Allison swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. “I’m sorry. I don’t feel that way about you.”

“I’m aware.” His gaze cooled. “Don’t feel guilty. I am not in love with you but I easily could be. Your detachment has reminded me daily that the desire isn’t mutual. I am rational, in control of my body and thoughts. You needed to be told the truth to stop you from making a mistake that would endanger one of our females.”

“Okay.”

He turned. “I will bathe him now. Please close the door, Doc Allison.”

She fled quickly. She’d had no idea the nurse was attracted to her. She leaned against the wall down the hallway near the elevator. 880 would die if something wasn’t done.

She’d grown to know his features so well and they haunted her. He’d suffered greatly for the scars he carried on his face, neck, and upper body. At some point he’d been whipped. Whoever had done it to him had been vicious. The fact that no one from the facilities had ever seen him or picked up his scent off any of the technicians stumped her.

Mercile employees had stolen him when they’d fled the facility. He had to have been there somewhere, perhaps on some floor where others weren’t kept. He’d obviously never had any breeding tests done with any of the females since none of them knew him.

Who are you? What did they do to you? And how did you end up mated to a New Species female? She chewed her bottom lip, realized she was once again doing it and stopped. It was a bad habit of hers.

Whoever that Species woman had been, 880 was willing to give up his life over her loss. That had to mean he must have loved her deeply. A cold-blooded soul wouldn’t grieve. She believed with all her heart he was worth saving.

“Feral, my ass.” She pushed away from the wall while waiting for the elevator to take her one floor higher. She closed her office door and collapsed into her seat when she got there.

She finally admitted she was obsessed with the New Species male. Drawn to him. 880 needed to be saved and she wasn’t about to let him die. She was more than willing to do it for him if he couldn’t fight to return to life on his own.

She reached for her phone and dialed the NSO main offices to ask to speak to Tiger. She hoped the kindhearted male would agree to her plan. He patiently listened as she explained her idea but quickly shot it down.

“It’s too dangerous. We can’t find any Species who knows his scent or his face.” He paused. “We’ve interviewed some of the Mercile employees who have been captured and they said that a handful of our kind were assigned to special projects. We have no idea what was done to them but I assume it had to be pretty bad. We’re guessing, and that’s all we are, that they wanted to see the long-term effects of putting a couple together. They wanted us to breed for them and a few of the doctors theorized a long-term relationship might get those results. There is also the possibility that he was severely tortured. Mercile tested pain medications, according to some of the records we were able to recover. That would mean he could have suffered years of agony if they experimented on him.”

“We can’t just allow him to die. He’ll lie there until his body wastes away if we continue our current methods of treating him. It’s not enough just to feed him and keep him clean.”

“I understand but we’ve done all we can. We have faith in you and the other doctors that you’re all doing your best. Since there are no medical reasons for the coma, he has probably just emotionally shut down.”

“I think this could work if that’s the case. He’ll form a bond with someone and it might draw him out of his coma.”

“It’s too dangerous. We won’t risk any of our females on an unknown male. I know that sounds harsh but the bottom line is protecting the ones who survived.”

“He’s not dead.” He would be if something wasn’t done soon but she kept that to herself. She’d sent reports to Justice and his people every few days. They knew how grim the outlook was for 880. “What if I volunteer? I’ll spend a lot of time with him and allow him to get to know my scent. That won’t put your women at risk.”

“No.”

“Why not? It’s my ass on the line and I’m willing to do it. It won’t interfere with my duties. I’ll set up a cot inside his room and kind of move in there when I’m not working. I’ll read to him and get him used to my voice too.”

“You’re human. He will probably kill you on sight if he wakes. We won’t allow you to put yourself in that kind of danger. You work for us, Allison. We care what happens to you just as much as if you were one of our own.”

“He’s going to die!” Her temper snapped. “I can’t just do nothing, damn it. That’s what you’re asking me to do. He’s hitting a point where there’s going to be no return. Even with PT, his muscles are starting to atrophy, he’s lost weight, and it’s only a matter of time before his internal organs begin to fail. You hired me to be a doctor and treat New Species. Don’t tell me to sit on my ass and just watch this go down.”

“I’m sorry but it’s not up for debate. Do what you can safely but you aren’t to spend more time with the male than when you run required tests.”

“Tiger—”

“No. I have to go. There is a council meeting I must attend.” He hung up.

She clutched the dead phone for long seconds before hanging up too. Her teeth dug painfully into her bottom lip while she decided to refuse to allow 880 to waste away.