Wulf would be here soon—he could tend her, he’d like that.
Before lapsing into unconsciousness, she pictured the cross-tunnels, the doorway, and the symbols to access the room.
Wulf’s acknowledgment tickled her mind. It was sort of nice to have this telepathic connection. She slipped into a deep sleep knowing he would find her. All was well.
Chapter Eight
After four frantic hours, ten more dead Antareans, and one minor laser laceration of his own, Wulf finally found the doorway where Melina hid. He’d followed her mental directions and then a trail of her blood. The blood scared him. Frequent mental touches told him she was unconscious but alive. It was the longest four hours of his life.
Tapping in the door code that one of his ancestors had programmed almost a millennia ago, he entered the dimly lit room.
“Melina? Gemate lubha?”
His worried gaze searched the shadows and found her on a sleeping couch, curled into a ball. He hurried to her.
Clenching his fists at his side, he resisted the urge to gather her into his arms.
Instead, he knelt and assessed her injuries. Blood pooled under her from a wound in her thigh; the blood had congealed and there were no signs of continued active bleeding. One small, dirty, bloody hand hung over the edge of the sleeping couch as her other supported her head. She shivered in her sleep. Touching her forehead, he found it cool and dry to the touch. No fever, just chilled. That he could do something about. Glancing around the room, he spotted the room’s control panel. He moved to it and uttered a command in Prime. A low hum indicated that the ancient heating mechanism in the safe room still operated. The room began to warm almost immediately.
After raising the lighting in the room, he returned to Melina’s side. Sitting on the edge of the chaise, he inhaled her scent. No aural evidence of infection. His connection to her measured a steady pulse and normal respirations.
He heaved a sigh of relief. Her injuries were not life threatening. Her sleep was one of exhaustion.
Wulf stroked a lock of silky dark hair from her forehead; her normally neat braid had long since unraveled. She murmured at his touch, then quieted. He edged further onto the couch, needing to touch her. As he massaged the nape of her neck, he wondered how she’d blocked her pain and weakness from him. He’d never heard of such a thing between imprinted mates. It hadn’t been until he’d received her call for assistance that he’d realized she was hurt—and even then she’d hidden the extent of it. He would have to have a serious talk with his little warrior about hiding these types of things from him.
Her welfare was of great import and not something to be concealed at any time.
A slight gasp and a creasing of her forehead drew him from his thoughts. Touching her mind lightly, he found pain disrupting her healing rest. This was unacceptable.
Spying her pack on the floor under the sleeping couch, he rooted through it and found a field med kit. He emptied it and located a pain medication patch. He placed it behind her ear.
With her pain under control, he set about seeing to her injuries. After injecting a local anesthetic with a pressure syringe, he ripped open some antiseptic wipes and cleaned her leg and hand injuries. The hand wound was minor. He treated it with the healing cold laser she had in her kit, then wrapped it. The leg wound was deeper and would need regeneration so as not to scar permanently. He sealed the wound so it would not start bleeding again then wrapped it in a light pressure bandage. Finally, he gave her a therapeutic dose of antibiotics.
He’d done the best he could with the materials at hand. The sooner he could get her on board the Galanti, the better.
Despite her injuries, he had an overwhelming need to hold her close. The skin-to-skin touch of gemat to gemate had healing abilities. Stripping down to his underwear, he cut off her already shredded pants. He couldn’t remove her t-shirt without rousing her, so he left it. The skin he’d exposed would have to suffice.
Carefully, he moved her to the far edge of the couch and then lay next to her, pulling her into his arms, her head lying on his chest, her lips touching the edge of his gemat symbol. Her legs tangled with his, her injured hand lay across his waist, holding onto him with a strength that belied her injuries. Once settled against him, Melina emitted a sigh of what he could only classify as relief. The warm breath feathered across his skin. The panic and emptiness he’d felt since she’d left him on the Galanti disappeared as he inhaled her scent, absorbed the feel of her. He brushed fervent, light kisses across her forehead. She made him whole.
Melina murmured in her sleep, then nuzzled his neck, inhaling deeply. A shudder went through him. His heart pounded. The primordial need to connect, to conquer and claim his mate in the most basic of ways coursed through him, heating his blood. A low growl reverberated throughout the room. He fought to control his more primitive urges; Melina was in no shape for the type of sex his body desired, demanded. His mouth brushed her forehead with the lightest of kisses. He’d waited this long for her; he could wait for a better time and more conducive surroundings.
“You always smell so good,” she moaned against the pulse throbbing at the base of his throat. She peeked up at him through incredibly long black lashes, her green eyes dull with exhaustion and pain. “I hurt.”
“I know, lubha. The pain medication should take the edge off soon.” He brushed away some hair caught in her lashes. “How did this happen?” He lightly touched her bandaged leg. “When I headed for the plateau, you were fine. I saw no Antareans anywhere near the ship.” I would have landed and killed them if I had.
“It was Parker.”
“Parker?” He searched his memory for a split second. “The man you fought at the Tooh 2 resort?” After his brothers’ recitation of that incident and his viewing of the resort’s security feed, he’d made a mental note to look the apayebo up some day. Now, he wished he’d acted on the thought sooner.
“Yeah,” she shuddered, then took a couple of deep breaths. “He must’ve heard about me being Prime from one of his old buddies in Blue Squadron. That kind of news would have swept through the Alliance base. He turned traitor—led the Antareans to me and—
to my parents.”
Her last words ended on a sob. Her extreme sorrow pierced his heart.
“Where is he?” he asked, forcing a calm into his voice he did not feel.
“I killed him,” she whispered, her voice filled with the evidence of her tears and so much sadness and regret that Wulf wanted to find Parker and kill him all over again.
He brushed another kiss across her temple and wiped away the moisture on her pale cheeks. He had a feeling his woman did not cry often.
“I’m sorry about your parents, gemate lubha.” He massaged the back of her neck, feathering her hair through his fingers. The motion soothed him as much as it did her. “I promise none of the raiders will escape me. I just wish—”
“Shhh.” Shaky fingers touched his lips. He kissed the abraded tips, evidence of her struggle to survive. “You came as soon as you knew. It’s my fault … I … I, uh, should never have run from you.” She caressed his jaw. Even in her sorrow and pain, she tried to soothe him. He wasn’t sure she even realized that she did so. Her breath hitched and a slight grimace of pain crossed her face. “I should’ve stayed, faced you … faced this bond we have, then gone to my parents to find out the truth.”
“I would’ve come with you. I never would’ve kept you from the people who raised you. I wanted to meet and thank them for caring for you as if you were their own. They would have been honored on Cejuru Prime.”
Her eyes filled with even more tears. She acknowledged his words, his feelings with one small nod. Tracing his lips with one finger, she asked, “Will you help me take them there? To bury?”
Shuddering at her touch, he took her hand in his, gently nibbling her fingers then pressing a kiss into her palm before enfolding her smaller hand within his. “Yes. Their ashes shall be kept in the Caradoc tomb. They are your family, so they are mine.” Melina smiled mistily. “They would’ve loved that—to be entombed with the most important family in Prime history.” She nestled her wet cheek against his chest, her hand idly stroking his chest. She exhaled softly as if the weight of the galaxy had been lifted from her shoulders. Blinking up at him, she whispered, “Thanks for the shove up the wall.”
“That is what mates do, little warrior.” He kissed the tip of her nose, frowning.
“Don’t put it off so long the next time.”
She chuckled then winced. “Don’t make me laugh. It hurts.”
“I’m serious, Melina lubha. ” Moving her hand to cover his gemat sign, he tilted her chin up so he could capture her tourmaline-colored gaze with his. He stroked her straight little nose with his index finger then tapped the tip. “You are vitally important to me. We are a team. What hurts you, hurts me.”
“That’s why I blocked it. I didn’t want you distracted.” She placed her fingers over his mouth. “No, listen to me. I sensed your emotions as you approached the planet. You were … well, out of control. When you finally sensed me, you calmed down. I didn’t want you to lose the battle-calm because of me. This connection we have is a good one, but it can also be a detriment … a distraction in the heat of battle. If I need help, I’ll ask for it. And I did.”