Page 3 of Fated to the Alien Rebel

His voice adds to the cacophony and then he bursts inside the tent with Benham and another warrior. In their arms is a fourth injured male who doesn’t even look alive. His skin has lost all its color aside from the black blood that covers it. The three of them hoist him up onto the nearest platform and I rush into action. I pour a healthy dose of burim root into a cup and add water to it.

After a quick stir, I hurry over to where Kyler is busy assessing the injuries of the male I recognize—despite never having treated him—as Jodah.As gently as I can, I slip my hand under his head and lift it to try and get the pain reliever down his throat without choking him.

“Jodah, I need you to drink this for me, please?” I place the cup at his lips.

Most of it spills out both sides of his face and down his chin, but I’m certain—or hope, anyway—he swallowed some of it. I’m vaguely aware that the warriors leave and someone else steps inside, but my focus is on our patient.

“By the goddess,” Kyler rasps out in a harsh whisper that’s followed by a sharp inhalation coming from whoever came inside.

I glance at the healer. Oh, no. Are we too late? Except he’s not looking at me. I follow his gaze andstare at the dying warrior in my arms and the tattoos—mating marks—that appear on his skin. They continue to climb and darken the farther up they go. Shock has me paralyzed. I blink and my surroundings come back into focus. Kyler is looking at me with awe, and maybe a bit of envy.

“Another mating,” he rasps.

The goddess the Tavikhi worship wouldn’t do this. Deeka wouldn’t give me a fated mate only to take him away. Would she? Maybe no one from Earth is ever going to come for me, because they don’t need to. Maybe thisis my punishment.

No. I won’t let her.

“We don’t have time to think about mates. What do you need me to do?”

My question snaps Kyler out of his stunned state and he gets to work. “See if you can get him to drink more burim root. Then bring me the healing salve. I need to remove this poultice and sew the wounds closed.”

I get to work and lift the head I’m still cradling in my hand. “Jodah, I need you to drink this for me. Please.”

Carefully, I pour a small amount of the water laced with the burim root into his mouth. He’s going to need it to numb some of the pain he has to be in. When it looks like he might have gotten it down, I give him a bit more and a bit more until I’ve emptied the cup and he’s swallowed as much as he’s going to. I dry the wet tracks that spill down both sides of his mouth and rush over to get the plikah salve. It smells almost like manure, but the healing properties of the plant it’s derived from make up for the rank scent.

I’m back beside Jodah in a second. Kyler’s managed to remove most of what I believe is a gethet leaves poultice. Soaked in his black blood, it’s hard to tell. God, with the wound uncovered it looks even worse than I first thought.

“Holy shit,” a feminine voice says.

I cast a quick glance up. Zander and Zara stand close by. I can’t read his expression. Her mouth has dropped and her gaze darts between Jodah and me. My attention snaps back to my task, and I help remove the rest of the poultice. Blood gets all over my hand. For a second the memory of dark red blood swarms inside my head. I shove it away.

Once his entire wound is bared, Kyler sews the first slash. I do my best to wipe away the blood that still seeps from each jagged wound.

“What did this to him?”

“A luani,” he says without looking up.

I’ve heard some of the warriors talk about the massive animal. From the description they gave, it sounds something like a mutant alien lion but three times bigger.

I continue wiping away the blood and glance up at Jodah’s face every so often. He hasn’t flinched or moved in any way since Benham and the other warrior carried him in here. His soft, leathered purple skin hardly has any hue left. I have to keep watching his chest to make sure he’s even breathing. My stomach aches with worry that the next breath Jodah takes will be his last.

“Cover as much of this as you can,” Kyler says, indicating the gash he’s just finished sewing.

Take care, I scoop out the salve and as gently as possible, spread it over the now closed line. I pause cleaning his chest of blood and try to coax him to drink more burim root.

“I need you to swallow this for me, Jodah.”

His eyelids flutter and my breath catches.

“Jodah, can you hear me? You’re back in the village and we’re going to take care of you. I promise.” I don’t know what makes me say that. How can I promise him anything?

As though my words have somehow made it through, his eyes open. They’re glassy with pain, but he stares straight at me. A weird flicker of something bright like a light sparks inside my chest, but it’s gone so fast I can’t even try to figure out what it is. It’s not anything I’ve ever felt before. I shake it off and brush the stray strands of hair off his forehead. The long yellow-blond hair is soft and silky beneath my fingertips. Jodah’s lips part and an indistinguishable sound comes out.

“Don’t try to talk. Save your strength for getting better, okay?”Again, I coax him to drink.

I get more liquid down him and when I lay his head back again, his eyes are closed. Kyler’s got the next wound stitched so I cover it in the salve. We work in silence so we can concentrate. Zander and Zara are quiet as well. When all four slashes have been sewn shut and covered in the salve, we soak long strips of cloth in burim diluted water and place them over his chest. I make sure they’re sealed tightly over the entirety of it and that not a single inch of wound is exposed.

Our biggest hurdle to come is going to be infection. If we can keep it away, maybe Jodah will have a chance. I study the mating marks still visible on his arms. That freaky little starburst of light pulses once inside me again. I rub at the center of my chest.

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