Page 4 of A Mate For Matrix (Cyborg Protection Unit #1)

“You know, for something that has been run over by an eighteen-wheeler, you sure look like you’re in pretty good shape to me,” Jana murmured with a shake of her head.

“I’m sure the doc would’ve ordered some x-rays though, just to make sure you don’t have any broken bones.

I’m really amazed that you aren’t covered in blood. ”

Jana rested her hand on the side of the poor animal. The dog did resemble a wolf, but must be mixed with another breed because its coloring differed from a wolf’s. The fur seemed almost blue instead of black, and the muzzle had silver in it.

“I guess I could call Doc Evans to come out and pick you up,” she murmured, still stroking the soft fur. “I wish there was more I could do. Except for the kittens, it’s just me here. Old Doc Wilson won’t be back for a while.”

A startled squeak escaped Jana when the dog’s eyes suddenly opened and it lifted its head to stare directly into her eyes.

Unsure of whether it would attack her or not, Jana slowly pulled her hand away from its side.

When the dog’s head turned, following her movements, she froze.

From the intense look in the dog’s eyes, she decided it wouldn’t matter if she could pick it up or not, because it might be her bloody corpse the doc found when he returned.

“Bad thoughts, Jana. Bad, bad thoughts. Uh, not you. You aren’t bad.

Good boy, or girl, or whatever you are,” she whispered, stepping backwards.

Her hand fumbled for the pocket door to the room.

Another soft groan escaped her when she realized that this was the room with the sticky door.

“I won’t hurt you. I…” she continued to whisper as she fumbled for the small latch.

“Darn it!” she snapped under her breath when it refused to move.

Jana froze again when the dog slowly pushed up into a sitting position. Her head began shaking back and forth in denial. This was not good, not good at all. Jana didn’t think the situation could get any worse until a flash of fur swept past her.

“Meow… Meow….”

A choked cry of horror escaped Jana when she heard the soft meows of the three mischievous kittens. She’d forgotten she had let them out to play earlier. Her head turned just as the wolf-dog’s massive one did.

They both stared at the tiny golden kitten that rubbed along the door frame leading to the hallway where the lab station, surgical unit, and the empty kennels were located. Less than a second later, another tumbling ball of gray fur bounced into the room, oblivious to the danger.

The kittens were Jana’s pride and joy. She had syringe-fed them after they were abandoned in a pillowcase on the doorstep of the office when they were barely a day old.

That had been over six weeks ago. Originally, there had been seven kittens, but four of them hadn’t made it. These three were Jana’s babies.

“No!” Jana cried out when the massive canine stood up and jumped off the table.

She scrambled forward, trying to catch the two kittens. Honeybun and Biscuit immediately took off in opposite directions inside the room. Jana lost her balance when she tried to grab them and ended up doing a face plant on the slippery floor.

She muttered a curse, and her head jerked up just in time to come nose to nose with Butter. The blue-eyed, cream-colored kitten stared at her for a moment before raising one tiny paw and swiping at the stubborn lock of Jana’s hair that kept coming loose.

At the sound of nails on the tile, Jana frantically glanced over her shoulder.

Her eyes widened when she saw that the massive dog was now standing just a foot from where she was lying.

The wolf-dog watched her with intense, gray eyes filled with curiosity.

Rolling over and sitting up, she scooped Butter into her arms and scooted back along the shiny floor.

She stopped when she felt her back hit the doorframe behind her.

Her gaze remained focused on the unusual dark gray eyes of the dog.

“Good…” She leaned just far enough to the side to confirm the sex of the dog, “Good boy,” Jana whispered. “Please… Please don’t eat us.”

Jana jumped when the dog sneezed and shook his head.

He glanced over his shoulder toward the cabinet.

Her gaze followed his, and she released a silent prayer for Honeybun and Biscuit to remain under it.

That thought died when the dog—wolf—whatever it was, turned his attention back to her.

Jana smothered a cry when he stepped closer and pressed his nose to her cheek.

“Please… Good boy,” she choked out in a trembling voice, her eyes closing as she turned her head away. “Don’t eat us. We would taste really terrible.”

“Meow,” Butter agreed.

K-Nine studied the creatures sitting against the wall.

He sneezed and shook his head to test his communications system.

The impact with the strange metal transport must have damaged it.

There had been some difficulty rebooting his system at first, but his internal repair bots were now working to correct the damage.

He quickly scanned the two life forms sitting in front of him.

Neither form activated his internal warning system.

Leaning forward, he stretched so he could touch his nose to the soft skin of the female.

Data poured into his system, but he couldn’t process all of it at the moment.

The readings defied classification—unquantifiable warmth, elevated endorphin markers, and unfamiliar chemical signals he could only label as… comfort.

Taking a step back, he sat down and drew in a deep breath.

This time, he accessed his natural sense of smell instead of his enhanced processors.

Massive amounts of information flooded him.

The smell of antiseptic cleansers, the faint traces of a variety of different species, and the heavy smell of the male who had carried him in swept through him.

K-Nine tilted his head and studied the figures in front of him once again.

His ears twitched, following sounds from the other two life forms now hidden under the cabinet.

They posed no threat to him. His gaze moved over to the small ball of fur struggling to get free from the larger life form.

Curious, he lowered his head and pushed his nose toward it.

The small life form stretched forward and pressed a minuscule nose to his, then ran a tiny, sandpaper tongue across the sensor embedded in the tip. K-Nine released a surprised sneeze.

Jerking back, he blinked at the ball of fur before transferring his attention to the other life form. A surprising feeling of warmth coursed through him. The only other times K-Nine felt this sense of comfort were with his partner, Matrix.

“You… You’re not going to hurt us, are you? You’re such a beautiful dog,” the creature murmured in a soothing voice.

K-Nine’s gaze followed the female when she carefully lowered the bundle in her arms. His head swiveled to track the tiny form as it darted away, disappearing under the cabinet with the other two.

The low hissing from the creatures as they played made him want to see what they were doing. He was about to rise when pleasure swept through him. The female was stroking his side.

His head turned back, and a pleased rumble escaped him.

When she started scratching under his right shoulder, his body melted down to the floor and he rolled onto his side, lifting his front paw.

The low rumble of pleasure escaped him again, and his back leg started twitching when she scratched a little harder.

Pure bliss engulfed him, and his eyes closed. Good, yes, more, he thought blissfully. I will keep this creature. It will make a good pet.

His sensory processors were still glitchy, but one truth cut through the static: he didn’t want to leave. The female’s touch activated subroutines he hadn’t known existed—ones that spoke of comfort, loyalty… pack.

His comm system was still offline, but K-Nine barely noticed. It was likely a minor defect because of his injuries.

Matrix would find him soon enough. Matrix would probably be mad at him for chasing that small, gray creature with the long fluffy tail.

He would have caught it too, if it hadn’t taken to the trees—and if he hadn’t been hit by the large transport when he’d darted across the road.

The collision had definitely taken him by surprise.

“You’re just a big baby, aren’t you, boy?” the female crooned in a husky voice that caused K-Nine’s ears to twitch in pleasure.

Another low groan escaped him. His eyes started to close again until he felt something crawling on him—correction... several somethings. Forcing his head up, he blinked sleepily at the gray creature struggling to climb up onto his side. The female’s fingers moved to scratch behind his ear.

“That’s Biscuit. The golden one is Honeybun, and the cream-colored one is Butter. I’m Jana,” she added with a sheepish grimace. “That’s what happens when I’m hungry. I name things after food. They are my babies, so you have to be nice and not eat them.”

K-Nine watched as the golden one sniffed at him, jerking back several times before tentatively stretching forward again. His gaze moved to the third one. Butter was swiping at his tail.

Curious, he moved the tip. The small kitten jumped backwards, staring at it. Moving it again, he waited to see what would happen. Almost immediately, the cream-colored fur ball pounced on it with a low hiss.

“Oh no,” Jana breathed, torn between terror and hysterical laughter. “He’s got a toy now. A sentient, tail-chasing, kitten-wrangling toy.”

A soft snort escaped him. He blinked in fascination as the kitten sneezed, then shook its tiny head as if it had rebooted. He wondered if the tiny creature was trying to process the information it was receiving.

“Honeybun, no baby! That’s not a nipple,” the woman exclaimed with a reproving laugh when the kitten tried to push under his back leg.

K-Nine quickly shifted his leg and released a soft, startled woof. Honeybun ignored him and simply tried to climb up onto his side to join her brother. Allowing his head to fall back, K-Nine decided that if he had to be out of commission for a while, this was as good a place as any.

Matrix will find me, K-Nine thought with a contented grunt and twitched his ear when Biscuit nipped at it. Eventually.