Nickolas. I hadn’t realized how fuzzy my mind has been. He felt like he was waking up after a long sleep. He hadn’t felt like this since…
Before I changed.
The thought surprised him, and he looked again at his brother. Neither of them had taken their pills this morning. That could account for Nickolas’s odd behavior, though it was a little early to consider that. Nick sat so still that it gave him the impression that his Alpha could shatter at any moment. No matter how false the impression, it still worried him. He hadn’t seen behavior like this from his brother in years, not since he came out of the Hub.
Christoff felt his protective instincts continue to rise. Nick hadn’t buckled his belt, which didn’t surprise him. If I can’t take the feeling, he must be going crazy. At least he’s controlling his claustrophobia.
His thoughts continued to circle while he picked apart Nick’s behavior. Finally he shook his head. This is silly. I’m just overreacting. Normally by this time I would have made at least two sarcastic remarks. Instead I’m inventing issues for Nick. But the nebulous feeling made the rationalizations difficult to stick. The feeling that something wasn’t quite right wouldn’t go away.
This is just an unusual situation. They’d broken off of their normal routine, and no one had thought about what that meant…yet. Well, I’m certainly not going to remind anyone. I can’t stand those pills.
“Boss, HQ has been calling for an update on the situation here,” Jules announced, drawing Christoff’s mind back to the here and now.
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Nickolas replied. “What started as a standard retrieval has turned into a potentially deadly, feral manhunt. We haven’t had one of those in a long time.” His brother closed his eyes, letting his head fall back into the seat.
Jules tapped a button on the earphone in his ear and turned to look at one of the screens on his bank of equipment. Then he punched a few keys before swiveling away from the console to face them again.
“Actually, Nickolas,” Flynn commented from the driver’s seat, “I don’t think there has ever been a situation quite like this one. The hunts you’re thinking of were all for fully fledged Valkyries, not one who had just started the change. Any fledge who has managed to slip by a recovery team has always been apprehended within a couple of hours. Miss Reuther has been running for close to eight now. Definitely a record.”
“Why hasn’t she passed out of the active phase? That’s what I’d like to know. She should be so tired she can’t keep her eyes open. I don’t know what to expect from her. She shouldn’t have been able to escape us like she has.” Sighing, Nickolas opened his eyes and sat up. “Well, I’d better get it over with.” Nickolas took the headset Jules held out to him and settled it over his head. “Ok, Jules.”
Christoff could hear static from where he was sitting, so he wasn’t surprised to see Nickolas wince before a voice came on too softly for him to make out the conversation.
“Yes, this is Nickolas. There have been some difficulties. She’s gone feral.” Pause. “No, tell the doctors I have no idea. Ian will just have to wait until we get her back because I haven’t a clue.” Pause. “I do know she has injuries, but to what extent is still unclear. Yes, that’s probably a good idea. I need more information than what the retrieval documents contain. A picture would be nice, yes.” Nickolas rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Yes, I agree.” Pause. “Tell them I don’t know that either. Good. We’ll let you know if anything changes. Yes, fine.”
Nickolas yanked the headset off and flung it onto Jules’s console before he turned back to them. “They are sending more teams out to help. The doctors are amazed at what she’s done. She is now a level one priority. Ian wants her caught before she kills herself or makes it out to the mountains,
Before I changed.
The thought surprised him, and he looked again at his brother. Neither of them had taken their pills this morning. That could account for Nickolas’s odd behavior, though it was a little early to consider that. Nick sat so still that it gave him the impression that his Alpha could shatter at any moment. No matter how false the impression, it still worried him. He hadn’t seen behavior like this from his brother in years, not since he came out of the Hub.
Christoff felt his protective instincts continue to rise. Nick hadn’t buckled his belt, which didn’t surprise him. If I can’t take the feeling, he must be going crazy. At least he’s controlling his claustrophobia.
His thoughts continued to circle while he picked apart Nick’s behavior. Finally he shook his head. This is silly. I’m just overreacting. Normally by this time I would have made at least two sarcastic remarks. Instead I’m inventing issues for Nick. But the nebulous feeling made the rationalizations difficult to stick. The feeling that something wasn’t quite right wouldn’t go away.
This is just an unusual situation. They’d broken off of their normal routine, and no one had thought about what that meant…yet. Well, I’m certainly not going to remind anyone. I can’t stand those pills.
“Boss, HQ has been calling for an update on the situation here,” Jules announced, drawing Christoff’s mind back to the here and now.
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Nickolas replied. “What started as a standard retrieval has turned into a potentially deadly, feral manhunt. We haven’t had one of those in a long time.” His brother closed his eyes, letting his head fall back into the seat.
Jules tapped a button on the earphone in his ear and turned to look at one of the screens on his bank of equipment. Then he punched a few keys before swiveling away from the console to face them again.
“Actually, Nickolas,” Flynn commented from the driver’s seat, “I don’t think there has ever been a situation quite like this one. The hunts you’re thinking of were all for fully fledged Valkyries, not one who had just started the change. Any fledge who has managed to slip by a recovery team has always been apprehended within a couple of hours. Miss Reuther has been running for close to eight now. Definitely a record.”
“Why hasn’t she passed out of the active phase? That’s what I’d like to know. She should be so tired she can’t keep her eyes open. I don’t know what to expect from her. She shouldn’t have been able to escape us like she has.” Sighing, Nickolas opened his eyes and sat up. “Well, I’d better get it over with.” Nickolas took the headset Jules held out to him and settled it over his head. “Ok, Jules.”
Christoff could hear static from where he was sitting, so he wasn’t surprised to see Nickolas wince before a voice came on too softly for him to make out the conversation.
“Yes, this is Nickolas. There have been some difficulties. She’s gone feral.” Pause. “No, tell the doctors I have no idea. Ian will just have to wait until we get her back because I haven’t a clue.” Pause. “I do know she has injuries, but to what extent is still unclear. Yes, that’s probably a good idea. I need more information than what the retrieval documents contain. A picture would be nice, yes.” Nickolas rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Yes, I agree.” Pause. “Tell them I don’t know that either. Good. We’ll let you know if anything changes. Yes, fine.”
Nickolas yanked the headset off and flung it onto Jules’s console before he turned back to them. “They are sending more teams out to help. The doctors are amazed at what she’s done. She is now a level one priority. Ian wants her caught before she kills herself or makes it out to the mountains,
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