Page 27 of Healing Creek
“How can you know unless you give them a chance?”
Longing twisted a knot in his belly. He had tried once before. Could he afford to raise his hopes again? “Because the Dogs with the resistance couldn’t forgive my past. I lived among them for months and they could not forget what I came from.”
“The resistance?”
“A group of humans who were able to secretly free Arena Dogs who were thought to have died. They live now in a secret base with the Arena Dogs they saved.” Tears welled in her eyes and he didn’t understand. What had he done to upset her. Panic tightened his chest. “Grace—”
“Happy tears. I promise. There are other Arena Dogs living free. That’s wonderful.” She rubbed the dampness from her cheeks with the backs of her knuckles. “I’m sorry, Creek. Sorry they hurt you. Sorry for them because they must never have allowed themselves to know you.” Grace slipped her hand down to his and wrapped her delicate fingers around his, battered and broken many times. “I see you, Creek, and do you know what I see?”
He shook his head at the woman who held his hand as if she could protect him from all the world’s hurts.
“I see a man who is strong and gentle, kind and thoughtful, honorable and protective of all in his care. I see a man I am grateful to have a chance to know.”
He turned his hand in hers until he was the one clasping her delicate fingers. “You do not see clearly, but today, I’m grateful for it.”
Her free hand tapped gently at his arm, barely a touch at all, like the butterflies flitting around the halo-projection.
She smiled wide as she watched the creatures made of light.
As he looked down at his meal his stomach turned sour. He was supposed to be gaining her trust and learning her secrets. Instead, he’d given her his.
Chapter Ten
TheAbundance
EarthAllianceBetaSector
2210.194
It had only been a couple of days, but already Grace had fallen into a routine. She shared meals with Creek, morning and dinner. They talked about her family and his travels after leaving the resistance. During the day, she worked in the med-bay and took her lunch with whichever watcher happened to be there that day. Adopting the routine was easy for her. She had a lot of practice following—doing what worked for those around her. What was harder was keeping an emotional distance from Creek. She didn’t want that distance between them, but she needed it—she was keeping secrets from him, after all.
As she applied a headache inhibitor for a bridge officer, she offered a reassuring smile. She’d often wondered what it was like to make your own choices, but her last choice hadn’t worked out so well. Though she couldn’t regret meeting Creek. When her sister told her about their aunt’s work on Arena Dog genetics, she’d been curious about them. Jennifer had poured over their great aunt’s lab notes, hoping the genetic key to their accelerated healing could somehow be used to correct the genetic flaws that afflicted Grace. Grace had researched what had become of the men and women her great aunt had helped create. She’d been fascinated by their abilities and traits, then horrified by their enslavement. Meeting them, meeting Creek, was entirely different.
The officer offered her thanks and was slipping off the med-bed when the doors slid open. Mercury strode in carrying Samantha in his arms.
Grace rushed over to the second med-bed where he lay his mate. “What happened?”
“She collapsed,” Mercury barked.
Samantha was alert and frowning. “I fainted. It isn’t serious.” She looked to Grace with an eye roll. “Tell him it isn’t serious.”
She placed a monitor on Samantha’s wrist. There were dark circles under her eyes, and she seemed pale. “Let me get the medic.”
“No. Please.” Samantha’s plea stopped her. “You can read a simple scan.”
Grace nodded and reached for a scanner then held it out over the shorter woman’s torso. It revealed something Grace could never have suspected. Mercury’s mate was pregnant. Could it truly be the Arena Dogs’ child? According to her research, there had never been a natural pregnancy. Miraculous.
“From your smile, I take it everything is fine. Just as I said.” Samantha’s shoulders relaxed into the med-bed. She had not been as sure as she’d pretended.
As Grace returned the scanner to an overhead slot, Mercury put a large hand over his mate’s still flat abdomen. “Is she truly well?”
Grace pressed her lips together before speaking. Speaking honestly might anger Samantha, but there was no real choice. The child was the most important being currently in the room. “The baby seems fine and there’s nothing seriously wrong. But the monitor indicates you’re showing signs of fatigue and dehydration.” Grace walked over to the storage drawers built into one wall. “I’ll give you a dose of vitamins and some fluids.” Her hands closed around the items, and she lifted them from the tray. “That should help, but you should increase your daily intake of water, start taking an afternoon nap, and you should be under a medic’s care.”
She hung the fluids on the bed and snapped the threader in place over a vein.
“Women all across the universe have babies every day without the aid of a medic.”
Mercury chuffed in his throat. “Those women are not having Arena Dog babies. And they are not my mate.”
