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EARTH DATE: JUNE 25 5:00 AM
Canadian National Park, Rocky Mountains
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BROOKE’S EYES SNAPPED open as a hard masculine hand pressed firmly over her mouth. Her muffled scream vibrated against warm skin as her arm was bumped. Dazedly, her heart racing with adrenaline, she recognized Theiv.
He gave her a little shake when she tried to jerk away from him, but she was so cold she could hardly move. “H-how—”
“Shh!” He hissed out as he slowly released her. “You have enemies here, Dragoness.” His whisper was furious as he carefully looked around.
“Enemies?” Brooke huddled against the thick trunk of the tree, shaking from the cold, and carefully holding her arm.
Theiv frowned and touched her face. “You are too cold.” He shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, deeply concerned with her injuries and the level of exposure she’d been subjected to. “We have to get you warmed up.” He began to break branches to make more room in this most unlikely of shelters.
When he’d cleared a big enough area, he shrugged off the backpack, and pulled out a thin black material, thanking the gods he’d thought to bring his emergency go-bag from the ship. He worked efficiently, moving quickly to fit the high-tech waterproof cloth all around the roof and sides of their tree cave. The material clung securely to every surface he pressed it to, and in short order, they had a tent, of sorts. “This will help keep out the wind, light won’t shine through, and it muffles sound.”
He pulled a small square box out of the pack and set it on the ground. It began to glow a soft orange and Brooke felt a gentle heat. She scooted closer and held out her hand to the warmth.
Theiv took out a thick roll of material and spread it out on the floor, then he scooped Brooke up in his arms and settled her on the mat. Tugging a soft fleece-like blanket from his pack, he tucked it around her as best he could without covering her injuries. Brooke moaned softly when he jostled her arm.
“My apologies, Brooke.” He murmured, as he assessed her injuries. He’d seen the blood around the vehicle’s crash site, knew she’d been hurt, but the sight of her injuries made his gut twist. “Why, in the seven hells, don’t your traveling machines have safety protocols?”
The wind outside blew against the walls of the shelter, but Brooke’s violent shivering slowed as the little shelter warmed. She watched Theiv gather medical supplies, some of which looked foreign. “How—”
“How did you end up here?” He interrupted as he unzipped her jacket, pausing when her posture stiffened. “Easy. I must check your injuries.”
She nodded, steeling herself against the pain she was certain would come.
Theiv tried to be gentle, taking care not to cause more discomfort than necessary as he checked her over. His frown deepened as the extent of her injuries became clear to him.
“I was going home. Hit some black ice. Rolled down the cliff face.”
“I found the wrecked travel machine.” He flashed a small light in her eyes, his jaw turning to granite at her answer. So, she’d run away.
Pulling a small, blue packet from his pack, Theiv ripped it open and took out a damp cloth. On his planet, the medicated wipe was used to prevent infections. He had no idea if it would be as effective on this planet, but it was what he had, and it would have to do.
He gently wiped her face with it, wincing when he saw the long, jagged tear that sliced across her forehead and down her temple. He carefully cleaned it. “This cloth contains antibiotics to prevent most infections.”
He carefully taped the wound closed, then helped her to take off her jacket. Her arm was swollen, badly bruised, and the angle of her forearm was wrong.
Brooke closed her eyes breathing away the nausea that rose in her throat.
“I need you to lie down, Brooke, your arm is broken, and I must immobilize it. If you faint. . . then you will not aggravate your injuries.”
Brooke nodded and let him assist her. He knelt over her and searched through his bag some more. He brought out what looked like a netted material, assuring her it would turn into a hard splint when he applied it.
He gave her a shot of something for pain, and then he quickly and efficiently splinted the arm and wrapped it. Even with the pain shot, it was agonizing. Brooke clenched her teeth and fought to contain her groans of pain, fighting the darkness that was threatening to encroach. A cold sweat broke out over her body and she shivered.
“I’m sorry for the pain I caused, Dragoness. I did not have time to put together a full medical kit.” He gently lifted her and tipped a container to her lips. She drank thirstily. When she finished, he eased her back down and tucked the fleece blanket securely around her, before sitting back against the tree trunk. “So, Brooke, we are finally alone.”
Brooke burst out laughing. “There are easier ways to be alone with me.”
“You’re not afraid of me?” Theiv gave her a dark look.
“I probably should be, you look angry enough to scare the bravest, but you’ve never hurt me.”
Theiv reached out and gently tugged a short spiky piece of hair. “I am angry. And there will be consequences for this foolish course you have chosen, but not here while you are hurting.” He ignored the anger that flashed in her eyes. “We must leave as soon as the storm abates. I believe that Drace has a team in the area. I saw a flash in the forest to the west, about 5 km away from your crashed machine.”
“He found me again? So soon?” Brooke closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and then another as she struggled to contain her urge to jump up and run. Was there nowhere she could escape him?
Theiv watched her intently. “I have the same questions. Especially when we consider that I neutralized all the tracking devices he implanted.” He paused and tilted his head as if he were listening, holding up his hand for quiet. “I think the wind has stopped.” Edging out of their shelter he looked up into a clear night sky before crawling back inside. “The storm is over.”
He began to dismantle the little tent he’d created and put everything away into his pack, then he shrugged into his uniform jacket, and took a second identical coat from the pack. “This will keep you warmer than the one you were wearing.” He helped her to put it on, and as he drew up the fastener, their eyes met. He could smell her pheromones and his dick hardened, but he understood the cold hard facts that surrounded the sexual tension they were both feeling. Her body was attempting to heal her, and it could do that more efficiently if it had access to more energy. Zepto technology was an unfeeling bitch. He broke eye contact and assisted her out of their shelter. As they stood, he brought out the scanner once more, determined to retain his control. “According to the GPS there is a small town approximately seven kilometers to the east.” He turned his gaze to the woman at his side. “Are you able to journey that far?”
Brooke nodded. “I run that distance every day. What are your plans after we get to that town?”
“Finding a safe place to rest and getting something to eat is the priority.” He looked out over the forest assessing the easiest way through the towering green trees. “Then, Brooke, we will talk.”
Never in her life had Brooke been so tempted to close down communication with a “whatever,” as she was at that moment. There was an FFT for everything, she thought, “Effing first time.” Not that she would say the full acronym out loud. Though, come to think of it, it was possible there would be an FFT for that too, especially if her future continued to spin wildly out of control. She cast a mutinous look at the tall alien beside her. “Communication is good,” she said, as they started to walk. “As long as you understand this is my life we are talking about, and I will be the one who makes the decisions for my life.”
Theiv held on to his temper, a muscle in his jaw jumping as he clenched his teeth. “This is my life, too, Brooke. The decisions will be made together.”
She wanted to scream, but she simply kept walking. His life? Really? He was not the one they experimented on. He was not the one whose body was out of control. She hated what those aliens had done to her. Hated it! How dare those blue skinned—she cut off her thoughts, horrified. Blue skinned? What on earth was she thinking? Never in her life had she judged a race based on their skin colour. Was she going to allow what that evil man had done to influence the bedrock of her values? Was she going to let what had been done to her change even the most important parts of her? To be angry with the man who committed such a great evil was justified, to hate his entire species because of his actions, was not. She took a deep breath, her mind and heart heavy.