Chapter 16:

Andromeda

A light behind my eyelids burned, causing me discomfort. Beyond that, I realized my whole body ached. Slowly, I opened my eyes, looking around the room I was in. it was sterile, white. Not a single decoration in sight. My gaze landed on the hospital equipment. I frowned. Was I in a hospital?

Gen?

There was silence.

My frown deepened. I felt her there, but she wasn't talking to me.

A woman walked in. Dark hair, dark skin. She had a pretty smile on her lips, but her eyes were cold.

"Ah, you're awake, I see." She sauntered over, checking my vitals. "Lucky you, you caught the attention of the Illusive Man. Or you'd still be dead."

Dead?

"Miss Princess of the Werewolves." It sounded like a taunt. Eyes looked me up and down. "Can you speak?"

I took a deep breath, before trying. "Yes." My voice sounded rusty with disuse.

"What's your name?"

"Andromeda Quinn."

"What's your wolf's name?"

"Genesis. But she prefers Gen."

"What's your mates name?"

That gave me pause. "That's... a trick question." I watched as the smile came back. "Garrus and Thane."

"Do you know who the Illusive Man is?"

"I've heard a few things. Cerberus. Pro-human, right?"

"Yes."

"What does he have to do with me?" I frowned. "I'm not human."

"But you are. Your race is human- it's your species that is werewolf. You still have a human side. And you are important to your people." She shrugged. "The Illusive Man thought it would be a good investment to bring you back."

"You said I was dead..."

"You were." She didn't elaborate.

"I don't understand."

"What's the last thing you remember?"

I thought about it for a while, the pieces slowly fitting into place. "I was home. With my guard. She was called away for... something. I can't remember. And I was left alone. I..." It all cleared up suddenly. "Two men, werewolves, broke into my apartment and drugged me. When I fought back, I was shot. My..." My eyes filled with tears. "My bonds broke."

"According to what we've researched, you should be able to feel them again once you've been resuscitated. Try."

I sank deep into myself, mentally roaming the halls of my mind. Going through every link I had- most to the pack- until I came across two. They shone so bright, it hurt to look at them, yet I couldn't look away. My mate bonds. They were here, they were inside me again. I wondered if Garrus and Thane could feel them again, too.

"I can." I whispered, wiping my eyes.

"Good." She motioned me up, and I sat up, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. "We've got a lot to do, so get dressed."

"What do we have to do?"

"You've been dead for two years. You need to be reinstated in everything, including your pack. They mourned you. They need to know you're alive." A glance at me when she'd reached the door. "Plus, you want to get back into school, right?"

My mind was whirling at the implication that I'd been dead. Dead. For two years.

Meda?

Gen!

What... Where are we?

I filled her in, my eyes watering anew.

MATES! She howled.

I know. I know. We'll figure this out.

Her whimpers echoed through my mind as I grabbed the clothes that had been left out for me, dressing.

Garrus

I was in the Main Battery, calibrating the cannons, distracting myself. That's all I'd done the last two years. Distraction after distraction. I'd mowed a path through Omega's merc bands, formed my own team. Found them dead, Sidonis having betrayed us. And now, I was searching for information about him while helping Shepard- revived, back from the dead- hunt down the Collectors to stop them from abducting human colonists.

A shudder ran through me suddenly, feeling as if a puzzle piece was fitting into place in my aching chest.

The bond snapped back into place.

What... What did this mean? Was she...? Could I get that lucky? What did it mean?

I immediately raced to Life Support.

Thane

I was meditating over precious few memories I'd made with Andromeda. Something I found myself doing more and more often as of late.

Something in my chest shifted, my breath coming in a gasp at the feeling. As if something was snapping into place.

The bond.

Andromeda... was alive?

The door slid open, Garrus running into the room. His eyes met mine, and we both understood- She was alive. That's the only thing that explained the feeling we'd both experienced.

But how?

He brought up the holographic interface of his omni-tool, and I heard the ringing. He was calling her. If she had her omni-tool with her... would she answer?

Andromeda

I fitted the omni-tool to my wrist, opening it up and realizing it was mine. And a second glance told me these clothes were mine, too.

A ringing came from the omni-tool, and I answered the call without thinking about it.

"Andromeda..." Garrus's voice was a whisper.

My eyes snapped to the interface, wide. "You..."

"You're alive." Thane breathed.

"I am." I nodded like a bobblehead. "I am. I'll... Give me a day or two, and I'll explain. I'll know more, then."

"Know more?" The turian asked, the drell frowning.

"Yeah. I... I'll let you know. But I'm okay."

Footsteps sounded outside the door, and I looked up, alarmed.

"I have to go." Without another word, I ended the call.

"Good, you're dressed. Let's get going." She beckoned me to follow after her.

As we walked through the hallways, I looked around, trying to note any landmarks or symbols. Anything I could use later.

"Oh, and I'll tell you now- you don't need those medications anymore. We fixed that."

I blinked. "You... fixed my hormone imbalance?"

"Yeah. You get normal amounts of serotonin and dopamine, now. Along with all the others." She sounded like she was bored. "The perfect, golden wolf."

"You never told me your name." I realized.

"Maya. Maya Brooks."

I hummed quietly, committing that to memory.

I was led into a small room, a circle platform in the center of the floor. She told me to get on it. The room around me changed, a holographic image showing me another room. A man in a chair sat in front of me. He was smoking a cigarette, studying me intently.

"Andromeda Quinn." His accent was a little strange. Not unpleasant to hear, but not something I'd heard before.

I waited, unsure what he wanted with me.

"I have invested a great deal of time and resources to bring you back." He flicked his ashes in the tray. "I believe you and I would make great partners. I supply you with resources, and you convince your kingdom to help us fight in the war against the Reapers."

I tilted my head. That seemed like a better deal for me. My people were already well aware of the threat the Reapers posed- we all chose to believe Shepard. Especially after Sovereign.

Then again... I'd been gone two years. Maybe they'd dismissed it.

"I'll see what I can do." I offered.

I wouldn't make any promises to this man- someone I didn't know.

"I'll give you whatever you need to make it happen." An appraising look. "Do you want to go to the Citadel first? Or your packlands?"

"I want to go to my mates." I didn't hesitate.

"Ah, yes. Garrus Vakarian and Thane Krios." He mused. "I know where they both are."

I waited with bated breath.

"They are both with Shepard, hunting down ways to destroy the Collectors."

"Can I see them?"

A nod. "I will arrange the Normandy to dock at the Citadel tomorrow."

"Thank you." I breathed.

"I'll see you again soon." He promised.

The room returned to its blank white, and I turned to see Maya watching me with interest.

"Well. Let's get you on a ship to the Citadel, then." She said, leading me from the room.

We stopped at a shuttle bay, and she waved me onboard.

The trip took hours, but it was more than worth it, if I would get to see my mates tomorrow. When we got there, she dropped me off, saying I needed to go to C-Sec to be reinstated as alive. I went straight to Bailey. He saw me, did a double-take, and leaped up from his chair. Running to me, wrapping me up in a big hug.

"What happened to you, kid?"

I shook my head, a soft whimper leaving me. "I don't know. I was shot, and I bled out. The next thing I knew, I was waking up..." My voice lowered to a whisper. "in a Cerberus facility. They brought me back from the dead."

"Ah, shit. You and Shepard, both." He shook his head, pushing me away so he could get a good look at me. "Let's get you alive again."

I nodded, wiping my eyes. He went back to his desk, typing a few things in, pressing a button.

"There. It's done."

I managed a weak smile. "Are my things in a storage unit or were they all thrown out?"

Confused, then understanding. "Ah, no. Your men had the lease transferred over to them. They couldn't let you go. Now, I'm glad they didn't."

My heart squeezed. They'd never let me go.

Genesis howled in my head, and I mentally joined her.

He escorted me to my apartment, stationing officers outside the door. A she-wolf warrior who'd been visiting was requested to be my guard for the night.

Once I was inside, I looked around. It was painfully clear, from the layer of dust over everything, that it had been a while since anyone had been in here. Sitting on the couch, I called my mother.

She answered on the first ring. "Andromeda?!"

"I'm here, mom."

We both whimpered, tears streaming down our faces. Dad's face appeared next to hers, and I watched him get choked up. Darius and Juno were next to join us. Isadore was the last.

"But if you were brought back from the dead, doesn't that make you a freak?" She asked, batting her eyes innocently.

"Isadore!" They all shouted at her.

Genesis growled.

"You know, if you hate me, you can just say it." I said quietly.

Everyone froze, including her. I'd never spoke to her that way, regardless of tone.

"It's not that I hate you. I just don't particularly like you." She responded.

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I get that. Every time you talk to me, you make it painfully obvious how little you care about me. You know what? I'm not doing this today. I'll talk to the rest of you later."

With that, I hung up. I hadn't died and been resurrected, just to put up with her shit.

I called Garrus.

"Hi." I smiled at the two of them.

"Are you safe?"

"Is that your apartment?"

I nodded. "Yes, to both. I'm home. They dropped me off at the Citadel. Bailey reinstated my living status."

"Who dropped you off?"

"Well..." I bit my lip. "He said he'd also brought back Shepard..." I trailed off, watching as realization dawned on their faces.

"Cerberus." They both said.

"Yeah. The Illusive Man wants my help in convincing the kingdom to act against the Reapers, when the time comes." I explained. "He said he would give me whatever I needed to get it done."

A voice came from behind them. "We're docking at the Citadel tomorrow. Illusive Man's orders." A pause. "He didn't say why."

I smiled a little, and they realized why.

"Is that Shepard?" I asked.

"Yeah." A nod from Garrus. "Maybe you two should meet. Cerberus brought you both back, after all."

"What?" Shepard asked, voice moving closer. "They brought back someone else?"

"You remember me telling you about Andromeda?"

"Your mate, yeah."

I straightened. Garrus had told him?

"She's also Thane's." He explained everything around that. "They brought her back."

"I... Why?" A pause. "No offense. I mean, that's great for you, but why?"

"Because I'm a werewolf princess." I chimed in.

His face joined theirs in the screen.

"The Illusive Man wants me to convince my kingdom to stand against the Reapers when they come." It was starting to sound like I was reading from a script.

A slow nod from him. "Yeah, I think it'd be a good thing for us to meet."

"I hope you don't mind, but I won't want to see you tomorrow." I gave him a smile to soften my words. "I want to spend the time with my mates. We have a lot of catching up to do."

"Of course. I'll give you a couple days. We'll be here for a week, anyway." A shrug.

"Thank you."

With another nod from him, he left us to our call.

"It's late. You should rest." Thane murmured.

"I don't know if I can sleep without you." I answered honestly. "Besides, it's only been a few hours since I woke up. I can wait until you're here."

They exchanged glances, and... No. I must've been imagining it.

"How about we stay in call, for all of us to fall asleep?" Garrus offered.

I jumped up, syncing the call to my tv systems. I had a screen in every room, most of them holographic and invisible until activated. I went through the motions of getting ready for bed. When I actually went into the room, the call moving to the holographic screen in there, I started stripping. Sharp inhalations sounded behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder at them.

Oh, right. I was naked. I turned to face them fully, letting my hands roam my body. Letting them get a good look at me.

"Meda." Garrus choked out.

Thane's gaze was intense.

"Tell me what to do." I purred. "I want to make you happy. I want to please you. Let me do this for you. Let me ease your pain."

That broke them, and the floodgates opened. It was a long night, and none of us were complaining. Not one bit.