AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The confirmation of her predicament hit harder than she expected. She clenched her fists, the sharp press of her nails against her palms helping to ground her.
“We can understand one another because of nanite technology. Works with the language center.” He tapped at the base of his ear, the same spot the rock monster had jabbed her with that silver cylinder. “But how in the three hells did those trolls get their hands on that tech?” he muttered to himself, tugging on an earlobe.
A wave of dizziness blurred her vision, her knees wobbling before giving out. She tried to say something, but it came out as gibberish, her tongue suddenly three times too big for her mouth.
Concerned, Nox bent towards her, calling her name.
Then everything went dark.
5
NOX
He had Lis in his arms before she could tumble head-first onto the hard ground. He rushed her to his speeder, parked behind a rock outcropping off the main roadway between the capitol and Toro.
“Shit,” Navi said, jumping to his feet. “She okay?”
“Does it look like she’s okay?” Carefully laying her on the ground next to the vehicle, he stripped off his jacket and tucked it under her head before taking the emergency kit from the Navi.
“Where are you?” he muttered, digging through the disorganized kit.
He knew he should have restocked before he left the ship but time had been tight, and he hadn’t wanted to keep Feriq waiting. The Felida had about as much patience as a toddler at snack time. He would have left if Nox hadn’t been at the drop on time.
At the very bottom of the bag, his fingers closed around the smooth metal of a travel-sized diagnostic wand. “Gods, I hope this works on her.”
While she looked similar to him, her internal workings might be completely different, rendering her unreadable to the cheap instrument. If worse came to worst, he’d plaster her in quik-fix patches and drive like a pack of pissed-off trolls was on his heels. Which they would be as soon as they realized their newest acquisition had gone missing.
“What happened?” Navi asked, hovering over his shoulder. “She wasn’t shot, was she? Because from my position, it looked like you got away clean.”
“We did. I don’t know what happened. We were talking, and she just collapsed.” He turned the wand on and held it over her forehead. The wand blinked between red and green. “Come on,” he whispered, his patience fraying.
With a gentle chime, the wand flashed green and connected to his personal comm. So, biologically compatible then. If he was a scientist, he’d be fascinated. But he was more concerned about getting her fixed up and back on her feet.
With a flick of his finger, he expanded the diagnostic holo. His jaw clenched at the list of her injuries.
Navi whistled. “Holy hells.”
Between the fractures, deep bruising, and internal bleeding, the woman was a mess. All that physical damage, in addition to a violent reaction to something in Cinzia’s atmosphere and at least one identifiable virus working its way through her system meant she needed a lot more help than his basic field skills could provide. She needed time in a medi-bed.
“Navi, contact Feriq and let him know we need medical assistance.”
“Copy that.” He hustled back to the speeder.
Nox needed to get her stabilized. Doing his best to be a gentleman, he cut off her clothing and stuck quick-fix patches over the worst of her injuries. A growl rumbled up through his chest at the dark purple and blue bruising over way too much of her soft peach-toned skin.
He worked fast, blowing through the entire supply of patches. It wouldn’t fix the internal damage, but would give her some relief from the pain. After loading a hypoinjector with a broad-spectrum antibiotic, he pressed it against the crook of her elbow, the hiss of aerosol barely audible above the calls of the nocturnal desert creatures.
Medical abilities tapped, Nox pulled a mostly clean shirt and soft pants from his carry bag and redressed her, packing away her skinsuit. She’d impressed him with her fortitude. She hadn’t let on she was in pain, much less banged up so badly. Pride swelled in him. His mate had a spine of titanium.
At that thought, he froze, reeling at how easily naming this woman his mate came, how right it felt. His heart beat a staccato as he traced a finger along the curve of her jawline and tucked a silky lock behind her small ear. Did they even have mates where she was from? What if she didn’t want a mate? Didn’t want him? She’d leave his side and wind up back in the hands of another troll gang, or worse.
Shelved in a dusty corner of his soul in favor of survival and credits, his dormant protective instincts flared hot, burning away the cobwebs and filling his being with new purpose. “Unacceptable,” he growled, lifting his mate into his arms.
She may be a strong, capable woman, but she was uninformed of the dangers that lurked not only on Cinzia but throughout the galaxy. She needed someone to safeguard her. His job — no, his privilege — as her mate was to be her shield for as long as she needed.
Instinct urged him to bring her on board Antana’s Luck while she was unconscious and leave this planet with its sand, outlaws, and trolls. He could tell her his ship was the best place to provide her with the healing she needed. The Luck wasn’t fancy, but she had a medi-bed. But Toro had a state-of-the-art medical facility staffed with trained medical professionals.
He blew out a hard breath. He’d already made the choice when he had Navi contact Feriq. So, as much as he wanted her to himself, no abduction.
