Page 50 of Homecoming

“No, you don’t. There’s a second mark on my back, and I really don’t think that you do double duty as a seahorse.” Orla sighed and leaned back into the pillow.

A nurse came to the door and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, everyone out. I am going to wash her hair out and get more of that blood off, and I don’t think she wants an audience.”

Aeryn said, “I can help.”

Orla shook her head. “He’s giving me a bath. That is going to be hard enough for me to manage, so I had better start getting used to it now.”

The nurse scowled. “I can get a female in here to do it.”

“No. I would rather take on one male with that crew outside the door. Desensitize quickly.”

Ligo looked at the nurse and nodded. “We will be outside if she calls out.”

Aeryn wanted to fight, but her mates hauled her out. Ligo said, “I will go and find you something to wear.”

She nodded and then looked at the alpha, who was in the small lav and working on getting a bowl with warm water and another as backup.

He sighed. “They beat the hell out of you, but you are recovering.”

She looked at him. “Wait, you were in the emergency room doing triage, and now, you are in a private room? Why? Did you get demoted?”

“No, I requested this. It isn’t creepy. I have just worked around quite a few trauma cases.” He took one hand and started getting all the blood and dirt out of the folds of her skin. The water quickly went pinky-grey.

She nodded and relaxed as he stroked the cloth on her skin.

“There is also one other matter that I am a bit embarrassed to mention, but I have been hearing about the betas with marks, and I happen to resemble one of the creatures on your back.”

She slowly opened her eyes as he cleaned her neck. “The seahorse?”

“Yeah, it isn’t really the sexiest sea beast out there, but that’s me. I am not tiny though. I have not let anyone do it, but I am large enough to ride.”

“I am not my sister. I still need to breathe.”

“That’s okay. I am good at taking care of people.” He smiled. “I have already filed my transfer over to the Wonder Island clinic.”

She smiled. “Your name?”

“Iro. Now, enough chitchatting, and relax. The ER is not great at dealing with nail tears.”

Orla nodded. “Skin is alive and dead at the same time.”

“Correct. So, let’s see if we can’t save what we can.”

She nodded and let Iro slowly clean her from head to toe. “When did you clock out?”

He smiled. “An hour ago. Right now, I am just one of your visitors who knows what you need.”

She chuckled, and he moved around the bed, changing the water and moving carefully and precisely. He sang softly to her, and she drowsed as he removed traces of the men who wanted to hurt her, delicately taking care of the claw marks between her thighs. She let Jane’s energy move through her as he tucked the shredded skin back into place. He found the cut between her thighs and cleaned it carefully. He didn’t hiss, he didn’t growl, he didn’t snarl, but she could tell he was more concerned for her than revenge.

Orla appreciated that he kept her covered as he moved, and she had to hold herself up as he changed the bedding under her. Fresh pads were set down, and she was eased to her belly. He had reached around most of her limbs, but the expanse of herback had the scrapes of being dragged on the deck during the fight.

“Where do the marks come from?”

“We don’t know. They aren’t there, and then, they are. Some of us get them after traumatic alpha interactions, like they are some kind of carriers. A few ladies just bump into an alpha, and then, the marks show up. It’s like wearing a billboard, and you don’t even want to know what people think when you wear a giant squid and a seahorse. Apparently, that is a kink they can’t figure out.”

Iro laughed and got the dirt off her butt. “It is unique.”

He cleared up the pads again, put down new ones, and then bent her over a basin to wash her hair while she was wrapped in a sheet. A soft knock on the door and Ligo came in. “I have brought some clothing.”

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