Page 5 of LeX

“Suchas?”

“Thefemale is in great distress and has successfully made it out of his chambers twice beforeMasterRafecould stop her.Iwould have contactedCaptainEvOsooner if the female had asked forhelp, but she seems to simply collapse each timeMasterRafeholds her.Wouldyou like me to announce your arrival?”

“No,Iwould like to see her for myself and without warning.Thiswill allow me to have a clearer picture of what is going on.”

Walkinginto the dining area,Ihead straight for the replicator and grab the food tray the med bot has prepared for me, eating quickly.Ihead up to the private chambers situated on the upper floor of theDestroyer.HesitatingwhenIpass my own door,Iwonder ifIshould assign it to another sinceIam seldom ever there.

Ihit the buzzer ofRafe’sdoor and stand there as a few tics go by, and thenIpress it again. “Destroyer, are they in residence?”

“YesMedicLeX, but things have just recently quieted down.”

Iam reaching up to hit the buzzer again whenRafeopens the door.Hemotions for me to be quiet asIstep inside.Hisrooms are in shambles, and for a male that prides himself on his organization and cleanliness,Iknow this is not normal.Glancingup atRafeas he is a couple inches taller than myself,Iimmediately notice the bite mark on his cheek is festering, and that he is covered in scratches.

Heplops down on the arm of a lounger, rubbing a tired hand over his face asIdig out a platelet-rich injection from my bag.Withoutasking permission,Iwalk over with the autoinjector and shoot the healing meds into his neck.

“Oww, you could have warned me…that shit burns!”

“Youknow that claws, fingernails, and teeth are poisonous.Thosewounds will only get worse if not treated.Bythe looks ofyou and this dwelling,Itake it she is not cooperating?Whereis she now, tied to the bed?”

“No,Idid not tie her up even though the thought has crossed my mind several times.Shesimply passed out from exhaustion.Inever dreamed she would last as long as she did.Ihave been physically fighting with her for what feels like a straight rotation.”

“Whydo you not take a moment to get cleaned up and grab some sustenance whileIcheck on her.”

“Ifyou wake her upLeX,IswearIwill beat you myself.”

“Hopefully,Iwill not even need to touch her.Goon and do not fight me likeIdid whenEvOtold me to do the same.”

Rafegets up and stands there for a tic just looking around at the place.It’slike he is so consumed with his own thoughts he has forgottenIam even here.Witha heavy sigh, he walks off to the refreshing chamber.Ireach down, picking up and righting a small stand asImake my way through the entertaining area into where the private sleeping platform is.

Thefemale is sprawled across the mattress from one corner to the other.Approachingslowly, there is no missing she is sick.Thehuman female has long, straight, dark blond hair that falls in silky strands around her pale and drawn face even in rest.Hercomplexion is noticeably pale and sallow, lacking any healthy glow.Thedark circles under her eyes, the sheen of sweat on her forehead, and the tremors shaking her tall frame all speak of illness, fatigue, and discomfort.Despiteher illness, the woman’s hair still retains its natural shine and softness; proof that she wasn’t always as she is now.

It’samazing how drugs affect the body.Ifused for the right purpose they are meant to heal.Iftaken improperly, they will suck the life right out of you.Holdingthe medical scanner over her,Igradually run it from her head to her feet.Oncefinished,Istep back awaiting the results.

Besidethe withdrawals she is experiencing, she is healthy for the most part.Slightmalnutrition, some excessive bruising on one hip, and some torn nail beds are all the machine is notifying me of right now.Iwould love to take a blood sample to see how much of the drugs remain in her system, butIam afraid the process will wake her.Ipull a light covering up over her whenIsee her shiver and then step back out quietly, almost bumping intoRafeasIam leaving the room.

“Howis she?”

“Withoutsome blood tests,Icannot tell you that accurately.Howdid she get that bruise on her hip?”

“Tobe honest,Ido not know how she isn’t black and blue from head to toe.Shehas been fighting me like a wildSuetsinceIbrought us here.Thefew moments of calm have only been because she was trying to get me to let my guard down.Twicenow she has managed to get out the door beforeIcould grab her.Iam doing my best not to hurt her but restraining someone is always going to be physical.”

“Isshe scared of you?Isthat why she is trying to escape?”

“Ido not believe so, but once her mind locks on something there is no dissuading her.Heremotions are up and down constantly.”

“Ifshe becomes too much, we could sedate her untilANDIgets here and then have her transported toFalcorwhere a medical team could help see her through this.”

Inthe blink of an eye,IseeRafe’scarefree personality change. “Noone is sending or taking her anywhere.Sheis mine andIwill help her get past this one way or another.”

Ihold my hands up and step back. “Nomore words are needed.Icompletely understand and she will remain with you until you say otherwise.IfImay ask, is she your mate or is this something else?”

Rafeslides down the wall, resting his arms on his knees and hanging his head for a moment in defeat.Tuckingthe scanner in my pocket,Iturn to sit down next to him, only to realize he has placed himself in direct view of the sleeping platform.

“Iwill not deny that my body craves her, but is she, my mate?Everythinggoing on has left me unsure.Mybody says she is, however, in my mindIwonder if it is the circumstances that are making me so possessive.Fewknow this, butIhad a fellow soldier back in the training barracks that got impaired on some bad enhancers.Hewas quite a bit smaller than most of us and was trying to find a way to bulk up beforeCommanderDaRhad him removed simply due to his size.Hedid not show up to training one rising and something whispered that he was in trouble and for me to find him.Isearched half the barracks before locating him curled up in the corner of the weapons closet.Thatis howIgot this scar.”Hepoints to a place where he has a large, healed gash over his shoulder.

Hewas hallucinating, andIdidn’t realize it until he struck out at me with a knife in his hand.Ittook every ounce of my strength to not only get that knife away but to contain him even though he was much smaller thanIwas.Iended up having to knock him unconscious in order to get him to our rooms.Iknew ifDaRfound out what he had done he would be sent home in disgrace.Feigningillness,Ilocked us inside.Tworotations later,Iemerged beat half to death, but we were both alive and he was on the mend.Whenasked aboutVylor’swhereabouts,Ifalsely claimed he had been in an altercation and required several days of recovery.

IthoughtIhad done a great job of hiding what had really happened from everyone until your father offered to spar with me one rising.Iwas still sporting a black eye, and my shoulder wasn’t healing as fast as it normally would have ifIhad been resting, asIsaid.Heknocked me on my ass within a tic of raising his sword.Iwill never forget his words when he grabbed my jaw so that he could look me in the eye.Hesaid, ‘Nobetter wound than the one you take for a friend.’Iknew right then that he knew exactly whatIhad done.”

---