Page 13 of Rebel Fates

Rok rolls him off her and snatches up Serret’s arm. “We need to get him into the medical bay.”

I take Serrat’s other arm as Rok lifts him. “What about her?” I ask, staring down at her unmoving form as I help Rok carry our massive leader.

“We’ll deal with her once I get Serrat scanned and treated,” Rok grumbles. He might not be our leader, but he takes our injuries as a personal slight against his protective nature as our healer.

I glance back at the female, not wanting to leave her behind. She looks dead—pale and crumpled in on herself.

But I also need to make sure my pack mate and leader are all right. He’s everything to me.

Oddly, my draw to her is almost as strong, and I can’t make sense of my instant desire to take care of her.

From the quick study of her face, she is beautiful and interestingly… she appears to behuman. If it weren’t for her unusual blue hair color, I’d automatically assume she was.

Rok and I place Serrat on the exam table, and the medical system begins its scan.

“Will he be alright?” I ask, gripping the edge of the table. I stop and release the table when I see I’m denting the metal, my concern for Serrat overtaking my body.

“I don’t know yet,” Rok says through his sharp, clenched teeth.

“The female, will she—”

“Theslave?” Rok asks with distaste.

“Knock it off.” He’s not usually hostile toward victims, but he won’t survive the pain if we lose Serrat. “You will heal him,” I say to soothe him. After he nods, I ask, “Was she dead?”

“I think she was still breathing.”

Rok notes my relief. “She almost got Serrat killed. And what if the Tirbilians come after us for stealing their shit? We can’t deal with that right now. Not with our shift on the way.”

“We will destroy them if they come after her or us. It’ll be a good start to thecalling.”

Rok glares at me. “Go get your pet. If she’s alive.”

“Yeah.Mypet.” I nod to Serrat. “Unless he wants her.” I don’t revel in suggesting it, but Serrat saved her life, and he’s our leader. I won’t just claim her without his blessing.

I hurry back to the storage bay and see she is still passed out. Her chest rises and falls with shallow breaths.

“Leva? Why did you let her on board?”

I hear a whine from the ship. She thinks I’m mad at her.

“I’m only upset that you didn’t warn us she was onboard,” I say. “We could have gotten the collar offbeforeit almost killed her. Don’t keep something this important from us again, okay?”

Leva whimpers softly again. She tries her best, but she’s still learning.

I kneel to examine the human female, touching her forehead. Her shoulder-length, wavy blue hair is in disarray, but I can see it would be lovely when it’s properly tended. Everything else about her, from delicate features, shape, to her coloring and skin texture, would confirm what I thought—Earthling. Perhaps she’s a hybrid. I’ve seen some of them over the years.

Scooping her up into my arms, my heart pounds harder with every step to the med bay.

What if she’s a human?

I can’t allow myself to think about the rest, but it feels so right to have her in my arms.

Setting her down next to Serrat, Rok reluctantly runs the scan on her now. Both are naked, both beautiful in their own ways, and both seem to be merely resting.

“Well?” I ask Rok after he checks her over.

“Barring any unforeseen complications, and with the regeneration cycle, I believe they should both wake by the end of the day.”

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