Shield - A New Species Fanfiction (Wild at Heart Chronicles, Book 1)

Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27

RESERVATION: MEDICAL.

8:07 P.M.

"Paige, your fever just spiked another degree. We need to—"

"Don't stop, Doc, please. I felt it moving again, keep going."

Alli added more pressure to the injection site, but Paige shook her head and glanced at the doctor over her shoulder. "No, not there. Not anymore, at least. It was more..."

"Okay, grab on to something."

When the doctor's latex-covered fingers massaged her shoulder blades in a circular motion, Paige nearly flew off the hospital bed. With every stroke of her touch, an electric current of pain shot down her spine.

"Ow—OW! Stop, stop, STOP!"

Somewhere to her left, Paige heard the scrape of a metal chair crash to the floor, followed by a snarl. Alli gasped and removed her hands at once.

"Sit your ass down, male," Midnight hissed, positioning herself to block Shield from stepping closer. His face was twisted in anger as he glared down at the feline Species. "She is attempting to help your female. Behave, or I call security and you'll be waiting inside a cell block until we finish examining her."

"Do not threaten me," Shield growled. "I will not be taken from her side."

Paige grabbed her pillow and tossed it over Midnight, where it hit Shield square in the face. A heavy silence descended upon the room, but she didn't give a damn. Her back felt as if it were splitting in two; she couldn't handle an alpha male tantrum in her present state.

Skewering the male with a glare of her own, she hissed, "Sit!"

Shield opened his mouth.

Paige's glare turned molten.

Perhaps sensing her patience was this close from snapping, the male looked to the ceiling, grumbled something unintelligible, and then stormed toward the opposite side of the room. He blatantly ignored the chair on the floor, and opted to lean against the wall instead with his arms crossed over his chest. He glowered at all three women, but did so without another word of protest.

For now.

Almost ten hours had passed since Paige was rushed to Medical after the encounter in the forest. As she had feared, the males had been unable to contain the creature—even with Shield's superior scenting abilities. Apparently, there was something about the experiment's chemistry that made it virtually scent-less.  With that being the case, the NSO suspected Marshall Holloway's death had been at the hands of their reptilian intruder.

The question remained— how long before the male Species controlling it penetrated beyond Reservation's walls? How did they fight an enemy who seemed as intangible as a ghost?

And what of the voice she heard in the forest?

Running a trembling hand over her clammy forehead, Paige gritted her teeth and turned her attention back to Alli. "Do it again."

"Paige—"

"Do it. There's something in there. I felt it moving when you put pressure on it, I swear."

"Your blood work—"

"Was inconclusive at first," Paige said, slapping her hand against the mattress in frustration. "Trisha is testing it again until she finds something, because I guarantee you she will. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon. That's what that woman said was going to happen, and even if she was whacked I'm starting to believe she was right."