seeing Keh-reh-nah.
He needed to be there.
He needed to make sure she was all right.
Akur’s eyes widened slowly, his golden irises becoming larger.
“Your nefre.”
Ajos swallowed hard.
He hadn’t covered his head when he’d returned. He’d forgotten, too concerned about Keh-reh-nah to think about anything else.
His nefre was still red with the mating heat, only now that he’d sated himself in his mate, he could control himself more.
“What about it?”
“That’s impossible…” Akur murmured, horror in his eyes.
Ajos released a breath, his shoulders slumping a little. “Aker thinks it's the energy fallout from the explosion. He thinks it triggered the mating heat because it mimicked the warm period of Tonvuhiri.”
Akur’s eyes widened some more and he leaned off the door.
“The human…”
Ajos’ throat moved as he turned away.
He didn’t need his brother to see his shame.
This was too much like when Nama died, when he’d had to return home without her.
Akur already had that over him, and he couldn’t look in his brother’s eyes to see the accusation of yet another female’s life being lost because of his own actions.
“You mated with her?”
When he didn’t answer, Akur let out a sound of disbelief.
“Are you qeffing insane?!”
Ajos’ shoulders stiffened as his brother continued.
“Metcer cells. Metcer, qeffing, cells, Ajos. Didn’t you use any?! How could you be so reckless?”
“Of course, I used them!” Ajos bit back the urge to punch something else. “It didn’t work,” he uttered. “The metcer cells didn’t work.”
“What?” Akur moved to grasp his arm and Ajos had no option but to look at his brother. “The only way that could happen is if the heat is too strong. Only if there is a Shum’ai bond…and there is no way…”
Akur stopped, horror in his eyes. “Impossible,” he uttered.
“I thought so too,” Ajos said, pulling his arm from his brother’s as he headed toward the door.
This time, he exited without Akur trying to interfere.
His brother understood now.
No one stood between a Shum’ai and his mate.
By the time he exited the room, Keh-reh-nah was surrounded by more humans and Aker seemed busy trying his best to do what he could to save her.
“Can you save her?”
His voice made some of the humans by the gurney scatter as he came close.
He gripped Keh-reh-nah’s small hand in his as Aker ran tests.
“There is an infection in her life blood. It is increasing rapidly and if I don’t administer the medication now, her organs will begin to fail.” Aker moved quickly, mixing potions together as he spoke.
“Septic shock, maybe…” one of the humans said.
“Was she introduced to anything that could have caused the infection?” Aker asked.
Ajos swallowed, his gaze moving
