Page 55 of Their Marked Mate

“We’ve been spying on you,” the brunette admitted with a friendly smile. “I thought having medical backup for this event might be a wise precaution, so we streamed down a few minutes ago. Once Milor gets your friend stabilized, I’ll explain everything.”

The blonde stood near the brunette but said nothing. She had huge dark eyes and delicate features. But who was she and why was she here?

Opening a small compartment on the front of the humming device, Doctor Pojmon withdrew some sort of injector. Without explanation he pressed it against Caden’s upper arm and triggered the injection. “This will help his blood coagulate,” he said to no one in particular. He set the injector aside and selected a cylindrical device slightly larger than the injector. “Pull your claws out as slowly as you can. The tissue generator cannot close the wounds until the foreign objects are removed.”

Alex knew damn well that Caden’s only hope of survival lay in the doctor’s hands, so he followed the instructions and slowly eased his claws out of Caden’s flesh. As soon as the tips withdrew, the doctor sprang into action. Alex scrambled back, getting out of the doctor’s way. Maneuvering his feet beneath him, Alex stood and moved farther back.

Drake approached Alex and handed him a towel. “Doctors don’t magically appear right when you need them most. This is one hell of a coincidence.” The hostility and suspicion in his deep tone were unmistakable.

“Agreed.” Alex looked around and spotted Luna and Nate. They were still standing on the outside of the cage. One of the village guards had closed the gate, so Alex signaled him to let Nate and Luna approach.

The guard swung the gate open, and Luna ran into Alex’s arms. “Are you okay? How much of this blood is yours?”

“Very little,” he stressed. “I’m fine.” He gave her a reassuring kiss, then urged her toward Nate. “We’ll talk later.”

Luna nodded and moved into the beta’s embrace.

Remaining well back from Caden and the doctor, Alex walked over to the unfamiliar females. “I’m grateful for the help, but I need an explanation.”

The brunette looked at the blonde and said, “You’ve heard my speech a couple of times now. Why don’t you take the lead.”

Nodding stiffly, the blonde stepped forward and cleared her throat. “I’m Senator Avery Collins and this is Director Natalie Morgan of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.”

Alex stared back at her silently. If the titles were supposed to impress him, they failed.

“He’s stable enough to move,” the doctor announced. “Can his tracker be deactivated? I’d like to stream him up to the ship.”

Natalie shook her head. “None of them can leave the planet, but we can bring the Azrithal down here.”

“Whatever.” Pojmon sounded impatient. “I just need access to my equipment. The damage is extensive.”

“Let me contact Will.” Natalie looked at Alex as she asked, “Where is the nearest clearing large enough for a midsize transport?”

Alex looked at Drake, barely believing what he’d just heard. A spaceship was about to set down on Rydaria. This could be their only opportunity to escape—no, the fucking trackers! Even if they took control of the ship, none of them could leave the planet.

“Two clicks west of the village,” Drake told her, but his conflicted expression told Alex that Drake’s mind had just run through the same series of thoughts as his.

Natalie nodded and left the cage.

Avery moved closer to Alex and Drake. “They’ll take good care of your… opponent. Is there somewhere we can talk?”

“Take her to the clubhouse. I’ll join you there in a little while. I need to go clean up.”

“Understood.” Drake approached the blonde then headed for the cage’s exit. “This way.”

Alex tugged on his boots then hurried toward his cabin, Nate and Luna on his heels.

“We have to get our hands on that case,” Luna said in an urgent whisper. “That was a first responder’s kit. I dated a paramedic, so I’ve seen that sort of kit before. They have tissue generators and scanners a whole hell of a lot better than the one I’ve been using. The doctor printed a medication. Do you know how valuable that would be on a planet like this?”

“I understand,” Alex assured her. “I’m just not sure we have anything valuable enough to trade for it.”

“Then steal it,” Luna urged. Then she sighed. “I don’t mean that, but damn. We need that kit.”

“Why is someone from the bureau of prisons spying on us?” Nate mused.

“Damn good question.” Unfortunately, Alex didn’t have an answer.

They reached their cabin and Alex went into the bathroom to wash up. He exited through the bedroom a few minutes later as he pulled on a clean shirt. “Let’s go find out what this is about.”