Page 2 of Healing His Mate

“Irksome little beast,” I murmur to no one.

“Nalba, you’re awake!” a creature with smooth brown skin says as she smiles down at me. I cannot place her, but she addresses me as if we are close.

I jerk back instinctively, but as I am in a bed, there is nowhere for me to go but deeper into my pillow. “Wha- w-who are you?” I screech in response. My eyes adjust to the bright light hanging above, and when I scan my surroundings, I become even more confused. This is not a room I have been in before. “Did we crash? Where is Varrek?”

“Uh, crash?” the creature asks. “Varrek is probably with Chloe.”

Cloh-ee? Who is Cloh-ee?

“Nalba!” another voice exclaims. Within moments, Kaiva is taking my hand in hers and brushing my mane off my forehead. “You have come back to us! I am relieved,” she says with a sigh.

Come back? Where did I go?

“Kaiva,” I say, warily eyeing the other creature I do not recognize. “What is happening? And who is that?”

“My dear, that is Aye-vah, the human female who is my son’s mate,” she replies as if that information means anything to me. “Ahlvo . . . my son.”

“Yes, I know your son, Kaiva.” Of course, I know who her son is. Frustrated, I go to slam my head down on my pillow, but I feel a throbbing pain on the side of my head I did not notice before.

“Careful,” Kaiva says as she lightly touches the side of my scalp. I wince at the contact. “You are still healing from a head injury.”

“You gave us quite a scare!” this Aye-vah says. When I do not reply, she adds, “You got thrown into a tree and landed head-first on a rock during the battle with Bzzsil Chi. Remember? You’ve been asleep for four days.”

I close my eyes, trying to comprehend all they have told me. I find no memories of being hurled into a tree. Did this happen on Trovilia? No, that is not possible. I woke up early this morning and boarded the ship to take us to our new planet. Oluura, I think it is called. That, I remember. Nothing of the sort occurred before our ship launched into the sky.

Was this tree on the ship, perhaps?

No. No, I would have remembered such a strange thing. Our ship was big enough to fit the members of our new clan, Varrek, and the rest of his crew once we were able to meet them in space, but not large enough to contain any sort of nature sanctuary.

Frustrated at the hole in my memories, I run my fingers along the creases in my furrowed brow. “Can you please get Varrek? I must speak with him.” He will have the answers I need. And clearly, he is here, which means he is alive and well. Even if our ship did crash, he survived. Yes. Yes, Varrek will know what this whole “tree” incident is about, and how I ended up here.

Kaiva and Aye-vah exchange a concerned glance, then Kaiva lightly touches my shoulder and tells me they will return shortly. The two of them do not go far. I can hear them whispering to one another from across the room.

I drift off to sleep before Kaiva and Aye-vah return.

When I awaken, the brown-skinned creature from before is at my side again. What was her name?

“You’re back!” she says excitedly, then points to her chest, “Aye-vah.”

Ah, that is right. Mated to Ahlvo.

She hands me a cup of water, and I drink it down in one gulp. “So, Kaiva went to check on Chloe, but she’ll be back soon. In the meantime, I was hoping we could try something.”

It hurts to narrow my gaze, so I sit silently, waiting for her to continue.

“Does that sound okay?” she asks with wide eyes, nodding up and down in an exaggerated way that looks utterly ridiculous.

“Yes,” I reply slowly, mimicking her nod.

She chuckles and says, “Okay. First off, can you tell me your name?”

“Nalba,” I say with an impatient huff.

Aye-vah nods, pleased with my answer. “Good. Good. Can you tell me where you are?”

“In a room I do not recognize. Beyond it, I assume we have made it to Oluura, yes?” I ask. I should be assisting the clan with setting up our new home. Or exploring this new planet. There is much to be done.

“Um, yes,” Aye-vah begins, pausing to bite her lip, “We’re on Oluura.” Then she clears her throat and scribbles something on the screen pad in her hands. “And what year is it?”

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