The Breeding Experiment - Laurann Dohner Page 0,60

looked concerned. “Can you hold him until he calms down and we work out a plan? Because we’re so going to need a plan.”

Roth snarled. “Yes. Don’t torment my male. What do you know? Is the female sick?”

“No. She’s not sick. Just give me a minute to pull up her scan and I’ll enlarge it.” Dr. Brick lifted gloves with wires on the exterior of the fingers and put them on, then tapped controls along the side of the bed. Then she turned to glare at Maith. “Darla and I are friends. I’m also her doctor, so don’t even think about shutting me out. You’re going to need me.”

Gnaw stilled when a white and blue outline of an obvious female appeared to float above the bed. It had no hair or clothing, but it had breasts, a narrow waist and flared hips. His heart pounded. Fear also hit over all the horrible things the Elth could have done to her.

Dr. Brick reached both gloves inside the stomach area of the image and pulled out something. It was a small sphere between her hands. Then she turned and stepped closer to Maith, glancing up at him. “You’re their doctor. Why don’t you be the one to tell your grouping. It might be easier coming from you…and more believable.”

Then she expanded her arms, the sphere growing larger, until it was a little wider than her body.

Maith approached her, blocking Gnaw’s view. He struggled, but Roth and Drak refused to release him. He didn’t want to hurt either of them but he needed to see what the female was showing their medic.

“You are lying. This isn’t possible,” Maith hissed.

“You have access to medical information that I don’t,” Dr. Brick whispered back. “I couldn’t make this up. She came in suffering from a low-grade fever and a headache that has lasted for days. I scanned her. This is what we found.”

“Did you tell her?” Maith sounded stressed, his voice also low.

“Of course. Did you miss the part where I said we’re friends? She doesn’t know how to tell him, and she’s afraid he’ll freak out or be mad. And we’re going to talk later about how your people lied to me; I needed to know this sort of thing was possible.”

“It shouldn’t be!” Maith snarled.

“What is it?” Gnaw struggled but the other males only tightened their hold. “Is Darla ill? Did the Elth mutate her? Did they change out her organs for another alien’s? They’ve done that before!”

Maith turned to him, his features solemn. “Did you tell me everything that happened on the Elth ship?”

“Yes.” Gnaw had shared everything.

Maith came to him, peering deeply into his eyes. Then the male lifted his hands and grasped his face, holding it. “You didn’t transform and breed the female?”

The question shocked him. “No!”

“What is it?” Roth used his commanding voice.

Maith glanced at their grouping leader but then drew closer, almost touching Gnaw’s forehead with his own. Their gazes locked. Whatever the male was about to tell him would be bad. He was attempting to protect him from pain.

“Darla is carrying a cub.”

Gnaw stared at him. He couldn’t have heard him correctly.

Maith touched his forehead. “A cub,” he repeated.

Gnaw’s legs gave out, and he would have hit the floor if it wasn’t for Drak and Roth holding his arms. They did lower him until he was on his knees. Maith stayed with him, crouching.

“Breathe,” the medic instructed. “Remain calm.”

“It can’t be. I didn’t…I stayed in this form.”

Darla was carrying his cub.

How is that possible? It isn’t!

Pain lanced his chest then. He wanted a cub with Darla…but it just wasn’t possible. “I didn’t lose control.”

Maith stroked his face and backed his forehead away a few inches. “I believe you. We will figure it out. I just need time to think about how this happened.”

“She can’t be carrying my cub.” It hurt Gnaw to say it. He wanted it to be true.

“She is.” Maith stroked his head again. “Not only did I see the cub, but there’s Veslor genetic material that the scan identified. I have learned enough of their Earth language to be able to read it.”

“Um…” Dr. Brick cleared her throat. “It’s not one cub. It’s two. You didn’t let me rotate the magnification. The larger one is what you saw, but there’s a secondary one shadowing it on the scan. Both have heartbeats.”

Maith’s eyes widened, and he turned his head to gape at Dr. Brick.

“I’ll show you. Is he okay?”

Gnaw was able to see the doctor. She