Eric was yelling for help before he made a conscious decision. This wasn't okay. Victor wasn't okay. He passed out in Eric's arms, and Eric laid him on the floor gently, checking to make sure he was still breathing, then ran to the cell gate and grabbed the bars, shaking them, screaming for someone to come help. 

He glanced back at Victor, despairing. He understood Victor's desire to keep things to himself as much as possible, to not put himself more in the control of their captors than he had to, but he was dying. He and the baby needed nutrition, and he wasn't able to keep anything down right now.

Eric couldn't fathom losing Victor. Victor's presence was the only thing keeping him holding on. As long as Victor needed him, he could face each day. Eric had no question that he needed Victor more than Victor needed him. Before this craziness, when Eric had been out in the world alone, he'd been able to face any bump in his path with confidence. But ever since accepting Alpha Williams's proposition to spy on Gecko Labs, everything had fallen to pieces. The only good thing to come out of this was finding Victor and their child, if Eric could keep them safe. Yet another thing he'd been failing. He should have overruled Victor a week or two ago. 

Surely Dr. J had seen how Victor had been deteriorating. Why had he not sent for him on his own? 

Eric gave up screaming when it became clear no one was coming. He came back to Victor who was still out of it. Eric pulled the omega into his arms and cradled him. Tears streamed down his face. If he could have just one thing in this life, if he could just do one good thing, he would release Victor from this prison and deliver him into the hands of someone who could help. 

The main door clicked open and Eric stood with Victor draped in his arms. Dr. J waited outside the cell door. Eric didn't beg any more. Whatever Dr. J would or wouldn't do, he'd already decided. If he was going to make Eric beg, he'd do it. He'd do whatever it took to ensure Victor had whatever safety he could grasp. Eric didn't care about his pride, he just cared about his mate.

Dr. J's smile was smug, intended to get under Eric's skin, but Eric felt as if he'd been flayed alive; he had no more skin to get under. His emotions were raw and open.

"[Something]"

Eric ignored the question. "Will you help him?"

"That depends. Will you help us?"

Eric should have realized it would come to that. He knew what Dr. J wasn't yet saying. He wanted Eric to betray his people. Eric was willing to abase himself, but was he willing to betray everyone he held dear to save the ones in his arms? 

He looked down at Victor, pale, the sheen of sweat glistening unhealthily on his skin. 

"I'll do it," Eric growled. "Now take him."

Dr. J crossed his arms. "I don't believe you. Prove to me that you're willing to give me the information I want."

Eric closed his eyes, pushing his frustration down. The longer he delayed, the longer it would be before Dr. J opened that door and helped Victor. "What do you want to know?"

"Tell me how it's possible that some males can carry young. Is it a rare mutation?"

"It's not a mutation," Eric snapped, and Dr. J tsked, waving a finger in front of him. 

"That kind of attitude isn't helping your case."

"Every shifter has a designation: alpha, beta or omega. Omegas can carry children, regardless of their gender."

"Interesting." Dr. J began to pace in front of the cell. "So you call yourselves shifters? That seems appropriate. What about the wolf fever? Is that tied in with this alpha omega thing?"

Will came to the cell door opposite him, his face blank. Eric couldn't tell if he was being judged. These men had been here so much longer than Eric, kept their secrets for so much longer than he had. Did Victor blame him for this betrayal? Did he understand? Eric met Will's eyes, accepting whatever judgement the other man might lay on him. He didn't excuse himself. He knew what he was doing would hurt more people than he could imagine. Yet he considered it an appropriate price to pay if Victor could just be safe.

"What you call wolf fever is an omega's heat."

"And only omegas suffer this illness?"

"It's part of the reproductive cycle." Eric felt a chill calm trickle through his body. He'd committed to the path. Nothing was going to deter him from it.

Dr. J stared into his eyes, but Eric didn't bother to meet them. He knew what he would see there. No mercy. No sympathy. Just the pure cold pursuit of knowledge without any thought as to the negative consequences.

"Open the gate," Dr. J commanded the guards. "Set him down on the ground and back away," he told Eric.

It was hard. Eric's wolf didn't want to be parted, but Eric knew this was the only chance Victor had of getting better. He stepped back, and the guard unlocked the cell door. Before he started to slide it open, however, the ground trembled, and they heard a loud boom, as if in the distance.

"Lock it," Dr. J commanded.

Eric rushed the gate. "No! You promised you would help Victor." 

Dr. J ignored him, and the guard fumbled with the keys as the building shook again, this time sending the guards tumbling to the floor. The keys were stuck in the door, and Eric snatched at them. He twisted them in the door as Dr. J and the guards scurried out of the room, closing the main door behind them. Eric pushed open his cell's door then grabbed the keys and tossed them to Will so his hands were free to pick up Victor.

"What good is this going to do us?" Will asked as he unlocked his cell door. "We can't get out of the barracks even if we're out of our cells."

"It's a step," Eric said. He barely dared hope that whatever was going on was the work of the White Falls pack. Had they finally come to save them? Eric couldn't imagine who else might be attacking the lab. The building shuddered and the lights flickered as Will went from cell to cell, letting everyone out. There was a sharp crack and debris flew out of Eric's former cell as the lights failed completely, but a shaft of light spilled through the cell wall. 

"What now?" Will asked, suddenly at Eric's elbow. "Should I check it out?" He stepped forward, and Eric yelled for him to stop as he stepped into the cell door. Time seemed to slow down as another crack shook the building and the floor shook and dropped beneath their feet. Eric saw Will fall to the ground in the slash of light, and then the floor fell further and all Eric could do was wrap himself around Victor, protecting him as best he could. Rubble slid over them and Eric feared that this was the end. That rescue had finally come, but not for them.