Seb began to pace, his anger rising. “This is ridiculous. How could you come here and put him in danger like this?”
“Seb,” Hudson called gently.
“That was an incredibly selfish move on your part, Dex. These people don’t care who they kill. How could you bring them down on us?”
“Sebastian, stop!” Hudson stood. His expression softened as he spoke to Seb. “I know you just want to protect me, but I make my own decisions. If everything Dex has told us is true, then I have an obligation to do my part. As a doctor, I can’t turn my back on those who need my aid, especially friends.” Hudson gave Dex a nod. “You have my word. I will do everything I can to help you.”
Seb ran his fingers through his hair as he paced before he came to some sort of conclusion. “Fine.” He faced Hudson. “Then you better get used to having me around, because I’m not letting you out of my sight with those assholes out there.”
“Seb, I’m perfectly capable of looking after myself. I may be the medical examiner, but I’m also a THIRDS agent, and—”
“This isn’t up for discussion!” Seb thundered, marching up to Hudson, grabbing his arm, and pulling him against him. “I don’t care if you hate me. I don’t care how many times you tell me to fuck off. I am not going away, and I sure as shit won’t let them put their hands on you if I can help it, so I suggest you get that into your pretty little head right now, Dr. Colbourn, because you’re going to be seeing a hell of a lot more of me. You got that?”
Hudson nodded.
“Tell me you understand.”
Hudson swallowed hard, his cheeks flushed. “I understand.”
“Good.”
Seb released him before he stalked off into the living room, muttering under his breath. No one said a word. Dex was impressed. He and Sloane exchanged glances. They’d never seen Seb like this. Hudson apparently quite liked it, if his blushing cheeks were anything to go by. Well, he learned something new about their doctor friend every day. Hudson cleared his throat and went on to tend to Dex’s wound.
“It’s extraordinary,” Hudson said, inspecting his arm.
The wounds were reduced to mere stings. More a discomfort than anything.
“What’s that?” Dex asked. He looked at his arm and frowned. “Holy shit.”
“What is it?” Sloane quickly got up to see for himself. “How’s that possible?”
“What?” Seb approached, took one look at Dex’s arm, and shook his head. “That’s not possible. How can you be healed already? That kind of wound would take days to heal.”
“It’s your new body.”
Everyone turned to find Sparks standing in the doorway.
“Lieutenant?” Hudson seemed to quickly put two and two together. “You know about this. About Dex’s mutated DNA.”
“Yes. I can’t get into the history of it now.” She looked over at Dex and gave him a nod. “Recruiting Dr. Colbourn was a very smart move. We’ll undoubtedly be requiring his assistance in the future. We’ve got bigger problems at the moment.” She looked to Dex and Sloane. “The trap we devised failed, though not entirely.”
“Trap?” Sloane frowned. “Wait, the frat boys. That was a trap?”
“My operatives. They’ve already been released from custody. The belief was that whoever wants you dead would take this ideal opportunity to go after you. Instead, they used Taylor.”
“Taylor?” Hudson looked confused. “I thought this whole mess was a result of Taylor challenging Sloane for Dex.”
“I’m convinced it’s what they wanted us to believe,” Sparks said with a sigh. “Unfortunately, whatever they did to him still has him in a completely feral state. Sergeant Maddock is attempting to get Taylor to shift back.”
Sloane came to stand by Dex, his hand on Dex’s shoulder. “Wait. Shultzon said they’d send someone to kill us both. Someone whose desire for my mate could easily be turned into deadly jealousy. They somehow got to Taylor.”
Seb nodded. “Well, it’s no secret Taylor’s wanted Dex since he joined.”
“Considering the Therian-control drugs these guys have been messing with for years,” Dex pondered, “I’m not surprised they’d pump him with something to get the results they wanted.”
Sparks approached Dex, and he wrinkled his nose. “What’s that smell?”
“What?” Sloane sniffed the air. “It’s sweet.”