Page 15 of Badari Medic

While they waited, he mulled over probably a hundred things he should say to her but he felt tongue tied.

There was the sound of a flyer and a dark shape settled in over the meadow in front of them. A ramp extended and a squad of Badari in full gear deployed. One—Mateer by the size—stood at the ramp and beckoned.

His opportunity for telling Raeblin anything now over, he cursed himself for his indecision. “Let’s go. Dangerous for them to linger on the ground.”

She caught his elbow. “I told them about the transfusion. I had to. I warn you, Mateer may be upset with me.”

“He’ll have to come through me to get to you. Thanks for the heads up but you did what you had to do, telling him.”

“The goddess said I was forgiven,” she said as if reminding herself too. “It’ll be fine.” She winced, hand to her head. “He’s getting impatient. We have to go.”

For the first time since the mission began, she broke protocol and ran into the clearing ahead of him. With a curse he broke cover too and followed, guarding her six until she reached the flyer and the enforcer grabbed her, to rush her up the ramp. The flyer’s engines hummed louder and Brent redoubled his speed. They weren’t going to leave him but he hated for her to be alone with Mateer even for a few moments. The Badari soldiers on the ground closed in around him, collapsing their position as he moved, until his boots hit the ramp, the others right behind him. The flyer was lifting off even as the last man leaped aboard and Brent laughed.

“Damn, must be Gabe at the controls.”

“How did you guess?” The nearest Badari soldier, which happened to be Faine, clapped him on the shoulder. “He’s been beside himself worrying about you and the Daughter. Glad to have you both back.”

“Thanks for coming to pick us up.” Brent wanted to get to Raeblin and worked his way through the group of soldiers, accepting their jovial welcomes and congratulations on surviving on the run but when he got to the main aisle, he saw Raeblin was enfolded in the arms of Keshara, her own Alpha, and seemed to be crying.

“Not the time, brother,” Mateer said, blocking the path. “The women need their privacy right now.”

Brent was forced to accept the enforcer’s statement and sat with Mateer, going over the mission and how much the Khagrish might have learned about the female Badari during their brief captivity. “At the end, right before I shot them, they did understand what Raeblin was.” He paused, getting a grip on his anger as he remembered how the enemy soldiers hadplanned to violate her in front of him. Thank the Lords of Space for his experimental implant, which had allowed him to throw off the stunner’s effects. He’d have gone insane if he’d been forced to lie there, unable to help her. He hoped she’d talked to Keshara about it because she was having nightmares and she needed help, especially since he wouldn’t be there to hold her and ease her out of the flashbacks. The thought made him sick and so he concentrated on his report. “The pilot was completely out of the loop, playing some game on his handheld when I snuck up on him in the flyer. So, no, I don’t believe word got out to any other Khagrish.”

“You did a damn fine job, as always,” Mateer said when the ad hoc debrief was finished. “Aydarr’ll want to hear all about it too of course.”

“I need a word with her,” Brent said. “I need to know she’s okay right now.”

Mateer paused for an instant, doing his telepathic thing, Brent was sure. “Keshara says she’s fine. You can talk to her later, once we get to the valley.”

If he’d believed he had a chance of persuading the enforcer and Raeblin’s Alpha to change their minds, he would have protested, but in the confines of the flyer, trapped in his seat by Mateer’s bulk next to him, which he was sure had been intentional, Brent had to accept defeat. For now.

CHAPTER SIX

“We’re going to meet with Aydarr,” Gabe said, holding Brent aside as the Badari soldiers left the landing area.

“Now?” Brent tried to catch Raeblin’s eye, wanting to check on her, see how she was doing but all he caught was a rear view as she and Keshara walked away. “What’s his big hurry?”

Gabe smiled but there wasn’t much real humor in the expression. “I don’t know—he’s the Supreme Alpha and he doesn’t have to wait for meetings? Come on, don’t start this by making him mad.”

“Start what?” Brent handed off his pulse rifle to a waiting cadet tasked with returning the weapon to the armory and caught up to his old friend with ease.

“It’s not my place to explain.” They walked along the path toward the administrative area of the valley and Brent noticed the colors were brighter and the scents more vivid. The forest and the lake and everything in between smelled fresh and some of the tension he was holding deep inside unwound. Gabe continued with his next thought. “You two were in deep shit on that mission.”

“No kidding. Raeblin was solid though, had my six when she needed to, pulled me through after I was wounded.” Pride overher abilities ran through him and Brent was impatient to see her again. Maybe after this damn meeting or debrief or whatever it was ended. There were always debriefings after a mission concluded but not usually like this, in a rush to meet with the Alpha, not unless there was a significant issue or crisis. Uneasy, Brent knew if Gabe was authorized to tell him anything prior to the meeting, he would have already.

Aydarr wasn’t in his conference room when they arrived but less than a minute after Brent stepped into the room, the Alpha came in, followed by his mate Jill, his number one enforcer Mateer and his pack healer Timtur. For once, unusually, the alien AI MARL remained in the corridor outside, rather than floating along next to Jill. “Please be seated,” Aydarr said with a growl in his voice. Looking at Brent as he made his way to the chair at the head of the table, he added, “Glad to have you back in one piece.”

“Sir.” Acknowledging the comment, Brent took his place and waited.

Aydarr stared at him for a long moment, eyes drifting toward a red gold color as they glowed. Chills along his spine told Brent he faced the Alpha’s hidden predator and he tamped down the urge to check his knife. If Aydarr wanted him dead for any reason, the knife wouldn’t help. Clearing his throat, Aydarr said, “The first thing you have to understand is you’re not human anymore, Brent. You’re Badari and nothing about us—not one tiny detail about us, the packs, our history, our goddess,nothing—is shared with humans. Understand?”

He didn’t see how he qualified as a Badari, despite Raeblin’s blood. He had no inner predator, he couldn’t grow fangs or talons, hell, he didn’t even have the telepathic ability. Not being a fool, Brent merely said, “I get it.” He could tell Aydarr had a lot more to say but he asked his own urgent question. “Raeblin’s not in trouble, is she?”

Now the Alpha’s huge black talons were edging out. He raised his eyes to the ceiling as if praying for patience and said, “Timtur the Chief Healer told me the Great Mother toldhimRaeblin had her forgiveness for the choice she made. The subject is closed.”

Relief flooded Brent’s mind and he was now prepared to deal with whatever other complications Aydarr was going to throw at him.

Leaning forward, the Supreme Alpha said, “You’ve been with us—with my mate—since the beginning so I don’t know how much you’ve heard or observed in that time but for us, the Badari, it’s all about dominance. It’s how our predators make sense of the world. It’s how pack discipline and order are maintained. We each know where we stand. I cannot have any soldier, even one with only transfused Badari blood, standing outside the hierarchy. Therefore before we leave this room today I will have your blood oath swearing fealty to me and making you a member of my pack directly.”

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