Alien Warrior (Zerconian Warriors Book 1) (6 page)

Thor’s eyes turned red.

“A trick? No, it isn’t a trick. I shouldn’t have to fool you into seeing your mate. She would not be in this condition if you were caring for her properly, as is your responsibility.”

Those words hit him in the gut, dampening the temper boiling in his gut due to Thor’s confrontational stance. He hadn’t been taking care of her as he should. How long had it been since he’d seen her? He rubbed his forehead.

He’d only intended to leave her alone for a few hours to think things over before returning to her. Mates, especially in the early stages of their relationship, shouldn’t be apart for long periods of time.

“Dex? Are you all right?”

“I’m not sure. I can’t remember how long it’s been since I last seen her. Please don’t tell me it has been more than half a rising.”

Thor’s eyes widened, and Dex knew he wasn’t going to like his next words.

“Dex,” he said, his eyes returning to their normal color. “It has been three risings. You don’t remember?”

Dex gaped at him, aghast. “I left her alone that long? How could I? No, that can’t be. It was only earlier today that I left her…” Except, was it?

“Why did you not tell me? What is wrong with me? Have I been drugged?”

Thor studied him closely. “We’ve tried to talk to you, but you’ve just ignored us. You need to go to medical. I need to run tests on you as well.”

Dex waved his hand dismissively. “No tests. I’m not important. The female is. I must go to her, check on her.”

He took off running, aware that Thor was following.

How could he have done this? What had possessed him? It was unforgivable that he’d left her alone for so long. And now she was ill. If anything happened to her, he didn’t know what he would do. He knew he wouldn’t survive it. They might not be fully mated yet, but the loss of something so precious because of his neglect would pull him into a well of despair he knew he couldn’t return from.

***

“Oh, stars, my mate. What has happened to you?”

Zoey opened her eyes to find Dex crouched beside her with a look of such concern on his face, she almost cried. She’d imagined telling him where he could shove his ultimatums, about totally kicking his ass for leaving her like this.

She definitely hadn’t imagined herself lying weak and helpless, arousal and agony holding her body to ransom.

Licking her dry lips, she attempted to glare at him. “Nice of you to turn up. Finally.”

Shame entered his gaze and his eyes turned blue. Interesting.

“I am so sorry, my mate. The way I treated you brings deep shame to me. You have every right to hate me.”

Yeah, she did. She only wished she could summon up some hate for him. Oh, she was pissed off, but she still didn’t hate him.

“So I’m just supposed to forgive you for leaving me alone for days on end? For locking me in my room with no one for company? For giving me no way to contact you for help once I grew ill?”

If possible, his face grew more stricken. “I never locked you in!”

“I didn’t know how to get out the door!” She attempted to yell, but her voice was too hoarse and she was so exhausted it came out more like a croak. But he still looked as though he’d been slapped.

“I thought you knew.”

“Well, I didn’t. I’ve been alone in this stinking room for days. Congratulations, you’ve come up with the perfect punishment. Locking me up and leaving me alone has pretty much brought me to my knees. Well, on my back on this sofa, anyway. I’m not sure I could get to my knees without falling over.”

“Oh, mate, this was not a punishment. I meant to return to you after giving you some time to think. I don’t know what happened to time, but I seem to have lost a few risings. I would never have left you alone for so long if I’d been in my right mind.”

She studied him, trying to gauge his sincerity. “Really? So you didn’t do this to hurt me? Or because you changed your mind about me?”

“No, and the fact that you think that only tells me how much hurt I have caused.” He rubbed his temple, looking confused. “I don’t know what overcame me. To neglect you this way … I will never forgive myself.”

Inside her, a knot of tension unraveled. But then the heat started to build again.

“Oh no, it’s starting again,” she cried out.

“What? What is it?” He looked from her to Thor. “What’s wrong with her?”

“I don’t know,” Thor said grimly. “I have to get her to medical. Both of you.”

“I don’t matter,” he replied. “Only she does. Let me carry her.”

“No!” they all screamed. But he already had his arms beneath her and was in the process of lifting her against him.

“What’s the matter?” he asked in confusion.

“It doesn’t hurt,” she replied with relief. “And the heat is going away.”

“What doesn’t hurt? Someone explain this to me.” Dex glared over at Thor and Koran. “Explain.”

“When I touched her before, it hurt her,” Thor explained.

“You touched her?”

“Just to try and help her, Dex,” Thor replied with no small amount of exasperation. “Zoey, I want to touch you now and see how that feels. Is that okay with you?”

“Sure,” she said, almost slurring her words with exhaustion. She felt him touch her arm. Nothing. No pain. No heat. It was bliss.

“How are you feeling?” Thor asked.

“Exhausted. I want to sleep.”

“Dex’s touch seems to have helped. Interesting. Dex, do you feel better?”

She opened her eyes to look up at Dex as they all waited for him to reply. Dex’s face grew thoughtful. “My mind feels clearer like I can think for the first time in ages. What is it?”

Thor was studying them both. “I think I have an idea. But I still want to take you to medical and run some tests.”

***

Dex sat at Zoey’s bedside, watching her as she slept. He held her hand in his, careful not to hold her too tightly. She looked fragile as she lay there, slumbering.

It didn’t help that she was extremely pale and drawn, with dark smudges beneath her eyes. She’d lost weight, her collarbones far more prominent than they had been before.

Dex ran his thumb over the fragile bones of her hand. She could so easily be taken from him. His greatest gift and he’d neglected her so much that she lay here in medical.

When they’d arrived at medical, he had reluctantly let her go so that a member of Thor’s medical team could run some tests on him, only to race across the room, back to her side as her screams of agony pierced the air.

Without a thought, he’d shoved Thor out of the way to reach her, pulling her close against him. His touch was the only one she could tolerate. As long as he was touching her, she could stand another’s touch.

So, the medical team had worked around them as he’d stayed by her side, refusing to let her go. It was the very least he could do to help her.

“Dex?”

Tiredly, he glanced up as Thor walked back into the room.

“I believe I may have discovered the answer.”

Thank the stars.

“Will she be all right?”

Thor nodded. “You both will. I think.”

“You think?” He wanted certainty, not doubt. “What do you mean, you think?”

“This is the first Earther-Zerconian mating ever recorded. I cannot be totally certain.” Thor’s voice was irritated. Koran hadn’t even spoken to him at all. Dex had some reparations to make it seemed. He sighed. Exhaustion rolled over him. Had he ever been this tired before?

“You need to sleep,” Thor told him, his hard gaze softening a bit.

“Not until she is well. What did you find out?”

“I believe it’s to do with your mating. Well, half-mating. It seems her body is in a state of near-constant arousal that is so intense it’s painful. Your touch appears to alleviate that arousal and give her some ease. I believe it’s also the reason you’ve been acting so oddly. Your body needed release and it sought out violence, while her body went into sexual overdrive, requiring your touch.”

“So what will fix this?”

“Hopefully, fully mating with her.”

Dex stared down at his tiny mate. He wanted to do nothing more. But he would not force her.

“She doesn’t want me.”

“For stars sake, Dex.” Koran entered the room and leaned back against the door. “I’ve known you a long time and someone has to tell it to you straight. She wants you. But she doesn’t understand why she wants you. I understand that you have not been in your right mind, but you have handled this all wrong.”

“That so? Do tell,” Dex demanded in a low voice.

Koran looked slightly nervous, but then he straightened away from the door. “She’s not Zerconian. I spoke to her while we were waiting for the two of you. She finds it difficult to understand how she can want you when she does not know you. Apparently on her planet, males and females get to know each other first before they join. To her, it seems like everything has happened backward. Think about how frightened she must be. A new mate, a new culture, entering the unknown and you left her alone for three risings.”

“I didn’t mean to.”

“I know. But your intentions don’t change what has happened. She believed you were punishing her. She even thought you might have given up on her.”

“Given up on her?” Never!

“See what I mean, she doesn’t fully understand that a mating is forever. That ignoring your mate is impossible. Well, normally it should be.”

Dex let out a deep sigh. “I get it.”

“Do you?” Koran asked. “She had a mate.”

“What?” Where? Who? He would kill anyone who came between them.

“He left her.”

Dex gaped at Koran. “Left her?”

“Yes, according to Zoey, it happens quite often on Earth. Her father left her mother.”

“And she believed that I left her.” Remorse filled him. Koran was right, he had handled this badly. He’d said things to her he would never dream of saying to a Zerconian female because he’d been frustrated and desperate to join with her.

“She thought that you’d decided she was more trouble than she was worth.”

“I’ve failed her. I just never expected to mate with someone who wasn’t Zerconian. It was up to me to help her adjust and instead I just expected her to know everything.”

“And now she’s ill,” Thor interjected. “You don’t have the luxury of taking things slow.”

“But she’s well now that I’m touching her.”

Thor frowned, glancing down at his tablet. “I don’t know how long that will last. This is unknown territory. But it seems your bodies know what to do and they are making the decision for you.”

Dex sighed.

“This is her physical wellbeing we’re talking about, Dex.” Thor studied Zoey.

“I won’t force her.”

“If the two of you don’t join, we could well lose both of you.”

“Just explain things to her,” Koran told him. “Talk to her.”

Dex growled under his breath. Now that he could think, he could see all the mistakes he’d made.

“Her body may well shut down if you wait too much longer, Dex,” Thor stated. “I am worried about what you will do if you go too much longer without anchoring yourself to her.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been growing increasingly violent. Your testosterone levels are far too high. It’s concerning.”

Meaning, he was worried that Dex might go into a violent rage.

“Can I take her back to my quarters?”

Thor and Koran looked at each other in relief.

“I suppose that would be all right, even though it would be better for us to monitor the pair of you.” Thor’s lips quirked up into a smile.

“There is no way that is happening.”

“Are you sure?” Koran asked. “Because we could give you some tips. Maybe point out where you’re lacking.”

“As if I need tips,” he growled, pulling Zoey up into his arms.

“You
are
the only male I know who has taken more than three risings to finally join with his mate,” Thor added, openly grinning. “Perhaps there is something wrong with your rod.”

Dex just glared at them.

“In all seriousness, Dex,” Thor patted his shoulder, “you need to take care with your female. We don’t know what limitations she might have.”

“Understood.” Dex nodded. No risks would be taken with his mate. He would never put her in danger again.

Zoey opened her eyes as they left medical and yawned. She’d heard them talking, but couldn’t understand any of it. Still, if she was allowed to leave medical, then she guessed she was on the mend.

Dex studied her. “How are you feeling, mate?”

“Better,” she told him. “The pain is gone. I’m just a bit tired.”

“I’ll have you back in our quarters soon. Then you can rest.”

She grew quiet as he walked through the passages. Warriors jumped aside as they saw him coming, nodding warily.