Page 12 of The Ozar Triad

A large hand covered her forehead and then she couldn’t even move her head. Kisser murmured something that sounded like regret, and then pressed the cool end of the device to her neck. There was a beep and a flash of blue.

She closed her eyes, expecting…something, but she felt normal. Dreads hooked a cautious expression on her before slowly moving up and away. The air cooled on her skin as his body heat evaporated with the distance. Her skin broke out with goosebumps and to her horror, her nipples pebbled.

She wanted to move her arms to cover herself, but her limbs refused to work. She frowned, definitely sending the command from her brain to her arms. Nothing. She tried moving her legs, but her body remained unresponsive. It was strange. She retained total sensation of her body. There was no heaviness, no tingling, no residual lethargy of drugs, yet she couldn’t even move a damn toe. Then she realized she felt no pain. Her shoulder still bled, but at least the throbbing agony had vanished.

“What the fuck have you done to me?” At least she could still speak. And breathe. Her heart was still beating. She could still think—which didn’t do her much good the way her thoughts were turning at the moment.

Dreads spoke as he moved into a sitting position and Kisser aimed the device to his arm. Instead of a blue pulse of light, this time it was red. Dreads waited a moment, and then fisted his hand and jiggled his arm as though working out pins and needles.

“You think you can do that to me? I promise I’ll behave.” she said.

All three sets of eyes turned to her. This time, the panic she had set at bay lashed through her defenses and overpowered her. She started to hyperventilate.

She was naked, vulnerable, completely at their mercy and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do when Dreads reached for her.

Chapter Six

Rujali

“Easy, Rujali. You’re scaring her,” Setzan said when their mate whimpered as he reached for her.

“Scared she might be, but at least she can’t hurt herself anymore,” Rujali said. His heart pounded at the way in which she’d reacted, appalled that they’d caused her so much terror.

“She’s never seen our species before, but surely she should sense her mates,” Klaej said.

Rujali’s blood ran cold at the thought. When frightened, some species curled into a little compliant ball, while others lashed out to protect themselves.

“Gods, Rujali. Do you think she doesn’t recognize who we are to her?” Setzan asked.

Rujali gathered her in his arms, the whimper she made tearing his heart in half. She was so cold. Freezing. He held her close to his chest, trying to provide warmth from his own body.

“Right the table,” he said. “Now.”

Klaej set the medical table on its legs and Setzan gathered the sheet from the floor.

Rujali laid her gently on the bed. “Do you understand me, Little One?”

Her eyes widened and she spoke. Her soft voice didn’t hide the tremor underneath. Her heart fluttered in her chest as the pulse beat wildly at her throat. He couldn’t understand the words she said, but he knew the tone of someone begging.

“That may be the case, brothers. We’ll need to install a translator so we can at least talk to her. When we can explain to her who we are, she will calm.”

Klaej went to the steri-cabinet set into the wall and selected a translator small enough for a child. It was a small metallic disc with wires that would become organic once it merged with her ear canal and the language receptor in her brain. When he turned, instrument in hand, their mate began speaking again. This time, her voice was hard and choppy.

The confusion in her eyes was replaced with anger. Such a spitfire. He was used to quiet mates. He was finding a more spirited mate intriguing, but she was so different to those females of his own race, he was at a loss to know exactly how to treat her.

“Make sure she doesn’t feel any pain. Her species might not react like ours,” Setzan said.

“She’s under the effects of the analgesic. She shouldn’t feel any pain.”

“I hope you’re right,” Klaej said as he moved to her side.

He placed the translator onto the applicator and readied it for insertion. Her panting was audible as he placed the Analdev to her ear. It would deliver the translator deep within the ear canal and change the soundwaves into something her brain would interpret and understand. The language center in her brain would also change so that when she spoke, she could produce sound waves suitable for other translators. It was very basic technology.

She uttered words that ran into each other as her gaze bounced between them. He held her hand, knowing she could feel him and that it might bring her comfort.

He pressed the button to administer the inserter. There was a slight click as the translator was delivered. Their mate’s face tensed and her mouth fell open wordlessly. Her pupils dilated, the color of her eyes an incandescent brown.

Rujali caught a concerned glance between Setzan and Klaej. Her harsh breath as her lungs finally opened up was the best thing he had ever heard.

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