Evolution

Evolution: Chapter 33

Anders will die, but it will take a while.

Members of Sloane's elite squad of trained nurses ushered us away from the chaos. Even a distance couldn't get the smell of poison from my nose. It hung thicker in the air now, maybe even deadlier than before.

"Nice of you to join us again." Tyrion commented, sitting a few inches away from me. His arm hung off the back of the bench, "Take it you're feeling better now."

Freddie paced back and forth in front of us, his mind a mess of emotions. My arms hung loosely around my knees, "I'm getting there." I admitted, sitting on the ground in front of the bench.

"Your scent has changed."

"It's because of the cycle." I explained, Tyrion's brows furrowed in question, "When I was a pup, I got sick. It's why Ripper ran with me, he administered my Cycles whilst I was sick; but he didn't have time to give me all of it."

Tyrion turned his head towards me, "You mean the ones we got to boost our immune systems, and all that?" He questioned, then at my nod he made a noise of understanding, "You never went through the transitioning stage."

"Ripper calls it metamorphosis," I shrugged, linking my fingers together. My head turned towards the human colony, "Hurt like hell."

A jolt racked my body when his hand slid over my shoulder, comfortingly, "I should have known." His voice was apologetic, "I knew there was something off, and I chose to ignore it."

"I didn't ask for help, Tyrion." I reminded him, leaning my head down. Letting my cheek rest against his knuckles, "You can't expect help if you don't ask for it."

The dust settled over the dispute between us, packing it into the past and closing its door. Making there one less thing for us to worry about, and it felt like I could finally breathe again. All this time, I'd been worried to face them.

I never thought of how much I missed them.

Freddie suddenly let out a choked noise, dropping down beside me with stained features. Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply, "You're such a dick head for cutting us off," He announced to me, and I glared at him, "My Handler might be dead any minute; that gives me a pass."

"I had to deal with it by myself-"

"With your pack!" Freddie cut in, giving me a severe look, "You never stopped pushing Theo when it was him! And- and if Anders does die, then I don't want you to let me isolate myself."

My lips pressed shut, I felt annoyance flare in me, "Anders won't die." I deadpanned, although an hour had passed and there had been no word, "He want's that beer too bad."

It was better than the cold truth.

"We would have left you alone," Tyrion chided, not bothering to hide his disapproval, "But you chose to cut us off. We didn't even know if you were okay, Selene. You have no idea of the mess you left behind."

Guilt pressed through me. I knew they would have left me alone, we respected each other like that, but I don't regret doing it, "I just had Zero digging around my head like it was a gold mine," I reminded them, my tone snippy, "I needed to be alone for a second, really alone."

"You don't ever think we need a minute to be alone?" Tyrion's tone wasn't angry, just pushy. Like he was trying to get me to see from his side, "We know Zero messed your head up, I get that you needed to be alone."

"-But you didn't give us any warning!" Freddie jumped in, giving me a pointed look, "You just went dark; you were gone. Scared the shit out of us!"