Page 30 of The Alien's Pet

It sounded too good to be true.

"Karin?" he tried again. "Pet, open your eyes for me. Please." He rarely said the word please. It sounded strange coming from him, but he would beg on his hands and knees if it meant Karin would talk to him again.

Another little moan. This time, a bit louder.

He rubbed the inside of her wrist, as if trying to soothe her awake. "Pet, Pet, you have made me wait too long. Wake up for me. Now."

It was as if her body had heard the command. Her blue eyes shot open, her mouth widened as if gasping for breath.

She looked around the room, obviously perplexed. She almost looked adorable. "Korrev."

The name sounded lovely on her lips. He had been waiting for her to say something. Anything. And she had said his name.

"It's me, sweetheart." He pressed his palm against her face, cupping her chin, trying to look at her.

Karin squirmed, obviously believing she was in trouble.

Her blue eyes kept looking around, quickly recognizing the infirmary. "I'm back on Krotev." Her voice was calm. Not happy, but not exactly disappointed, either.

"You are."

"You rescued me?"

"Who else would have? You broke my ship the minute you left."

A strange smile wobbled on her lips. "You need a better ship."

"And you need to stop acting without thinking." He didn't immediately address the question he wanted to ask her. "You got sick. When we picked you up, you were nearly dead."

"Sick from what?"

"The orange berries you ate were poisonous. Fatal to humans. Quite honestly, it's a miracle you are even alive."

She nodded silently. "You saved me?"

"Barely."

"How did you find me? I didn't have my collar on."

"I have my ways. Which reminds me that after you are better, I am going to sew the new collar against your throat. Maybe that way, you won't take it off."

Her blue eyes widened, unsure if he was joking or not.

Korrev decided to change the conversation. The last thing he needed was to have her burst into tears. Azis would not be pleased with him if she started crying in her condition.

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired," Karin admitted. There were dark circles underneath her eyes. Even her lips looked lifeless. "Every bone in my body aches, and my lungs feel heavy. I'm struggling to breathe. It feels like I just ran a marathon."

"Azis struggled to remove the poison from your body. It was affecting your lungs and the rest of your organs. He had to give you a blood transfusion. You will likely feel pretty sickly for the next few weeks. There will be plenty of bed rest and plenty of tonics."

She nodded, looking too miserable to argue.

"Are you hungry, Pet?"

"No."

"Too bad. I'm sending the servants out for food and you will eat some of it, Karin, even if I have to sit you on my lap and force feed you myself."

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