Page 33 of Einar

Shudderingat what he is cramming into his mouth,Icut into my meal and begin eating.Theflavorful food is satisfying at least one of my needs.Reachingdown,Iadjust my semi-hard pivy.Ihave been erect or partially erect sinceIcaught my mate’s scent, and it is not the most comfortable state to be in.Grabbingmy privates,Ihave to bite back a groan asIfinally find a comfortable position before focusing back on my food.

Motionacross the table catches my attention andIseeSlavicis rubbing at the mating collar around his neck as if it itches.That’sodd.Mineburned like a plasma bolt the second my skin first met my mate’s more delicate skin, butIhave not had any other sensations in the darkened flesh since.Bikartries to engage us in conversation a few times, but when he cannot get a rise out of either one of us, he finally falls quiet.

Suddenly,Slavicbolts out of the dining hall without warning.Knowingthere is only one thing that could inspire that sort of reaction,Irush to my feet and follow him out the door and back down the hall to the med bay.Mylonger legs allow me to catch up to him just as he slides to a stop in front of the door and slams his hand down on the security control panel.Followinghim into the room,Ialmost crash into his back when he abruptly stops, his body frozen as he stares at the sight before us.

ChapterTwenty-Two

EINAR

Avertingmy eyes,Istare at the ceiling, soSlavicis not tempted to rip my eyeballs from my skull for looking at his mate.Repairingher body was the one and only exception to viewing her without coverings since she’s crouched over the top of my mate, brandishing one of my sharper medical knives as she snarls at us in a desperate attempt to protect her sister from a non-existent threat.Only… she does not know that.

“Staythe fuck back.”

Hersnarled words do not cause the response she wants becauseSlavicis just standing there, staring at her with his heart in his eyes.

“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.”

Slavicgrumbles out a response, even though we all know the humans cannot understand us. “LittleStarshine, get down from there.Youare safe.Nobeing in this room will hurt you.”

“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.”

Concernfills me soIease aroundSlavic, andIstalk over to the bed where my unconscious mate is still lying.Imust startleSlavic’smate because she had slightly lowered her weapon, but my appearance at her sister’s side must come across as an act of aggression.Herhand holding the knife darts out and slices a gash down the length of my forearm.

Gnashingmy teeth against the hot pain emanating from the cut,Ibare my teeth at her, both tusks fully exposed, in aggravation as my dark red blood drips down my arm onto the floor and bed.

Ijust cleaned this whole room and nowI’mbleeding all over the place.

Slavic’sfemale moves away from me, pulling my mate with her as she goes.

“Wecan do this all day,GreenGiant, but you are not touching my sister.”

Snarling,Istart toward her and watch as she recoils.Iam so determined to get to my mate thatIdo not notice thatSlavictook extreme offense to me growling at his mate.Hisprotective instincts are going wild, just like mine.Hisrough hands grab me and launch me across the room toward the door.Iland with a boom as my massive body collides with the unforgiving wall and pain radiates through my entire body.

“Whatthe frack,Slavic?!”

Raisingmy head,IseeSlavicstanding over the top of me.Hischest is heaving up and down as he fights an internal battle.Iunintentionally provoked him even though his mate denied me access to my mate.Bracingmyself,Iwait to see if he is going to lose his shet on me or if he will regain control of himself.

Afew nano-tics go by and when he doesn’t continue kicking my rear,Islowly rise to my feet, keeping a leery eye on him.JustbecauseIam bigger does not automatically mean thatIwill win a fight with my older brother.Weare evenly matched on that point.

Deep, wracking coughs snap my attention back across the room, andIwatch as my mate sits up.Thespines along my back begin to shift and rattle as my mate attains consciousness.Joyspreads through me andIstart to go to her, but the secondImove in that directionSlavicloses his shet.Hegrabs my long black hair in one hand and my throat in the other and uses his hold on me to throw me backward and out the door into the hallway.

NormallyIam the calm one, but enough is enough.TheleashInormally keep on my temper disappears as if it never was asSlavicandIstart brawling like ill-mannered youths just outside the med bay as the females watch us, fear etched into their faces.Bikarappears out of nowhere and slams intoSlavicandI, forcing us apart.Slavicis standing there, chest puffing with each breath and glaring at me.Bikaris talking but neither of us can hear him over the roaring of our blood in our ears.Thegratuitous violence must be too much for my fragile mate because a faint whimper freezes me in place, my fist frozen in mid-motion as my head jerks around, peering at her through the open door.

Asingle moment of inattention is the openingSlavichas been waiting for because he lunges pastBikarand lands a solid punch on my jaw, hitting me so hard, his knuckles slide along my jawline and catch on one of my tusks, splitting the skin open as blood flies through the air.

Slavic’sbold mate whispers to mine, butIam too far away to hear what is said.Whenmy mate offers no verbal reply but starts having a coughing fit…

FRACK.THIS.SHET.

Withoutwarning,Idart pastSlavicand back into the med-bay.Mymate needs medical attention, andIam the gods’ frackin’MEDIC.Noone, not her sister or my brother, is going to stop me from taking care of her.Stormingacross the room,Istop in front ofSlavic’smate and snatch the knife from her before she can bleed me with it again.Tossingit aside,Ipick her up and fling her at a fast approaching, enragedSlavic.Hisarms snap around her securely asIpoint at the med-bay door.

“Getthe frack out of my med-bay,Slavic.Mymate is in distress and yours is causing nothing but problems.Icannot help my mate with her here, so get gone!”

Thefemale inSlavic’sarms is not stupid.Sheimmediately figures out that we are separating her from her sister, and she goes wild.Iwince in sympathy before my mate’s weak cry breaks my hearts.Hervoice is filled with so much fear and despair, it is painful to hear.

Lord,why?WhydidIwake up?

Ifwe’re being really honest, waking up was the last thingIwanted to do.Ishouldn’t be surprised to wake up in yet another unfamiliar place, butIcan’t help but look around in leery astonishment.I’mlying on a rather comfortable bed, in what appears to be some sort of medical facility.Forcingmy eyes open, they immediately land on anIVline connected to a tube that runs into the wall at my side, dripping some sort of clear liquid into it.Iguess some things really are universal.Someone, or something, saved my life.

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