He snorted at that. “I killed them all. Remember?”
Her expression became mutinous.
“I trust Dr. Armani. She’ll figure it out.”
“Not without a Coyote Breed specialist she won’t figure crap out,” she groaned. “What if this happens to Ashley, Del-Rey, or one of the younger twins? Sharone or Emma? How will we help them?”
“Anya, there are no Coyote specialists left. Those that were left that the Council didn’t kill, I took care of. They’re murdering bastards with a god complex. Armani will fix that.”
She eased up on the bed and glared at him. “I want our own doctor.”
“Find me one then.” He threw his hands up in defeat. “If you can find one you trust your friends with, then go for it. Have at it. But they’re all dead. Six feet under and can’t help us.”
She wasn’t going to find one. When the Russian facility was breached, the doctors that returned to the Council had disappeared, their bodies turning up one by one over the months. The Council had suspected one of them of conspiring with the rescuers, so they had killed them all.
Over the years, Del-Rey and his men had taken care of the others. If the bastards weren’t alive, then they couldn’t create more. The process wasn’t easy. Coyote Breeds were the most difficult to create and to keep alive until age five. It seemed their mates were going to be difficult in other areas as well.
“Coyote Breed mates are just different.” Armani reentered the examination room. “Amanda Bear, Kiowa Bear’s mate and wife, is the only Coyote Breed we’ve been able to test. The Felines took care of that unfortunately,” she sighed. “But they did share the results of the tests with me. Kiowa is more or less a hybrid, conceived naturally, so his genetics are slightly different, but we might have something here.”
“Meaning?”
“A hormone that only shows up when se**n has been spilled inside the womb. There’s a hormone caused by the one in your tongue that acts as a blocker to prevent conception. It quite literally forms a barrier against viable sperm. Now she has that hormone in her system because you’ve kissed, you’ve had intercourse.”
Of a sort, Anya thought sarcastically as she watched the doctor.
“It’s been eight months,” Anya pointed out. “I’ve never hurt like this before, Dr. Armani.”
“Because you’ve not been in contact with him,” she stated. “Your hormonal levels are showing steady. But I wasn’t looking for that additional hormone, as you weren’t having sex. Were you?”
“No,” Del-Rey growled.
Anya gave him a hooded look. Maybe if she bought him an instruction book. Surely he could learn more than doggie style if he saw the pictures? Of course, knowing male Breed training as she did, he probably knew all the moves. He just hadn’t practiced them on her.
“Okay, so, this hormone just dropped off the radar, but it wasn’t gone.”
“Meaning?”
Armani sighed as though they were dim-witted children. “So there was no addition to your hormonal therapy for it. You’re ovulating, and that hormone is building.”
“So?” Anya asked again. “How many months have you tracked ovulation with me, Dr. Armani? I’ve never hurt like this.”
“And your mate was never around to tempt you or to arouse you. I keep trying to beat it into you guys. Mating is not all about the physical. Emotions cause hormones and chemical reactions as well. Love, hate, anger, irritation, satisfaction—they all trigger separate chemicals within the body.”
“So I was angry.” Anya nodded.
“Pissed off, horny, ovulating and perhaps, Anya, you don’t hate your mate near as much as you once convinced yourself you did. Bam. That hormonal blocker is in place. But added to it is another hormone that also releases with it. One that tries to force the female to have intercourse, to get more seed, to break through that barrier. The Wolf Breed mates share that chemical barrier with the Coyote Breed mates. I hadn’t adjusted the hormone to allow for any change. Your hormonal levels were showing normal, because it takes more than a vaginal swab or blood to detect it. The test is much more in-depth and painful for the female; it requires actually penetrating the womb itself. That’s how it was found the first time. Dr. Serena Grace, she was there before Ely Morrey, found the differing chemicals and hormones and figured out how to adapt the hormonal treatments to that. But we weren’t able to get enough of that hormone until you submitted to those tests after you came here.”
“I didn’t hurt like this then,” Anya stated. “You’re not making sense.”
“Emotions are the difference, Anya,” she said, her voice gentle. “It’s not your hormones that are changing; it’s the chemicals released due to your emotions at any given time. I’ve adjusted your hormonal therapy for that additional chemical and hormone. This should prevent that pain from returning.” She handed the pressure syringe to Del-Rey. “Upper right arm, Del-Rey.”
He pushed the loose sleeve of her sweater back, his fingers going over the slight blemish on her skin where the syringe was used regularly.
“Next month, during ovulation, we’ll be on guard for this. Until then, we’ll need to step up the hormonal injections. Perhaps every few days.” Armani sighed deeply. “But damn, don’t scare me like that again.”
“Get a Coyote specialist,” Anya told her fiercely. “They might have answers you don’t.”
Dr. Armani shook her head. “I’ve looked, Anya. There are only a few that haven’t turned up dead, but they’re missing. Likely dead as well. I’m doing my best.” She shrugged heavily.