Page 51 of The Alien's Major Dilemma

"Get the arm fixed then take her into custody," the Commander said. "I have a few calls to make."

"For what it's worth, sir, I believe her," Cooper said. "I don't think she was in control of her own mind at the time."

"Noted," the Commander said. "Major Ozark, I'm sending you to your quarters to await medical care until your attacker has been removed from the immediate area. You are to stay there until you have been given clearance to walk."

"Yes, sir," Marissa said, her face still buried against the light in Cooper's neck.

"Can you find her bed?" he asked Cooper.

"Yes, sir," Cooper said. "I'll take care of her."

He didn't wait to be dismissed and just turned and started walking towards her room. She would ask him how he found it without asking for directions or got in without help but that would be later.

Without turning the lights on, he walked her to her bed and laid her down, the door closing behind him. He turned away from the bed and she held out her hand.

"Don't go," she said softly.

"I need to find something to wash the blood out of your hair," he told her.

"I know but let that wait, please. I need you."

She felt his gentle touch on her mind and let him in to hear the words that she couldn't say out loud. After everything she'd beenthrough, everything she'd done, the momentary invasion by the wicked, wriggling, snake-bed thoughts had pushed her too far.

What Ae-cha had done was torture but it hadn't been intended to harm her. As brief as the invasion had been, it was a violation unlike anything she'd ever experienced and she needed her mate.

Chapter 22

Cooper held his mate while they waited for someone to come look at her physical hurts. If they'd been on his ship, he would have already had her cleaned, bandaged, and back in bed where he could hold her for a very long time.

While they lay there in the dark, he started counting up enemies and didn't like how quickly that list was growing. He was certain the doctor wasn't in the crowd when they got off the shuttle. Which meant there were at least two compromised humans on the base and maybe more.

The group that had kidnapped them should have been impossible. There weren't Chelions out this far. And they certainly shouldn't have been able to breed to have the kinds of numbers he'd seen in the caves. Even if they'd been breeding with the local populations like it seemed they had.

And they'd mentioned other groups that they'd raided and saved human women from so there was more than one settlement. Even if they were enemies of each other, he didn't think he could count any of them as allies.

Then there was the Orvax. They had every reason to hate him and his people, even if he hadn't stolen their device. Whether or not they knew that was an open question for the moment.

And he'd called home to get someone to come get him.

Soon, the only person on Earth who might like him would be Marissa, and he wouldn't blame her if she didn't.

"How are you feeling?" he asked gently.

"Terrible," she told him and he believed her. He'd been glad that, of the two of them, he'd taken the most damage. Despite the pain in his feet, the itching as his toes began to regrow, the thing that hurt the most was his inability to keep her from getting hurt.

He could feel her inner pain, as well, and brushed along her mind, asking permission to become a bigger presence. They might be matched and mated with a connection that was growing stronger with each breath but he could feel her need to maintain her barriers.

Talking hurts you. Does this?he asked gently.

No,she said, her voice quiet in his mind.

Good. May I soothe what I can while we wait? I can't take away all the pain but maybe I can calm some of what she did to hurt you.

Yes, please.

Cooper eased himself into her awareness and pulled on everything he knew from his training and what he'd learned about humans to soothe her. The worst of her panic centered around the place the doctor had tried to invade.

It was such a small weak spot in her shields, he wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't known where it was. He tried to help strengthen it, drain away the sting of the assault, andhe couldn't. She was maintaining it from inside her mind, reinforcing the hurt and pain, and he needed her to let go and let him help.

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