"What have I done?" Dron groaned as he paced back and forth in front of Tempest’s bed with her limp body still in his arms.

When he walked out of the room after leaving her to nest on her own, he thought that was going to be the end of it. Then the crying started.

Dron tried to ignore it. He tried to convince himself that it was of no matter to him, but when Tempest started calling out for someone to help her he couldn’t ignore her any longer.

It nearly brought him to his knees when he walked into her room to see her in such a state. Her beautiful face was splotched red and tears streamed down her cheeks. The arid wind blew her beautiful hair around her shoulders, strands sticking to her wet face.

He couldn’t take it.

Dron knew he shouldn’t have gone in her room, shouldn’t have touched her. It was against the rules, but if there was anything that he learned in the short time that he’d been with Tempest, it was that the rules weren’t exactly as he knew them to be.

Dron slowly lowered her into the large bed. Her breathing was uneven. Her breaths hitching every so often. Even asleep, the sorrow and pain she had been feeling before were still evident.

Dron backed up not knowing what to do. Should he leave her to herself? No. He couldn’t do that. There was no way that he could leave her on her own now after he’d gotten her in such a state.

He turned his wrist over and activated his communication device. He stared at it for a long moment.

Who would he call? It wasn’t like Dron was chummy with anyone in the community. In fact, he doubted that he had anyone’s number besides the other members of his military company, and it was only because that was protocol.

Dron groaned again and leaned forward in the chair. He sipped in a breath and held it as Tempest whimpered again and turned over in the bed.

Dron stood again, this time going over to where Tempest was laying.

The sweat continued to drip off her forehead, and her breathing had yet to even out.

Was this normal for a human?

Dron had no idea.

What if he left her like this and she was ill? Had the life nectar not taken hold as it should’ve?

He had a million and one questions but no one to answer them.

At least no one he wanted to call at the moment.

Another whimper exited Tempest’s mouth, and Dron jumped out of the chair, rushing to her side. He used the edge of his sleeve to dab at the sweat that had accumulated on her brow.

"Come on, Tempest. Don’t give up on me." He looked down on her grimacing face and the worry nearly caused him to rip the skin off his face. "It won’t be that bad. I promise you. You’ll be safe. I’m not who you should be with, but I promise you that I’ll..." Dron grumbled and pushed away from the bed while wrenching his fingers through his hair.

He wanted to promise her the world. Wanted to promise her that she’d have everything he never had but he knew that wasn’t possible.

How could he give her something he’d never experienced?

He could only give her all the things he’d never received but he’d always wanted.

Dron took a breath and leaned back down over the bed so he was leaning right over her. "I promise that I will accept you, I will strengthen you when you feel weak, I’ll be by your side until you send me away. I promise to protect you from everyone even myself. I promise to be the alpha you need even though I’m not the one you deserve. Just come back to me...please." His voice was softer at the end. He reached forward and for the first time he laid his hand on the goddess of a woman. He brushed his fingertips across her cheek bone.

A feather light touch.

She was so fragile, yet deep down Dron knew she was strong. He thought about her circumstances. If what she and Mexyn had said was true that this small woman was stronger than most of the soldiers he’d gone into battle with.

Tempest didn’t wake.

Dron was truly at a loss, and the longer she stayed sleeping, the more worried he got. Finally, when he couldn’t take it anymore, he pulled up his communicator and navigated to the one man who might be able to help him. At least it was his duty to make sure the Omega was in good shape.

The hologram buzzed once as the call tried to connect. A moment later Gerax answered the call.

"Dron?" The beta male’s eyes scrunched up for a second before anger descended on his face, "What have you done?" Gerax barked at Dron.

It wasn’t normal for an alpha to be submissive to a beta, so just hearing the man talking down to him like this was enough to put Dron on edge.

"I’ve done nothing." Dron said in his own defense. At least he didn’t know if he’d actively done anything. Truly it was him who had gotten Tempest so upset, but he didn’t harm her physically, so to speak.

"Then why are you calling if there is nothing wrong?" Gerax questioned.

"There is something wrong... or there may be something wrong. I’m not sure." Dron admitted.

"What? I don’t understand. Just start from the beginning."

Dron did just that, he told Gerax all about the discussion he and Tempest had.

"I don’t see how that would distress her to the point of illness." Gerax spoke, and it did nothing to ease his worry. Tempest was still resting uneasily. She was still moaning and groaning, restless.

"So what do I do? How do I fix her?"

Gerax pressed a finger to the side of his mouth as if he were deep in thought. "I think you’re just going to have to be patient while she goes through her process."

"Are you sure she will pull through?"

"Have you checked her vitals?" Gerax asked.

Dron grunted and looked over at Tempest once again, "I didn’t. I didn’t think it wise for me to get too close." The truth of the matter was Dron would love to get close to Tempest. He was telling the truth when he told her that she was a great temptation. In fact, she was one of the biggest temptations . Dron knew he should stay away from Tempest, but it was getting harder and harder. The fingertips he used to graze her face tingled in memory of the feel of her.

"Dron, you need to listen to me. Hear me well." Gerax took a breath before he continued. "Tempest is the only human who has made it past transcendence, the only human who has made it this far in the process. Everyone is watching you and this union. I will admit when she first chose you, I was worried that it was the wrong decision, but now that I’ve had some time to think about it, I believe that there is no better choice."

Dron’s eyebrows shot up. He didn’t expect the usually stoic man to give him any words of encouragement.

"I don’t know how to...she’s so different."

Gerax jerked his shoulders up in agreement, "I agree. It will be a challenge. For sure. The woman is trying but if there is anyone in all of Ustea who is more equipped to handle trying situations."

Dron didn’t want to seem too needy, but getting this assurance from Gerax was like taking a weight off his shoulders.

"Can I reach out to you if I have more questions?"

"I’d appreciate if you did. This experiment is as much a test for me as it is for you. If this fails, I’m in a bad place right along with you."

It shouldn’t make Dron feel better that he wouldn’t be the only one judged, but he did.

"Alright, I’ll let you know if anything changes." Dron nodded his head. It was so instinctual to incorporate the new gesture.

"Good to hear. Let me know if anything changes. I’ll send you an update so you can track the omega’s vitals. If her vitals drop to a negative level, it’ll alert both you and me. Keep steady, Dron." With that, Gerax disconnected.

Dron wiped a hand down his face and walked back over to where Tempest was resting. A ping on his wrist device let him know that Gerax had sent over the update. He pulled it up on the holographic screen and angled it so Tempest was in the view.

Quickly, the device monitored her, and it showed her vitals to be within range.

Dron heaved a sigh of relief. She was okay.

There was no way he would go to sleep now. How could he rest when she was here in distress.

No, he’d stay by her side.

He just had to make sure he didn’t fall for the woman. That wasn’t part of the plan. It would be his hardest battle yet.