Mated to the Beast(46)

Seth and his men had worked comms and gotten us transported to a different ship, not the Karter, one that wasn’t in direct line of the magnetic field. It had happened in all of five minutes, the men proficient in gaining assistance, but it had been that way my entire life. In the coalition fleet, everything had a reason and a purpose. Things made sense. Orders were given and followed. Every warrior was strong and knew exactly what was expected. We expected to fight, to bleed, to die. Every warrior knew his or her role, as did my Sarah.

I looked down at my mate and she appeared to be so fragile lying there, so weak and definitely not immortal. She was not a fierce female from one of the warrior races. No, she was just a delicate Earth woman who was my mate, my heart, my life. It didn’t matter to me that she was a warrior now, so skilled she could organize a ground attack or fly an enemy ship through a magnetic field. She was braver than anyone I knew, smarter than any military strategist, and yet her body was so fragile. I actually ached to take her in my arms and carry her away from this place, from the men, the noise, the constant danger of an enemy attack. For years none of that had bothered me, I’d taken it as my due. We were at war with the Hive, had been since before my birth, and would likely be long after I was gone. Yet I did not want any of this to touch Sarah. No more. She was too beautiful, too perfect for the ugliness that surrounded her now.

I learned in those five minutes that I wasn’t nearly as strong as I’d once believed. Muscles didn’t protect me from the heartbreak of nearly losing Sarah. Where I was weak, she was strong. Her two brothers and father had died, her last remaining family transported by the enemy right before her eyes. Her response had been determination to save Seth. Her love, once given, was relentless in its strength, courageous and full of stubborn hope. Her love was the one thing I desperately wanted, and yet she guarded her heart so well.

It took those five minutes to make me see that we were a pair who had to compromise. She gave and gave and I took. It was time I gave as well, that I let her be herself, not force her to be the weak woman the commander painted her, and, admittedly, I’d first thought her.

I wanted to reach down and touch her, to feel her skin to ensure it was still warm, to feel her pulse, to watch her breathe, but the doctor had pushed me out of the way often enough already. When I threatened to rip his arms off if he had me removed from the medical center, he allowed me to stay as long as I didn’t get in his way. It was a reasonable compromise, but I didn’t take my eyes off her.

I wanted to spank her ass a fiery shade of pink for getting herself hurt, but she’d done nothing reckless to warrant it. I didn’t want her in any kind of danger whatsoever, but I’d been right beside her when it had happened. There was no way I could have protected her, shielded her from the display console breaking or from the piece of that console now embedded in her side. Other than tying her to my bed, there was no way to completely protect her from harm. While I would ensure she enjoyed her time tied up, she would soon grow to hate the confinement and me. She could not be kept from her passion, her fighting, any more than I could. She was a warrior, and nothing I could do would change the heart of her. It was a harsh lesson I was learning, and unfortunately it had taken her being gravely injured to realize it.

How I would control the beast within as she put herself in harm’s way, I had no idea. The doctor checked the display and moved to her opposite side. “I heard the captain saved the day.”

I searched his face for insincerity, but found none. “She flew a damaged enemy craft off a Hive prison ship, evaded a triad of Hive recon fighters, and took us safely through a magnetic field. It wasn’t reckless, it was a rescue.”

“I agree with the warlord.” Seth joined me beside Sarah and watched with a clenched jaw as she was tended. “And so will the other eleven rescued men whose lives she saved.”

“She is going to be fine,” the doctor told Seth. He’d met her brother already, but Seth had been sent to debriefing and had finally returned. “A sleep status will help heal the puncture wound. The computer says two hours and she will awaken. At that time, I will do a full medical exam to ensure she is completely recovered, but I have no concerns.”

Seth gave one last look at his sister, clearly satisfied with her status, and turned to the head of the ship we’d transported to.

“Commander, with all due respect,” Seth said. He faced the Prillon leader like the captain he was. Proud, tall. “All the coalition leaders chose to leave me and the others for dead. I’d be a Hive soldier right now if not for her. So you can fuck off if you’re going to court-martial her. She had to deal with bullshit commands, then deal with this big beast and take care of me, too. She’s Wonder Woman.”