Page 8 of Saving Lauren

“Please, don’t put me into the box,” she sobs. “It’s too dark in the box, and I am so cold.”

“You are safe L’Ren,” I tell her. “You are safe, nobody is going to put you into a box. I will protect you, I promise.”

“Promise!” she sobs. “It’s so dark, and so cold.”

I wrap my arms around her tightly. “Is this better?”

“Yes.” I feel the tension slipping from her shoulders.

“It’s so warm,” she sighs.

I gently caress her hair. I am scared she will wake up and immediately hate my touch, but she just crawls deeper into my embrace. She closes her eyes and her breathing evens out again.

I am frozen in place. I have my mate in my arms. I have calmed her. She was scared, and I gave her peace.

Although every instinct inside me is screaming to find out more about who hurt her, who made her so scared, then kill him, I must remain here. She wants me here, with her. Holding her. So that’s what I will do.

The killing will come later.

CHAPTER 5

Lauren

Iwake up disoriented. I am strangely warm and comfortable, and it feels foreign to me. It’s also quiet, and I slowly open my eyes. Not wanting to set anybody off or alerting them to the fact that I’m waking up.

My stomach feels empty and I feel a bit weak, but I don’t sense any discomfort or pain at all. It also seems like I am lying in a bed. My eyes scan the room I am in, and when I see the light in the corner, yesterday comes back to me. I move to sit up and my hand rests on something very firm, not bed-like at all.

I blink and then I see I am lying on top of the alien warrior. I gasp. I want to scream but I am too scared to react. What is he doing here, what happened? I stealthily crawl out of his embrace and sit at the edge of the bed, blankets cover my clothed body. And then he opens his eyes and looks at me.

“Please do not be afraid,” he says. “You were hurting, in the night, in your dreams.”

I blush, of course I had nightmares. I have them almost every night, but I can’t remember them waking me up, come to think about it. I cock my head and study him.

“You helped me,” I say. He nods and I continue. “You held me.” And then I sigh. “I remember being so warm, so blissfully warm...”

He grins. “That would be me, L’Ren. You were cold, and I am sorry I touched you when you were not aware, but I had to help you. I did not know any other way. When my touch seemed to help, I stayed.”

His words are simple, but they shake me up. Could it be true? Could his touch have comforted me? It makes sense, I guess... He makes me feel safe, for a yet to be unraveled reason, so he could have been able to calm me down in my terrors.

“Thank you,” I simply say.

He blinks. “You are welcome."

I get up and walk towards the bathroom. I self-consciously point at the door. “Bathroom,” I whisper. He doesn’t move, just watches me go into the room.

After I do my business, I look into the mirror. Those injections they gave me must have been some very advanced tech, because I look so much better than I thought I would. There’s no bruising to be found and although I am way too skinny and my eyes look sad, I do look… good. Healthy.

I decide I don’t want to dwell on how I must have looked yesterday and instead focus on the mess that is my hair. It’s all tangled and it looks like quite the bird’s nest to me. I sigh, maybe I should ask D’Var to cut it off? He must have a sharp enough blade.

When I enter the bedroom again, D’Var is already up and about. The bed is made, and the blinds are up. All my insecurities disappear in the face of what is outside of the windows and I gasp at the beauty. I don’t know what I expected to think of outer space, but it is stunning.

I am entranced by the view as I walk up to the window, putting my hands on the glass. It’s almost as if we are hovering silently in space, but if I pay close attention, I can see some of the stars moving slowly towards a new position. As if I’m on the highway and slowly passing the trees on the horizon.

The sky is extraordinary. A deep rich black filled with stars. Some are so bright they seem white, others a deep orange or red. Then in the distance, I can see what looks like a space nebula. Deep blues and purples covering the edges. It’s unlike anything I have ever seen before.

I feel D’Var’s presence besides me before I hear him speak. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

I nod. “I have never seen anything like it.”

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