“It is sad to see him this way.” Rusty paused. “I will bring a chair for you to sit on and a blanket to keep you warm. I’ll return shortly. Do not go near the bars.”
“No one is down here with him?” She peered around the dim basement. “Someone should be monitoring him at all times.”
“He’s sleeping and the officer upstairs will hear if he wakes. Moon has been very loud since his attack. Seeing other males sets him off. It’s best if none are within sight or smell.”
It felt odd to be in the scary basement but Joy didn’t protest when Rusty left. She knew it was an irrational fear. The only danger was the sleeping Species male locked behind the bars. She hesitated before slowly approaching until she paused about five feet from his door.
They’d washed Moon’s hair and changed his clothing. He wore black sweatpants and his hair had been spread out above the pillow to dry. Someone had taken the time to brush the long strands and she inched a little closer. No restraints held him now. The slow rise and fall of his bare chest assured her he lived.
“I’m here, Moon.”
He must have heard her because his eyes snapped open. He sat up so fast it startled a gasp from Joy. Moon came off the bed in a fluid motion and his big body slammed into the bars. Long, lean fingers gripped the thick metal as he snarled. His dark gaze narrowed as he stared directly at her, his sharp fangs bared.
“Easy,” she crooned, refusing to back away. He couldn’t reach her.
He sniffed loudly and snarled again.
“It’s Joy. Do you remember me, Moon?”
His eyes narrowed further as he sniffed louder.
“Please remember me.” She held very still. “I’m your friend.”
He suddenly shoved away from the bars and turned to glance around the cell. He lunged at the back wall, hit it with his fists and growled when it didn’t break. He turned, attacked another wall, and Joy feared he’d hurt himself.
“Stop it!”
He jerked his head in her direction and paused.
“Easy,” she whispered. She kicked off her high heels and stepped away from them. She slowly lowered to the floor to sit on the hard surface, hoping he’d see her as less of a threat. “It’s okay, Moon.” Her hands adjusted her skirt to avoid flashing her panties as she crossed her legs to get comfortable. “I’m here with you. You’re not alone.”
He turned to face her, stalked closer and gripped the door. It rattled when he fisted the bars and shook them enough to make the muscles in his arms strain but they wouldn’t give. He sniffed at her again but lowered to his knees.
“That’s it. Remain calm.” She smiled. “You don’t want to break your hands. You’d need a jackhammer to dent the metal or concrete.”
He kept hold of the bars as he pressed his face against them. His intense stare locked on her and she realized that she studied a stranger. Moon’s personality wasn’t there, nor was there any sign that he recognized her. At least, nothing that she could assess. He peered at her as if he didn’t even know what she was. The memory of pinning her to the wall a few hours earlier seemed to have been erased.
“It’s going to be okay. I’m going to somehow help you.”
One of his hands released the metal to slip between the bars as he reached out to her. She wanted to go to him but wasn’t foolish enough to believe it would be safe. Just because he seemed calm didn’t mean he wouldn’t bite the hand she offered or try to rip her arm from the socket.
“I wish I could but you need to talk to me first.”
The elevator doors slid open behind them and Moon jerked his arm inside the bars, stood, and snarled. Joy turned her head to watch Rusty carry a folding chair and blanket closer. A loud howl ripped through the room and she gaped at Moon.
He attacked the bars and slammed his shoulder against them, trying to batter them down. Joy stood and faced the Species woman. “He was calm.”
“Not anymore.” Rusty set down the chair and dropped the blanket on it. “I’ll have them sedate him again before he hurts himself.”
“No, don’t. He was fine until you came.” Joy glanced at Moon again, saw his agitated state as he kept trying to break through the bars, and made a decision. “Leave us alone.”
“I’m supposed to stay here. We’re females and shouldn’t be threatening to him.”
Moon howled again, the sound echoing loudly through the basement. Joy winced. “He was calm until he saw you. Please, Rusty. Go. He’s going to get hurt.”
The woman hesitated. “I’ll wait inside the elevator but close the doors. I’ll remain on this floor. Yell out if you need assistance.”
Rusty spun and jogged away. Joy turned and lowered herself back to the floor.
“Moon?” Her voice softened. “Easy.”
He stopped attacking the bars as soon as the elevator doors closed, panted from his attack on his cell, and glared at her.
“It’s only you and me again. Do you remember? We used to talk a lot.”
He sank to his knees as he calmed. It gave Joy hope that some part of him did remember their sessions and he was on a slow road to recovery.
She couldn’t stand to see him so changed. It was a little petty, she admitted that, but it was upsetting that she’d done the hardest thing of her life by walking away from him only for him to end up locked inside a cell. Regret tore at her as she wondered if somehow things might have been different if she’d thrown ethics out the window, broken all the rules, and fought to remain a part of his life.
Don’t do this
, she ordered herself. She knew better than to play the “what-if” game. Reality was right in front of her. Someone had done something horrific to the man she loved and all she could do was try to help him recover.
Dr. Treadmont was an asshole who wouldn’t listen to reason. Joy struggled to hold her temper in check. “The drugs will only muddle Moon’s mind more. You said you had no idea what was given to him so you also have no idea if tranquilizers will worsen his condition.”
“We had to do it for days before you arrived, Miss Know-It-All.” He shot a frustrated look at Tiger and ran his fingers through his white hair. “We need more blood from Moon to try to isolate what he was injected with. I need to examine him but I can’t do it when he’s ready to kill anyone who goes near him.”
“Agreed.” Tiger sighed.
Joy gave Tiger a murderous glare. “You don’t know if it’s making him worse. He’s confused enough without purposely doing that to him.”
“We need samples.” Treadmont stared at her. “What do you suggest? We open up that door to take them and he’s going to attack. It’s not fair to ask the men to go in there to fight him so we can get him pinned.”
“You want to take them every day. That’s too much for him to handle in his present condition. You can’t drug him every time.” Her fists clenched. “Aren’t you still in charge, Tiger? Think of another way.”
“We don’t know what else to do,” Tiger admitted. “We have to test his blood and we need to take samples daily to check him. That can’t be avoided if we have any hope of finding a cure, if there is one.”
“We’re hoping to nail down what was done to him by coming up with a drug to counteract the effects.” The nurse, Paul, spoke. “It might be his only chance of recovery.”
“Adding tranquilizers into the system every day would harm a healthy person. Think of his mental state as well as his physical one.” Joy refused to back down. “There’s no point in testing him when it’s doing more damage than good.”
The silent New Species male in the corner stepped out of the shadows. “Do you have another idea, Dr. Yards?”
She was intimidated by Justice North—he was a daunting man who headed the NSO. She recognized him from television.
“He’d be better off restrained without the drugs than to constantly have them added to his system. No other chemicals should be introduced into his body until we have some answers. It could hurt him more. Anyone subjected to those levels of sedatives on a daily basis would suffer harmful effects. He’s confused already and you make him lose whatever hold on reality he has every time you knock him out.”
Tiger grumbled in obvious frustration. “I agree with her.”
“Me too.” Justice addressed Dr. Treadmont. “Ted, I’m siding with the shrink on this matter. I want him well again but messing with his mind in the process isn’t acceptable. I’ll have our males go in and pin him down. We’ll restrain him for two days for you to do your tests but I have to let him up after that. That way we’re playing it safe.”
“Two days?” Shock jolted through Joy. “That’s too long. I meant to restrain him only for the tests.”
Justice faced her. “I’ve learned a lot about compromise, Dr. Yards. You should do the same.”
“Call me Joy, please. Having him strapped down isn’t going to be good for his mental health either. Sure, it beats the drugs but that’s a long time to keep him immobile. I shouldn’t have to tell you how negatively any Species would react to that.”
“I have the whole picture to consider. There’s the safety and emotional well-being of my other males. They hate to engage him and there have been injuries. We don’t play around when we fight. Moon is feral and could kill someone. Every Species in contact with the public at the gates could be attacked again by this unknown drug. More males are in danger. Do you understand?” Justice sighed. “Compromise. No drugs but he has to be restrained. I’ll give Ted two days to do whatever tests he thinks are relevant and then we’ll give Moon freedom from the restraints for a few days inside his cell, after which we’ll reevaluate the situation. Hopefully we’ll have answers by then and discover an effective way to heal whatever was done to him.”
Joy hated it but nodded. “Okay.”
“Thank you.” Justice grimly smiled.
“I can be reasonable and I do understand. He is dangerous but I’m trying to do what is best for him.” She wanted him to understand her position.
“That’s why you were brought here. You’re his mental-health advocate. My job is to think of the safety of everyone.” Justice turned to Tiger. “We need to go in there to strap him down. Double his restraints.”
“Shit.” Tiger nodded. “We’re going to have to rig something.” Tears glittered in his eyes. “Something similar to what Mercile did to us so he has some ability to move to at least go to the bathroom. I think keeping him down twenty-four/seven would be the worst thing we could do.”
The tension in the room increased tenfold. Justice nodded sharply. “I agree. Fuck. I want to kill the son of a bitch who shot him with that drug and whoever created it.”
“Stand in line,” Tiger muttered. “I’ll handle whatever needs to be done. Go. You don’t want to see this and I highly suggest you restrict access to him even more. Everyone is going to be upset when they learn what we plan. Have Fury and Harley come. The three of us will work out the issue and set it in motion.”
Justice unbuttoned his jacket and removed it to reveal broad shoulders and a white dress shirt. His tie came off next as he toed off his dress shoes. “I’m staying. I gave the order. I’ll help implement it.”
“Justice…” Tiger frowned.
“Enough.” Justice unbuttoned the top of his shirt. “I’m staying.” He stared at the cell. “We need him flat, not restrained against the wall. That would definitely remind him of Mercile. No automated pulley systems either. The sound of the motors might trigger flashbacks.”
Tiger hesitated. “Agreed. I’m thinking ten-foot ankle chains to give him motion yet keep him clear of the door. We could hook them to the bars at the corners in the back of the cell so they would stop him short. The wrist chains can be longer and attached to the front corners, allowing him access to the back wall area. That will give him free movement in most of the area. Four of us could pull the chains taut and force him down spread-eagle on the floor when they need access to him.”
“That should work.” Justice rolled up his sleeves. “Has he lost any of his strength?”
“Nope. He’s eating plenty and doesn’t seem to feel much pain or he’s too angry to care. He’s tough as hell still.” Tiger pulled out a cell phone. “Let me make those calls.” He spun away, walking to a distant corner.
Justice removed his belt. “I had to do a press conference an hour ago. I hate wearing all these layers of window dressing.”
Joy was nervous around the NSO leader. “I don’t blame you. I hope everything is okay. I haven’t seen the news lately.”
“It’s typical stuff we deal with on a daily basis.” He sighed. “I’m going closer to Moon.”
“I wish you wouldn’t.”
That comment earned her a scowl. “Why?”
“He is calmly watching us but that is going to change if you approach him. I don’t want him to get hurt when he starts hitting things.”
“I’m an alpha figure. I want to see if he responds to that in his current condition.”
“He’s an alpha too.” Joy frowned. “It’s not a good idea but I can’t stop you.”
“Moon is pretty mellow.”
“The Moon you knew before he was drugged probably was but the one I knew wasn’t. He’s reverted completely.” Her gaze lingered on the big male crouched inside his cell, silently regarding them. “He’s relying on pure instinct. He’s not going to back down from you.”
“How can you be so sure?”
She glanced at him. “It’s an educated guess.”