Page 52 of Beauty and the Alien Beast
“Patience, my brothers. As it turns out, nothing too exotic is needed to appeal to human females. Just good treatment, honor, and the use of all one’s hands in bed.”
They were still chuckling as we turned for home, the dogs bounding eagerly along the path beyond the valley. I held Ella as we rode. She sagged against me, bone tired.
I rode in deep thought.Will what I have to offer Ella really be enough to keep my mate with me?I felt a cold lump in my stomach at the notion that she might decide to walk away from me… from us.
The fight to defeat Belland was nothing compared to the trial ahead to win Ella’s heart. And I could not—no, would not—fail in demonstrating with both actions and words how much she meant to me and the joy and happiness she brought into my life.
29
Ella
“Does that feel all right?”The Gladiator medic sat back after fastening the translator in place in my ear.
I looked back at him and nodded. “Yes.”
“All right.” He smiled. “Can you understand me?”
“I can,” I replied.
He extended a small, jewel-tipped probe to touch the translator. “Again?” he demanded.
“Yes, I understand you,” I answered.
“Excellent.” He nodded. “Now it is properly calibrated.” He stood and helped me up. “The good news is you have no lasting bodily damage from your ordeal with the Omers. Given time, the psychological effects should fade quickly, especially if you avoid stressful situations such as extreme confinement. The slavers already inoculated you against local diseases. But if you feel any illness, don’t hesitate to come to me, all right?”
“Thank you, doctor.” I smiled.
“It’s my honor, Alpha Sheleki.” He bowed.
The title made me uncomfortable, given that Teken and I had only been here for twelve hours and still hadn’t ironed out anything between us. Most of that time we’d spent sleeping or making love in his chambers. Finally, the translator I needed arrived, and here I was getting my fitting.
“Doctor, just call me Ella. I’m not big on titles.”
“And you can call me Kylene. Doctor is way too formal.” He grinned. “And please tell the alpha that he’s due for a visit. Even though the shift normally takes care of the healing process, I still need to verify that all is well.”
Kylene escorted me out of his small clinic located in one of the many dwellings in the large, open space they called the central courtyard. I stood, quietly observing Teken perched on top of the ledge that overlooked a huge pen that held riding dogs like Brax that were being trained by Gladiators.
Teken was tall, brawny, and rough around the edges but simply magnificent as he laughed at something one of his men said.
It really wasn’t a surprise that he was a leader—the alpha—given his confidence, badass fighting skills, intelligence, and strategic craftiness in keeping us alive. What caught me off guard was the sheer number of Gladiators that he ruled, fifty of them in total. And from what I’d seen so far, his warriors respected him and looked to him for guidance and wisdom.
After our battle with the slavers and their ultimate death, Teken was very silent on the trek back to his home. So was I. Both of us were lost in thought after our nail-biting ordeal was over.
And once we’d arrived at his sector, I’d become overwhelmed by the throng of Gladiators that rushed to welcome him back home. And when they laid eyes on me, I could have heard a pin drop. It was obvious they’d never seen a human before.
During the awkward silence, Teken had pinned me against his side protectively and said, “Sheleki.” The one word transformed their expressions, which ranged from shock to confusion to wonder. But thankfully, I’d seen no hostility and sensed no malice from anyone in the crowd, which, frankly, was a big relief.
My thoughts snapped back to the present when I spotted Teken striding toward me.
“Ella!” he cried softly as he laid two big, gentle hands on my shoulders. “Is it done? Can you understand me?”
My chest tightened, and I was nervous about our first “real” conversation.Now it was time to get to know each other on a deeper level.
After an awkwardly silent moment of collecting myself, I answered,“Yes, Teken. I can understand you perfectly.”
His expression went from hopeful to just a touch nervous, his smile fading. “Excellent. Then we should go back to my chambers to talk in private. Yes?”
It was bizarre to hear him speak in complete sentences after days of single words, noises, and gestures. I was getting to know his mind as well. He sounded like a Roman-era scholar-warrior, his speech even a little formal.
