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An hour later, Jenna was seated on an examination table in the infirmary, having submitted to a fresh round of blood tests and tissue samples at Gideon's request. She had been shocked to see the small dermaglyph that covered the incision location of the Ancient's implant, though perhaps no more shocked than the rest of the compound's residents.
Everyone had come to look at the silver dollar-size skin marking hidden underneath the fall of her hair. Though no one had voiced their speculation out loud, Jenna could tell that each of them was concerned for her, if uncertain what this new development might mean to her in the long term.
Now they had all gone from the room except Brock, who stood at her side, grim faced and quiet in his black shirt and dark jeans. Jenna didn't have much to say, either, glancing up anxiously as the Order's resident genius drew one final vial of blood from her arm.
"You're still feeling good, you say?" Gideon prompted, looking at her over the tops of his rimless sky blue shades. "You haven't noticed any other markings on your body? No physical or systemic changes since we last spoke?"
Jenna shook her head. "Nothing."
Gideon slid a glance at Brock before looking back at her. "What about other body functions? Have you noticed any changes in your digestive system? Any changes in your appetite, or lack of interest in food?"
She shrugged. "Nope. I eat like a horse, and always have."
That seemed to relieve him somewhat. "So, no strange cravings when it comes to hunger or thirst?"
A flash of heat washed through her when she lifted her gaze to Brock.
The bite marks she'd left on him were gone now, but she vividly recalled the need that had lived inside her when she'd set her teeth into his flesh during their lovemaking. She had craved him with a thirst she could hardly fathom, let alone explain.
And now she wondered ...
"I, um, if you're talking about blood," she murmured, embarrassed by the way her face flamed when Brock's dark eyes stayed rooted on her. "I have had certain ... cravings."
Gideon's blond brows rose in surprise an instant before his attention drifted to Brock. "You mean, the two of you--"
"I bit him," Jenna blurted. "Last night, and a few nights ago, too. I couldn't help it."
"Well, f**k me," Gideon said, not even trying to hide his amusement over realizing she and Brock were intimately involved. "And what about you, my man? Have you drunk from her, too?"
"A few hours ago," Brock replied, giving a grim nod but looking anything but repentant when his gaze latched back on to hers. "It was incredible, but I know where you're heading with this, Gideon, and I can tell you that her blood is pure Homo sapiens red cells."
"No bloodscent?"
Brock shook his head. "Just coppery hemoglobin. She's human."
"Except in addition to the DNA replications we found in her last sample results and the other things she's mentioned, Jenna now also has a glyph. " The warrior ran his fingers through the short, disheveled spikes of his golden hair. "There's something else, too."
When he looked at Jenna, there was an anxiety in his expression that she'd never seen before. He appeared unsure of what he intended to say, and for a man who seemed to have answers for every problem imaginable, his uncertainty right now was downright alarming.
"Tell me, Gideon."
Brock came closer and took her hand in his. "Shit, Gideon. What else have you found?"
The other warrior was frowning, mouth pursed in thought. "There is some kind of energy reading that seems to be associated with the implant ...
an emission of some sort."
"What the hell does that mean?" Brock asked, his fingers tightening around hers.
Gideon shrugged. "It's nothing I've been able to capture with any of my equipment, so I can't tell you what it might actually be. It's advanced technology, far more advanced than anything I have here. Probably more advanced than anything we have on this planet. My guess is, this energy emission is integral to the implant itself."
Jenna brought her free hand up to the back of her neck, feeling the slightly raised outline of the glyph's arcs and curves. "Do you think the energy is just an indicator that the implant is active inside me?"
"It could be as simple as that, yes."
She watched him speak, noting that he still wore the same look of caution and gravity. "It could be that simple, but you don't think so, right?"
He reached out and lightly touched her shoulder. "We're going to keep looking for the answers, I give you my word."
Brock nodded soberly at his comrade before wrapping his arm protectively around Jenna. "Thanks, my man."
Gideon's smile was brief as he glanced at the both of them. "I'll go run these samples and bring you the results as soon as I have them."
He pivoted to head for the door, at the same time the heavy clip of boot heels approached from the corridor outside. Kade appeared there, his keen silver eyes flashing with urgency.
"Harvard just got a call from Mathias Rowan," he announced abruptly. "The Enforcement Agency has a possible lead on Kellan Archer's location."
"What have we got?" Brock asked, his arm still draped around Jenna's shoulders but his demeanor switching instantly to warrior mode.
"There's another witness, apparently. A human living on the streets out in Quincy claims he saw three big SWAT-looking guys hustle a kid into a construction zone down there late last night."
Brock grunted. "This tip came in from a human? Since when is the Agency using homeless Homo sapiens as informants?"