Page 76 of An Alien for the Farm

“Like frakk you will. I will drive her—”

I growl, eyes flaming. My gaze shifts to lock with his. “She’s my mate, Varek.”

He hesitates. “Your core-rhythm it’s…”

“Wrapped around my core-beat. I cannot be away from her. It would kill me.” But then I hesitate again. “But if it means she will survive…”

Varek makes a sound in his throat. For the first time in a long while, I see his brows dive to his nose. He snarls. “No.”

I step closer, my own brows furrowing as we glare at each other. “I can’t lose her, Varek,” I snap. The desperation that creeps into my voice is so evident I think it alarms us both. I growl again. “Where’s the comm. I need help now!”

Because the thought of losing her when I’ve only just found her is unbearable. I stagger, leaning against the wall as Varek rushes around me. I hear him hurrying back outside, probably to the truck, as I make my way back in to Eleanor. I hover over her, my mind racing with dread. Every click feels like an eternity as I wait, my core-beat pounding in my chest.

When Varek returns, comm in hand, he’s already speaking rapidly into it. “This is Varek of the Korruk line. We need immediate medical assistance. It’s the human female. She’s unresponsive, high fever.”

I don’t move from Eleanor’s side, my hand brushing her damp hair back from her forehead. Her breathing is shallow, each rise and fall of her chest a fragile promise of life.

“Help is on the way,” Varek says, his voice steady but his eyes reflecting the same fear I feel. “We’ll get her through this, brother. We have to.”

Can he sense it? My desperation?

I might as well die if Eleanor doesn’t survive this. I don’t deserve to live if I have hurt her so badly she doesn’t even have the chance to recover.

As we wait, every second stretching unbearably, I silently vow to do whatever it takes to save her. This is not how our story begins or how it ends.

24

ELEANOR

Igrunt. My head feels like someone dropped a boulder on it. Trying to sit up, I become confused as my fingers fold into soft, fresh sheets beneath me.

“Hmm?”

I could laugh at myself to notice something as mundane as the sheets, but they’re a stark contrast to the chaos I remember. I shift, wincing at the dull ache in my muscles. My eyes flutter open. I’m in my room and the sun is shining. My gaze shifts to the window and the bright pink sky out there. The roof held through the rain. He did a great job.

It’s another random thought that feels almost like my brain trying to scramble for things to distract me with. There’s heat all along the center of my chest and I breathe a little harder as I rub at the spot.

Trying to rise, I grunt. My entire body aches. My neck. My back. My…everything. And now that song is stuck in my head. I groan and that’s when I realize there’s been voices in the background all along. Arguing male voices. Several of them. As soon as I groan, there’s silence. And then there’s the sound of scrambling feet.

It’s Zynar that I see first. Just the sight of him sends an electric shock straight through me that culminates in my core. I blush. Shouldn’t I be sated? If memory serves me right, we shared this same bed for days without stopping.

“Little Bird,” he grunts. He’s looking at me strangely, his eyes slightly wide. Gone is that predatorial look he had when I’d peeked through the crack at him in the barn. That same look that had followed him inside before he took me to oblivion. Instead, the strange look in his eyes makes me more alert.

“Zynar, is everything…” That’s when I see the other male that suddenly appears at his back. Varek has the same strange look on his face, right before it slips behind an unreadable mask. When two white fluffy ears separate them and Xarion steps into the room, my eyes widen even more.

“Xarion?”

Xarion adjusts his collared jacket and stands tall. “Eleanor.”

Behind him, the two Kari stand tall too. For all appearances, Xarion looks like something those two would have hunted in times past. Now, he stands before them like he has no fear at all.

“What’s…what’s this about?” I rub my head, wincing slightly at the bump that’s still on my skull. At the sound, Zynar’s ears flick, that strange look in his eyes increasing. My gaze shifts back to Xarion. “Is something wrong?”

“I was alerted of your critical state by the Kari who you seem to have…mated?” His ears straighten as if it’s something he can hardly believe, and I feel my cheeks warm.

“My critical state?”

“You’ve had a fever,” Xarion states, folding his arms behind his back. “One that held you unconscious. Coupled with the wounds you sustained during the rut, it was severe enough to cause great concern.”

---