Hypnotic Ch. 10

Brad turned to me. "I'm sorry, I really am." His eyes swung to Jerret and Benny, then over to Dav. "I was just so scared and the things they said were so convincing at the time. I didn't know what else to do."

Jerret's voice was harsh when he spoke up. "You should have come to me! We were friends. I wouldn't have ever hurt you, or let someone else hurt you either. You should have known that!"

Brad's shoulders slumped. "I know."

Velaku's talons tapped on the desk as he stared at Brad. "Davis?"

My mate spoke, "He's telling the truth, and he really is sorry."

His wings rustled as Velaku sat forward to stare at the human being held between the two Falcon guards. "If I let you go, what will you do?"

Brad gasped. "Nothing, I swear!"

Dav nodded again. "Truth. I won't have him around my mate, though, and I won't ever trust him again." He looked at Brad. "You know you're fired. I can't guarantee that I wouldn't take you down if you ever came near my mate again. I can't help but see you as a threat."

Brad's lips trembled but he took a deep breath and nodded. "I don't blame you. I . . . I can move. My sister has been begging me to come live back home. I'll do that; I'll go away and not come back. I swear."

"Ellis?"

I looked away from Brad. I didn't want him killed, or held by the Carthera either. I nodded.

Velaku looked up at his mate who nodded as well. "Okay then. We're in agreement. I don't have the power in the human world to enforce this but I think it is pretty clear that coming back here will mean serious consequences. You have five days to be out of my territory."

Brad's legs buckled until the guards were the only things keeping him up. "Thank you. Thank you for not killing me."

His abject thankfulness for his life made my stomach clench a little. This world I'd become a part of was harsher than I'd realized, but I wouldn't regret mating Dav for any reason. The office was quiet after the guards took Brad out of the room. Velaku sighed and leaned his head back against Natham's stomach.

"Hopefully now we can all get some peace and enjoy our matings as we get on with life."

I had turned to check the clock on the wall and saw Benny's flinch when Velaku spoke. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him and what little I knew about his mate. I sucked in a breath of air when I saw the pain in his eyes and winced at the bitter taste on my tongue. I rubbed my tongue against the roof of my mouth. Benny was in so much pain at the mention of mates; I couldn't help but feel an echo of it in my chest. If I lost Dav in the way he'd lost his mate I'd be devastated; I prayed that whatever the doctors said that I'd be okay so that my mate would never be forced to feel that pain either.

"Dav? My appointment is in an hour; we should probably get going."

My mate nodded.

"Appointment?" Isiah asked. "What appointment?"

"My doctor called and wanted to see me."

Isiah sat up. "I thought that you were better now."

"Dr. Bakier called and told me they had more results back from my blood tests. They are also wondering why I've changed so much; Dr. Pannar was supposed to have talked to you."

"He did, but I didn't want to go in while things were still so unsettled." Isiah searched my eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I don't know; they haven't been able to do much more than guess."

He didn't look any happier with that than I was. "You could come with us," I suggested.

Isiah looked at his mate. Ahsran's voice was deep and rumbled in his chest when he spoke. "If they will understand better what is going on with the changes you two are going through, then it is worth the time."

"Okay, we'll go."

We all stood up. Benny pushed away from the wall. Jerret and Calix had disappeared right after Brad had been taken away by the guards.

"Thank you for coming," Velaku said as he stood up and shook hands with all of us as we got ready to leave. "I hope you know how much I appreciate everything you have all done for the clans."

Once they got out to the cars, Benny split off from the group. His back was rigid and he answered Dav's goodbye with a wave.

Dav looked over at Isiah and Ahsran. "Do you want to ride with us?"

Ahsran shook his head. "I had my truck driven down here. We will follow you so we can head back to our hotel once we are done."

"Okay."

We were quiet on the ride to the hospital, but Dav held my hand the whole time. He pulled into the parking space and shut off the car and then turned to me.

"You know we'll be okay no matter what they say, right?"

I gave him a small smile. "I know."

***

We were all sitting in the waiting room looking at old magazines when Dr. Pannar swept into the room. "Ahh, there you are. Good to see you, Ellis."

He turned to Isiah. "I'm glad you could come today too. You should know what we found out too."

Isiah and I exchanged glances and I bit my lip.

"Ready?" Dr. Pannar asked me.

"Not really," I said, "but I need to know once and for all what has happened to me."

Dr. Bakier shook hands with everyone and then told Ahsran and Isiah to pull up the spare chairs that had been against the wall. Dr. Pannar stood; his wings didn't really fit for sitting in human chairs.

"Okay," Dr. Bakier tapped a thumb on the desk. "I'm not sure exactly what you do and don't know about how Carthera seem to change when they mate."

Ahsran answered in his deep rumble, "When two Carthera mate and create a blood bond, the magic changes them into their mated forms."

Dr. Pannar nodded. "That is partly true; there is a magic involved that can't completely be explained by science but we think we've found something important."

I tensed; my back was rigid and not even Dav's touch could help me relax. "Enough with the Q and A about mating. Just tell me, are my migraines coming back?"

"Oh no! No, that's something else. We've tested and checked your scans; there is no sign that you have ever suffered any migraines. I think Davis' venom may have cured that. We asked you to come here to discuss your physical changes."

I couldn't just let that go without an explanation. "Just like that? My migraines are cured?"

Dr. Pannar nodded. "As far as we can tell, though we cannot say for certain what corrected the damage."

"What about that strange healing ceremony? Could that have gotten rid of my migraines?"

Dr. Bakier shifted in his chair and frowned. "Well, I have no way to test that phenomenon to know for certain. What I do know is that there have been some studies made about the effects of venom on certain conditions. It has not been proven to be extremely beneficial for ordinary people with animal venom, but it is entirely possible that Davis' venom cured you."

Dr. Pannar spoke, "We might never know for certain what actually fixed the damage, though, and I won't discount the whale magic. There is much in our world that defies modern explanation."

I suddenly sank back into my seat, my relief so strong that I couldn't speak for a minute. I wouldn't go blind again; I wouldn't die. I had been living with the knowledge, and the fear, of when that could happen to me for so long that it felt like I could finally take a deep breath for the first time in years. I blinked back tears. Dav leaned over and pulled me into his arms and held me for a few minutes. I was grateful that everyone gave me some time to gather myself.

I pulled back out of Dav's arms once I was sure I wouldn't break down in tears. My mate rubbed his hand down my arm and then held my hand. I was glad; I didn't really want to let him go right now either.

"Sorry."

My doctor shook his head. "It is understandable, son. I don't usually get to give my patients a lot of good news; I'm just glad you're better."

"So, what was with the questions about mating then?"

Dr. Pannar's wings rustled as he shuffled some papers in a folder on the desk. "It is very rare for humans to mate with Carthera, as you know. Typically a human mate would get some sort of symbol of their mates but they don't go through physical changes like you two appear to have done."

"Like my fangs," Isiah said. "My eyes have changed too; I can see in the dark much better and lately I've noticed the shape of my pupil appears to be changing."

Dr. Pannar stepped forward. "Really?" He pulled a slim flashlight out of his pocket. "Do you mind?"

Isiah looked a little startled, but he shook his head. "Go ahead."

We all watched as Dr. Pannar shined the light in Isiah's eyes, asking him to look this way and that. "And now you," Dr. Pannar gestured at Ahsran who leaned forward and was treated to the same light test. "Fascinating," he murmured.

"I think Isiah is going through the same process Ellis did," Dr. Pannar said as he looked at Dr. Bakier, "but we will have to run more tests to be certain."

"Would someone please tell me what process you're talking about?" I felt my leg begin to bounce up and down as I fidgeted.

"Sorry, Ellis, this is just so amazing. Dr. Bakier, would you like to explain? You are the one who came up with the theory."

"Of course. He leaned his arms on his desk and looked at me. "As a nurse, I know you learned about cells in school. I'll try to explain this so everyone can understand it though."

He cleared his throat. "Basically it is very simple. When life begins, human or Carthera, it is as a single cell that begins to divide after insemination. The important thing about this first cell is that it something what we call a totipotent cell. It has the ability to divide and change into many different types of cells, which then become the different parts of the body. However, once that division occurs past a certain point the cells specialized and no longer considered totipotent cells. That happens very early in embryo development. By studying the basic cellular make up of our two species, we found was that Carthera and humans are almost identical. Almost. Carthera do have a certain type of cell that humans don't have.

"These specialized cells form in the areas of the body where the Carthera will change when they mate, but as with most cells, once they have divided to a certain point they become senescent. That means they can't divide any longer. That is why Carthera still look human before mating; the cells are not able to change and become the physical attributes that make up the different clans. However, we believe that a certain enzyme, called telomerase, is transferred between mates during the blood bond and then reactivates those cells, causing them to divide and change at an extremely rapid rate to create the changes you see during a mating."

I nodded. "Okay, though I've never seen cellular reproduction move so quickly; the changes some Carthera go through are almost instant. My changes haven't been."

Dr. Pannar cleared his throat. "That is part of the bonding that has never been really understood scientifically, either, but we know it happens, if not how."

Dr. Bakier looked at Dav, Isiah and Ahsran. "Are you guys getting this so far?"

They all nodded, so he continued.

"Okay, well as far as we can tell, humans don't have those cells. Ellis didn't either, at least at first. What I did find in your original blood samples were a quantity of totipotent cells, something I'd never seen in an adult before. These cells seem to have activated after you bonded with your mate and then began to change into the same type of senescent cells he has that create the physical changes a Carthera goes through. The extra step of the cells changing seems to be taking longer than a usual mating change would between two Carthera."

I frowned. "That makes sense . . . but how is that possible?"

Dr. Bakier shook his head. "We don't know. I've never seen it before, and it's never been proposed as a theory in any journal, study, or test that I could find."

"These cells . . . they could be very important, couldn't they?" I said slowly.

Dr. Pannar nodded. "We don't know if more people have them or not. Yours have been changing; you have far less totipotent cells in your blood samples now than you did when you first mated. I'm guessing that in the end, all your totipotent cells will become specialized cells and you will physically match your mate."

"However," my doctor said when Dr. Pannar paused, "for now, we don't know if this is more than a theory. We need to test Isiah for these totipotent cells, and then we'd like permission to contact your families and see if they would be willing to give blood as well."

"You think it might be hereditary?" Isiah asked.

"Well, you did grow fangs as well," Dr. Pannar's wings rustled as he gestured toward Isiah's eyes, "and it appears that you are developing eyes similar to a cat Carthera. It appears that your pupils are being controlled by two ciliary muscles on either side much like a tiger's, rather than a single circular one like human's have."

"What we don't know is if this change both of you went through is solely because you are identical twins and carry a unique genetic anomaly individual to you two, or if others in your family carry the same trait. If they do, we need to start some studies and see if this is something that is happening in the human population in general or not."

I could feel my mind racing as I came to the realization they had already come to. "If this is happening to more people, then that means we're some sort of new adaptation, some sort of specialized type of human. We're not Carthera, but we have the potential to become them, if we find a mate."

My mate stared at me with his eyes wide. His face suddenly fell blank, and I felt him pull away from out bond. I felt a burst of shock as he closed himself off from our bond again. Why was he doing that; did he think I was a freak? I didn't have a chance to demand he tell me what was going on before Dr. Bakier spoke again.

"Basically, that's exactly right. This could be huge in changing how humans and Carthera view each other. I've always thought that our two species had more in common than we had different; originally we had to come from the same ancestor. A link between the two evolutionary branches, when one didn't die out, was inevitable. You could be that link. We really need to start testing Isiah's blood and contact your family."

Isiah and I exchanged looks. "You might not find much luck there."

"Oh?" Dr. Bakier's eyebrows went up. "Why do you say that? You don't want us to test you Isiah?"

"No, I don't mind," he said, "but our family sort of disowned us. They're not exactly what you would call the most open minded of people. Calling them a link between people and those they think are animals is something that will gall our parents; they will not agree to any testing."

Dr. Bakier's face fell and Dr. Pannar's wings drooped. "Xenophobes, are they?"

"Extremely," I said in a dry voice.

"Maybe . . ." Isiah tapped his chin. I looked over at him. "Remember that one time Dad got that phone call and he exploded? He said not to call back because he didn't have a sister anymore." I nodded; I remembered that Christmas. We'd been young, but not so young that the memory hadn't stuck with us.

Dr. Pannar stood up straight. "You think you might have some other blood family out there?"

Isiah shrugged. "We might; I can try some of my government contacts and see if I can dig anything up."

Dr. Bakier's expression brightened and he began to rub his hands together. "Good, good."

Just then my stomach rumbled; the sound was loud in the quiet office. Dr. Pannar laughed and looked at the clock. "I think someone is hungry."

"We skipped lunch for a meeting with Velaku before Ellis' appointment," Dav said.

Dr. Bakier looked at Isiah. "Did you skip the meal as well?"

Isiah shook his head. "We were already there; Velaku made a great pasta casserole so we ate with them before the meeting."

"You don't need us anymore, right?" I asked. I hoped the answer would be no; Dav had been acting weird since Dr. Bakier said that I was becoming like him. I was worried about what was going on in his mind and since he shut down our bond, I couldn't feel his emotions either.

We had to talk; I wouldn't allow him to shut himself off from me.

"No, but I would like you back every week for a follow up blood sample and cell test until we stop seeing changes."

I nodded. "I can do that, as long as Dr. Pannar doesn't mind me taking a morning off next week."

Dr. Pannar waved a hand in the air. "Please, my boy, the clinic is fine. You just mated and things have been very stressful of late; I think it is better if you take a few weeks off, with pay of course, to make sure these changes are safe for you. You're letting us study you; it's the least I can do. I can use temporary nurses from the service I used before I hired you."

I hugged Isiah and Ahsran before we left and we made plans to meet soon at my apartment so Isiah could get his piano. My mate was quiet as we walked through the halls and down to the parking lot. Once we started driving, I expected Dav to relax, but he didn't.

"Chinese sound good? I have the number on my cell; we could pick up a take-out order and then eat back at my place."

"Fine," Dav said. He kept his eyes on the road, never looking over at me and both hands stayed on the wheel.

I sighed but let it go so I could call in our order. The silence was not comfortable during the drive, but I hesitated to break it until we were somewhere private. He would tell me why he shut himself away from the bond, though. I led the way into my apartment, carrying the bag with our white take out boxes. I set them down on the table in the kitchen and then turned around.

My stomach was a bundle of knots but I thought he might be hungry too. I was suppressing my need to ask him what the hell was going on; he looked so tense. Even with everything going on, I couldn't help but admire the long, lean length of him of him.

"Do you want forks?" Dav was so graceful and elegant; watching him eat with chopsticks was arousing for me. Thankfully, I really liked Chinese food because I would be tempted to order it just to watch him eat even if I didn't.

"I'm not really hungry." Dav stood across the room from me, leaning against the breakfast bar. I sighed and put down the plates I'd grabbed so that I could walk over to him. I grabbed him by the hand and then pulled him over to the couch. He resisted but finally sat down next to me when I refused to stop tugging on his arm.

"Talk to me."

Dav's eyes roved around the room. I waited as he avoided looking at me, waited for him to speak. When the silence went unbroken I decided to play dirty.

"Are you disgusted by me now? Do you think I'm some sort of freak? Is that is why you pulled away from our bond and won't look at me?"

Dav's eyes snapped to my face. "What? No! Of course I don't think that."

I took a deep breath. "Then what is wrong? Talk to me. You promised that we would be okay, no matter what. Was that all a lie?" I refused to pull any punches; I would do whatever it took to keep Dav from trying to put distance between us.

I was just about to snap when he finally spoke. "You heard the doctor. I bit you; I made you my mate, and because of that you will become what I am."

I narrowed my eyes. That was why he rejected our bond and closed himself off from me? "What you are is fucking perfect to me!" I said. "Is this more of the whole, Snakes are dangerous and not to be trusted, issue?"

Dav pulled away from me and stood up, pacing back and forth across the living room floor angrily. His hand came down hard on the piano and the discordant notes made me wince.

"Of course it is! You don't know what it is like; how people treat you. I don't want that for you; I never would want you to face that sort of hatred. Being a Snake means being alone and cut off from everyone. It is dangerous."