Page 26 of Anatomy of the Immortal Species

He knew the fewer provocations he offered the wolf, the easier it was to control. The wolf thrived on aggression, and in the morgue, there was no food for it. Corpses had no emotions. Among them, Viktor felt safe.

“Alex, let’s talk another time. I’m busy,” he rebuffed her, like he did every time he sensed he was about to confess everything.

Her features sharpened. “Viktor, I need to tell you something…”

The way she trailed off made him brace himself – and the wolf. They were sure now Alex would try to provoke them with one of her quirks. Like when she’d declared she would join Zacharia’s guards. Or when she’d decided two weeks ago to enrol in a human university to study medicine. Both ventures had ended the moment Viktor had given his consent because, for Alex, it mattered more to actagainsthis wishes than with his blessing.

“Mikhail Korovin arrived just now, clinically dead. They’ve got him in the Trauma Bay. Nyavolski’s with him,” she said.

It took a few seconds to process her words. Once he did, Viktor threw the scalpel onto the table and bolted for the door. “Whydidn’t you tell me immediately, damn it?!”

He sprinted down the hallway to the nearest lift. The wolf was strumming the most painful strings of his soul, delighted to feed on more suffering before it destroyed him.

Alex ran after him. “Because I was afraid of how you’d react… I wasn’t sure you could handle it. I wanted to make sure you were stable first…”

My God!She probably knew about Vaka Hara. Or at least suspected…

Viktor didn’t wait for the lift, he dashed down the stairs, not giving a damn about the blood and secretions on his dirty clothes, nor about the wolf screaming in his head.

Death, death, death, death, death!

Mikhail was the only creature in the world who knew what Vaka Hara held for Viktor. What had pushed him into it that first time. The strength needed to pull him out. What could plunge him back in.It was a relief to have someone who knew you weren’t insane just because youwereinsane. That you hadn’t lost control because you were too weak. Someone who understood there was a reason for all your madness, but it was too painful to retell.

Time to say goodbye, pup!

Viktor charged through the emergency department corridor until he reached Trauma Bay’s closed doors. A crowd of people blocked the way inside. Viktor rudely pushed anyone unfortunate enough to be there at that moment and burst in.

The room was empty. The floor and couch were covered in a disturbing amount of blood. He returned to the corridor and grabbed an unknown man by the elbow. “What happened to Mikhail?!”

“Viktor, you’re hurting him!” Alex intervened.

He gripped the stranger’s elbow even tighter. “Tell me what happened!”

“He’s alive. They said they’re taking him to surgery.” The man tried to wriggle his elbow free.

He’s alive.

“He’s alive,” Viktor repeated.

“I was sure he was too tough to die from a mere bleed,” Alex attempted to joke. “Are you okay, Viktor?”

He finally released the stranger’s arm. “I’m fine. I’m going to the operating rooms to find out what the hell is going on.”

8

The drive to the Hospital’s emergency tunnel, then to the Trauma Bay, was a haze. Amelia hung on to Mikhail’s body, hand still pressed into his wound, her mind lost in a whirlwind of emotions. No outside movement registered. Then Zacharia was pushing her aside with a firm but steady grip, and some people in medical attire were transferring Mikhail’s body onto a gurney, while his blood dripped from her fingers.

“Poison! There must be poison in him!” she shouted, emerging from her stupor. There was no other explanation for his critical state. He was an immortal, the strongest man she had met. He couldn’t die of such a wound…

She was losing it, but couldn’t stop herself. As a medical student, she had seen plenty of blood and dreamed of becoming a surgeon. But what had happened in the car with Mikhail was nothing like surgery in an operating room. There was no sterility, no plan, no instruments – only her bare fingers into an open cut.

And fear – too much fear.

She wasn’t supposed to experience such deep fear for someone she didn’t want in her life any longer than necessary, nor to feel as if a part of her died when Mikhail’s heart stopped.Herheart shouldn’t have any fragments left that could still break.

Yet, when they cut his clothes and performed defibrillation, her own heartbeats ceased.

The first electric shock didn’t restore his heart’s rhythm. Then, the doors burst open, Nyavolski rushing in, shouting words shewasn’t able to comprehend. A second electric shock followed, and she clutched her hands, nails digging into her palms, while she waited for the sound of Mikhail’s heart.