Page 22 of Slavic

Inod my head and glance away from his knowing gaze, fighting the anger that always consumes me when my little brother is mentioned.FollowingEinar’smassive form,Ireluctantly go out the door.Itis obvious our brothers’ permanent damage weighs heavily on his wide shoulders.Myhearts and mind are once more torn in many directions.Neverin all my life haveIfought myself likeIhave these last couple of rotations.Beingthe oldest,Ido not have the luxury of doubting my choices.Mylife givers and brothers have always depended on me to provide for and protect them.Butthis situation has broadsided me, making mythoughts chaotic and scrambled.Ifeel as ifIam standing outside myself, looking in with no clue how to fix the issues bombarding me.

Roundingthe corner we run intoBikar, who is walking into the dining chamber with his arms full of empty trays. “Isee the females are eating.Thatis a good sign.”

“Theywere more receptive this rising, andIeven managed to get a few words from the one with twirly hair.Wewill be docking this rotation with theNavaleandIwanted to make sure that they were fed before we lock the ship down.”

Inod as he continues talking.Grabbingthe first thing the replicator spits out;Ieat the food without tasting it.Thenow darkened collar around my neck itches andIrub it absentmindedly, my mind full and blank all at the same time.Whenmy spines start to rattle on my back,Ijerk my head up andIam out of my seat beforeEinarcan say a word.Mymate is awake and she is in distress.Runningdown the hall,Ifeel as if my feet are moving through deep sand.Slidingto a stop in front of the medical center,Islam my hand against the security panel, stepping forward the moment it opens, only to stop dead in my tracks.

Chapter Sixteen

RUBY

Firstthoughts,Shit-Damn-Hell!Howmany more times amIgonna wake up somewhere else?Thisshit is getting old real damn quick.Secondthought,ROWAN.Withmy heart beating fast in my chest,Ianticipate the fight coming when whoever has done this realizesI’mawake.WhenIdon’t hear anyone else nearby,Imove my head gradually, glancing around.RealizingI’min some sort of medical facility, a familiar cough has me sitting up.Myeyes seek outRowan, grateful whenIfind her in the bed next to mine.

Reachingup to rub my eyes,Iflinch when something sharp pokes the inside of my arm.Movingit out from under the blanket covering me,Inotice the odd tube and track it to a hole in the wall, where clear liquids are dripping into it like anIVback home.Pickingthe blanket up, there is no missingI’mnaked and that seems to have become the norm lately.Myleg has a huge patch over it, which has me glancing over at my shoulder.Rollingit gently, it twinges a little, but it’s tolerable.Forthe most part, someone has pieced me back together, andI’mnot sure if that’s a good or bad thing.

Throwingmy legs over the side,Igasp when my wrist hits the bed.I’dforgotten the damage untilIput pressure on it.Rubbingthe hard, clear wrap around it,Islowly slide down to the floor.Pullingthe small hose out of my arm,Imake my way sluggishly over to whereRowanis lying.

Sheseems to be sleeping peacefully, and tears form in my eyes whenIrealizeIno longer hear the rattle in her lungs.Sheis clean and someone has even taken the time to brush her hair, oddly enough.Easingthe blanket up to see how her bruising looks,Istart to cry whenIsee that someone has removed that damn chain and its hooks.Shehas several patches like mine all over her and they’ve wrapped her ribs.Thankfully, most of her bruises are lightening, and this gives me an idea of how long we’ve been in this place.Ishake her slightly, “Rowan, can you hear me?” but she doesn’t move.

Leaningagainst her bed,Ibrush my hand down the back of her head, my mind trying to figure out, what now?Idon’t believe someone would’ve taken the time to fix us up if they were going to hurt us again.Vaguely,Iremember something large and gray carrying me, butI’mnot sure if it’s a real memory or made up.Aloud pounding sound outside the doorway has me looking around for a weapon.Iwill not lay here and be a good little victim this time.Grabbingwhat looks like a small knife off a tray,Ipush myself up ontoRowan’sbed, crouching over her when the door slides open.

Iswing the knife out in front of me. “Staythe fuck back.”Thecreature just stands there, his eyes roaming leisurely down my naked body andIcan’t help but shiver slightly, as it feels like a gentle caress.

“Iwondered if you were real, but damn, seeing is believing that’s for sure.Youcan put those eyes of yours back in your headBigandUgly.I’venever been one who enjoyed being gawked at.”

Hegrowls a series of sounds at me.

“Look,Ithink we’ve already had this discussion.Ihave no idea what the hell you’re rambling on about.Withso many different species out here, … wherever the hell here is, you’d think some smart ass would have found a way to fix this damn language barrier.”

Ihad just lowered the knife down some when something else charges into the room right at me.Withoutthinking,Islice out with the small knife when it reaches forRowan.Idon’t know who is more shocked, me orBigandGreenstanding aggressively over me.Histusk snapping angrily as dark blood drips from the slash on its arm,Iback up, pullingRowanwith me when it advances again. “Wecan do this all day,GreenGiant, but you are not touching my sister.”Hesnarls at me, andIrecoil.

Mybig and ugly grabs the green monstrosity and practically throws him out the door.Thatkinda shocks me because the green one is bigger.Thegray one is standing over the green one, breathing hard.Hismassive, yet impressive chest is moving up and down quickly, like he has or is fighting something internally.

WhenRowansits up coughing, the big green one tries to charge into the room andIalmost cheer whenBigandUglyslams him again.Outof nowhere, another one shows up, joining in the battle outside the door.I’mimpressed at all the muscles it’s taking to separate the two massive beasts fighting out there.Awhimper behind me has the green one stopping dead, mid-swing to look in at us.Iflinch when my gray one swings out, clippinghim in the jaw, blood flying off his torn knuckles as they’d caught on the green one’s tusk.

IfeelRowan’ssmall hands grasping my arm as she pulls herself up behind me. “Areyou ok?”

Whenshe doesn’t answer me,Itake my eyes off the scene in front of us to glance back at her.Rowan’seyes are huge, andIcan feel her trembling slightly right before a coughing fit hits.Apparently, that’s all it takes to push the green one into a rage.BecausebeforeIcan even blink, he is standing right in front of me.Idon’t even have time to raise the knife up before he grabs it quickly, prying it out of my hand.Thenhe picks me up and practically slings me toward the gray one, who catches me in his arms.

Itsnarls out something, then points to the doorway.ThesecondIrealize what it’s telling the one holding me to do,Istart fighting like a madwoman.Justas the door closes,IhearRowan’sweak voice calling out for me, and with renewed strength,Ipush hard against the giant arms holding me.Wrestlingwith me, it takes him a minute to get my arms pinned down, but once he has me secured against his chest, he takes a deep breath, then turns walking both of us down a long hall.Squirmingin his arms,Itry anything and everything to get free.Bitingand kicking backward as hard asIcan, he quickly catches on, simply moving out of the way.Feelinglike a small doll in his massive hands, the skirmish finally wears me out, andIfind myself in front of another door.Hehits it with his shoulder and an even angrier guy opens the door.Lookslike everyone is pissed off about something around here.Thisone is a mix of the green monster and the one holding me.Theysnarl back and forth at each other beforeIhear another voice.

“Slavic,Ruarc, that is enough.Canneither of you see how scared she is?Shejust going to end up back in medical if you two don’t stop.”WhenKallensticks her head around the corner,Iall but collapse inBigandUgly’sarms.

“You’rereal and you’re alive.God,IthoughtIwas losing my mind, even though that might be easier to deal with.”

“YeslittleRuby,Iam well, or at least on the mend.Isee that you have foundSlavic.Forgivethem for all the growling, as they are not trying to scare or hurt you, it is quite the opposite.Theycan understand you, but as of right now, they do not have any translators on board so that you can do the same.”

“Kallen,Ithink it’s more he found me.Willyou tell him to let me go?Ineed to go save my sister from the green giant.”

“Ruby, you must be speaking ofEinar, he is their medic.Yoursister will have the best of care with him.Ifhe was aggressive with you, it is because he was worried about her.Ipromise, you and your sister are safe.Thingsare confusing for everyone right now, but it will get easier with each rising.”

“Ahh, well, that explains a few things, …Ithink.Notsure why they were fighting each other like ragging bulls, but to each their ownIreckon.Maybeyou’d like to explain to me why these two are standing here looking at each other like they want to rip each other apart?”

“Ruarcis fighting our mate bond, and all males, even his brothers, are a threat to him in his mind.Itdoesn’t help thatIam in such bad shape either.Hisprotection mode is in overdrive right now.”Isee her start to slide down the wall, and the other guy,Ibelieve his name isRuarc, instantly has her in his arms.Thegrowling starts again, but this time evenKallenjoins in.It’seasy to tell they’re arguing, soIjust hang here buck naked, down the front ofBigandUgly.Danglingin his arms like a rag doll he is packing around for his enjoyment, andIseem to be the only one who thinks this is odd.

Fora momentBigandUglyloosens his hold, andIhope it’s because he’s going to put me down, but nope.Hesimply swings my legs up so thatI’mmore comfortable cradled in his arms.Surroundedby his strength,I’mnot sure how to act now.Lordknows,Iam not strong enough to win any physical battles with this brute.

Isee the guy holdingKallenstart to shut the door, and she holds out her hand to stop him. “Ruby, the male holding you, isSlavic.Heis the captain and oldest brother of this crew.Thereis no place in this universe safer for you than in his arms, and he will take good care of you.Onceyour sister is feeling better, you will be allowed to see her,Iwill make sure of this myself.Taketime to heal, you have no enemies on this ship.”

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