“Yes.”

“What exactly is involved with a mating? Maybe that’s the answer.”

“You know as much as I do.”

“I know that men choose a woman and they are loyal to her once they decide she is it for them. I know they get loud during sex and are extremely protective but what are the physical symptoms?”

He hesitated. “We scent imprint our females.”

“So you smell a woman and know she’s the one for you?”

“No.” He faced her. “Our feelings become involved. We spend a lot of time with them and become addicted to their scent.”

“You rely heavily on your senses.”

“Yes.”

Allison chewed on her bottom lip again, thinking. A crazy thought came to her. “What if we got him interested in a new scent?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean what if he learned a new female scent? He’s breathing through his nose and he’s got to be partially aware since there’s brain activity. If he shut down because he lost one woman, maybe he’d wake for another one.”

Destiny frowned. “I don’t think it would work.”

Her gaze lingered on her patient. “Do we really have anything to lose?”

“We’d have to find a female to spend a lot of time in his room.” He shook his head. “None of our women would do it. What if it worked and he woke?”

“We’d get him therapy if his mind is fractured. He’d at least be talking and alert. We can work with that.” Her hand lifted and she waved in the direction of the bed. “Right now we can’t do anything but keep him alive.”

“Mating is not just about scent.”

“When you bathe him does his body respond at all?”

“I don’t understand.”

She hesitated, not sure how to broach the subject so just decided to be blunt. “Does he get an erection?”

Shock widened his dark eyes. “No. You are referring to his dick?”

“Yes. I assume you clean him there and have to touch him. Does he respond to stimuli in that region?”

“No.”

“Maybe he knows you’re male.”

Destiny frowned. “I don’t fondle him.”

She smiled. “I didn’t think you did.”

He wasn’t amused.

“What’s the worst that could happen if we brought in a woman?”

His features hardened. “You’d risk him becoming addicted to a female’s scent and he could attempt to claim her if that were to happen. Our females don’t want to be mated. It would be cruel to have him wake for something he can’t have.”

“He’d be awake at least. Alive.”

“No.”

“I think I’ll run this by Tiger or Justice.”

“Don’t. It is a bad idea. You don’t understand Species if this is something you truly wish to consider. He could wake feral too and become violent with one of our females. Nothing is worth taking that risk.”

“He’s chained down. I still think that’s unnecessary.” She glanced at the restraints attached to her patient’s wrists and ankles. “He hasn’t stirred since he was flown in.”

“He may wake on his own.”

“He may lie there until his body gives out. He’s lost weight. The only reason he’s survived this long is because of his hybrid genetics.”

Destiny’s broad shoulders shrugged. “He will either wake or he won’t. We tend to him, do our best, and have given him a chance at survival. It’s all any of us could ask for. No female will put her life at risk to wake this one. He isn’t familiar from the facilities any of them came from and we know nothing about him.”

“He’s New Species.”

“That is evident from his features and his blood tests but no one knows him. He never touched any of the females and they won’t feel compelled to risk being mated or stalked by him if he were to want them enough to come out of his deep sleep.”

“It would be worth it if it brought him around. We’ll just explain why we did it and it’s not as though he’ll know her personally to feel emotions. He’ll just be used to her scent.”

“No. You don’t understand.”

“So explain it to me.”

Destiny suddenly moved and it scared her when he invaded her personal space. He halted inches away from her. His gaze narrowed. “I smell you every day I work with you. I have adjusted to your scent but I tend to miss it when I leave.” His gaze left hers to slowly wander down her body. “I know it means nothing, that our close contact is unavoidable if I’m to learn nursing, but that doesn’t stop my body from reacting to you. I’m hard, Alli. Do you want to talk about erections?”

Her jaw dropped and she backed up fast enough to slam against the door. She didn’t overlook the fact that he’d called her by her shortened name either. Destiny didn’t move but his lips parted enough to flash his sharp canines—a benefit from the animal DNA.

“I know you aren’t interested and I would never cross that line. I’ve never scented arousal on you but I am very aware of your every movement. I think often of stripping you bare to show you how I could be your male.” He took a step back. “I am logical, calm, and have been free for a long time.” He glanced at their patient before his gaze held hers. “I wouldn’t have shown any restraint when I was first released if I had these desires. You’d be flat on your back under me and your clothes gone from between us. I’d make you want me as much as I do you.” He took a deep breath and released it slowly. “I don’t mean to frighten you but you must understand that is the nature of Species. Never forget that, regardless of how civil we seem. Any female you used to bait him to struggle to survive would be at his mercy. He has no restraint, no calm, and she would find herself with one aggressive male who would demand nothing less than what he wanted from her. He isn’t safe.”