“No,” Whelon could barely speak and Vende shook his head again.
“My mate is down there, too, in the midst of this insanity!” He held in his voice to such an extent that the whisper was almost shrill enough to hit the sound barrier. Whelon knew Vende was about to lose it and if he didn’t hold back his dragon, he’d be dive-bombing Preor Tower in seconds.
“Vende—” he began, but to his shock, Vende punched him in the face.
It was a good hit, right in the jaw and smashing across the cheekbone. Whelon staggered and then gathered himself before charging after Vende. The roar he released echoed down the hallway and several Preor came running to pull them apart.
“Good job, Vende, you got him woken up,” Penelope praised.
“What?” Vende asked, confused.
“Shut up, I’m covering for you, you dick,” Penelope murmured.
Silence reigned for a few seconds as the two males glared at each other. Then they both nodded and stepped together to shake hands, only interrupted when Penelope made the sound of clearing her digital throat.
“Now, I can teleport you into Preor Tower. I can do it sneaky-like… I’ll have to draw a bit of power to send you into the tower, but Vende says the ship can take it. Hey, wait a minute…” There was a moment of suspense when Whelon was sure he could feel Penelope’s cameras actually lock onto Vende. “When you said ‘the ship can take it,’ you meant me. Didn’t you? Did you seriously tell me to ‘take it,’ you oversized lump of testosterone?”
Vende grinned and ran a hand through his thick hair. “But you do take it, Penelope. You take everything I give you and ask for more.”
“I’m not sure I like this change in our relationship,” Penelope murmured. “I’m going to let it go… for now. Since you are only stretching the ship’s—my—energy stores for the sake of all the mates.”
“What’s going on?” Whelon asked.
“We’re teleporting down into the tower, right now,” Vende answered. “Penelope will hide us so we can enter the tower undetected. There’s really no harm. We might be breaking the rules just a bit, but if we don’t leave the tower, no one will know.”
“I don’t understand,” his mind was a muddled mess of partial thoughts and half-formed ideas. “What’s the point of going to the tower?”
“To help my mate and the others.” Vende shot him an annoyed glare but gave Whelon a moment to remember other mates were in danger besides Sasha.
“Right. Yeah. Charlie.” Whelon shook his head. “We had better get going.”
“All over it,” Penelope announced. For only the briefest of moments they were surrounded by a wall of light and then it cleared. He found himself in the medical lounge near the clinic inside Preor Tower. He took a moment to catch his breath, but Vende came out of the teleport in midair and practically flew the distance to Dawn.
“Shaa kouva…” he cried, but before he could embrace her, she took a few quick steps back.
“Wait, I’ve got the Quasti.” Vende froze, his muscles twitching. “I’ve got Charlie curled around my neck. I managed to sing him into a deep sleep, but I can’t move him. My body is comforting him, keeping him asleep,” she whispered so softly that Whelon could barely hear her words.
Vende shook with frustration and took a few deep breaths before he sank into a nearby chair. “You are safe. That is all that matters, for now.”
“I’ll be able to put him down soon.” Dawn smiled. “They’re just finishing up with Ellie now.”
“I’ve come too late.” Whelon stepped into the middle of the room.
“Not at all,” Dawn informed him. “Melissa is in the far room. Please go and check on her because Chashan can’t leave Ellie.”
Whelon headed into the next room, one that connected to the clinic and was prepped for an operation. When he found Jarek slumped in a chair, his hand barely touching his mate’s, he knew the situation was bad.
“Melissa?” He leaned over her, lifting her eyelids and peering at her eyes. “Can you hear me?”
“Where is Jarek?” she moaned.
“He’s here, holding your hand.”
“I can’t feel him… I can’t feel him!”
“He is here sharing your pain. He appears to be in a trance while you endure labor.”
Melissa sobbed. “I can’t do this, Whelon. I can’t.”
“Hush, now.” He moved gentle hands over her distended body, checking her over. “Females have been giving birth and presenting sires with dragonlets since the dawn of time. You are no different.”
She sobbed quietly, and he knew his words had not brought her much comfort. He was not surprised. It appeared that the contractions were growing closer together, but her body was not responding appropriately, and the child was breach.
I need Chashan.
“Just relax, Melissa.” He gave her a shot that would relax her and slow the labor. The child was not yet in any danger, but it would be within a few hours. He could not handle the emergency by himself.
He headed back to the main room to find Chashan and Dawn coming out of Ellie’s area. Vende immediately went and hugged his mate.
“How is Ellie?” Whelon asked the duo.
“She’s well. We need to make peace with that damned creature. All she needed was magnesium and electrolytes, but Charlie would not let us in.” Chashan wiped his hands and nodded in the direction of Melissa’s room. “How is she?”
Whelon shook his head. “Not well. I gave her a shot to calm her and slow labor. Let her rest a little before we bother her again.”
Chashan nodded and they both sat in the lounge area. Hannah was present, drinking tea and playing with her baby, but Delaney and Lily were in their own spaces.
“This stuff is getting more hectic by the second.” Hannah pointed at the TV. “A huge conference is being planned. All the countries in the world are getting in on it. It’s to dictate new rules for everyone to live by.”
“Mostly just so a few stupid humans can understand we don’t carry off unwilling females,” Brukr muttered.
Whelon barely had time to think about Sasha when he watched Jenna appear on screen. She wore a beautiful red suit that set off her dark hair. If she could have smiled, she might have been as beautiful as his Sasha. Whelon did not think the woman even knew how to smile, though.
“It is with great sadness that I announce to the world that Sasha is dying.” She lowered her eyes and gave the crowd a second to react before she continued. “She will be the first casualty in the Preor-human conflict. Yes, it has come to this. If they work their sickness and the woman is unwilling, she dies.”
All the Preor in the room reacted, but Whelon barely noticed their words and actions. He was too busy walking toward the door, unable to see or hear anything else.
Sasha.
His mate was dying. Truly dying. And there was none to help her.
“Whelon, stop!”
“Whelon, no—”
But he was gone. He ran up the stairs, never so in tune with his dragon as he was in that very moment.
Fly, fly, fly…
He bolted to the edge of the roof and threw himself over, allowing his wings to catch him as he grabbed the winds. People screamed and pointed from down below, but he did not care. He cared for nothing except getting to Sasha and having her safe in his arms.