Page 50 of Healing His Mate

Ugh, this again. And from a creature half my size.

“What? Is he not good enough for you? Because he’s a cook?” She jerks back, and her expression turns murderous. I would be angry if it were not so amusing. “That’s some seriously fucked up, elitist nonsense right ther—”

“I know this, Elle-noor!” I shout, throwing up my hands in exasperation. “I have heard this speech already and I do not disagree! I appreciate the close bond you have built with Waldric, but I do not have time to listen to the reasons why I am a fool.” Taking a deep breath, I add, “Because I must find him. Please, tell me how long ago he left.”

In an instant, her grimace morphs into a smile so wide, it reaches her dark brown eyes. “Wonderful!” She pulls me for a hug I did not expect. “He left about an hour ago,” she says, then pulls back. “Go get that beefy sweetheart.”

“Um, yes,” I reply, straightening my tunic when she finally releases me. Elle-noor possesses a surprising amount of strength. “I will.”

We continue to stand there, awkwardly, without speaking. Am I waiting for her to say something? Is she waiting for me? Eventually, Elle-noor stomps her foot and yells, “Fucking go already!”

And I do. I race toward Varrek’s and pound on the door repeatedly until my fist aches. He swings the door open with an irate expression. “Nalba, what is it? You know we have a baby here, do you not? What do you want?”

“Take me to Waldric. I need you to take me to him. Right now.”

He rolls his eyes. Such a human thing to do. “Nalba, that is not—”

“You are not listening. I need you. To take me. To Waldric. Right now.”

He holds up a hand. Is he telling me to be quiet? I will do no such thing. “He is well on his way to—”

“To Trovilia, I understand that,” I explain impatiently. “I do not care. I need you to get one of our ships, launch it, and send a comm to his ship, requesting to board. I must speak with him. It is urgent, and I will not accept any answer that is not yes.”

“I cannot just leave—”

“Yes! You can. Do you know how I know you can? Because you told me, Varrek. You told me that when your Cloh-ee was kidnapped by the king, that you dropped everything to travel to Trovilia and rescue her. Do you remember when you told me that?” I ask.

He nods, letting out a sigh. “I do.”

“Do you also remember crediting me for talking sense into you? For convincing you to go?” Is that how he phrased it? Did he say I helped him or encouraged him? It feels so long ago now. “Yo-you said I helped you . . . um—”

“Fine! Fine,” he grumbles. “I will take you. We will use the larger ship. It should catch up to his rather quickly. Just give me a moment.” He slams the door shut in my face. I would be irritated if I did not hear him speaking to Cloh-ee in hushed tones. A moment later, he reappears and steps outside and I hear Cloh-ee call out, “Good luck, Nalba!” He closes the door behind him and gestures toward the break in the trees. “Let us go.”

We make it to the ship in what feels like record time, but I cannot be certain of that since I have no memory of walking from the village to the area where the ships are.

Once inside, I find myself hovering over Varrek’s shoulder as he pulls various levers and presses buttons, bringing the ship to life. “Nalba, you must sit,” he says eventually, clearly agitated by my supervision.

Locking the safety strap into place across my chest, I absently scratch at the piece of raised metal on the seat handle. “Varrek, we need to go.”

“We are,” he replies, getting settled in the command chair. “You must be patient.”

Patient? My mate is on another ship with a human female, the tether possibly forming between them at this very moment, and he wants me to be patient. It is an impossible request. I do my best to ignore the thought of Waldric and Vye-let together, even though it continues to enter my mind.

I just hope I reach him in time.

CHAPTER 25

NALBA

Once we are off the ground in the ship, hurtling toward the edge of Oluura’s atmosphere, Varrek clears his throat. “You and Waldric? I am glad to see this pairing.”

“You are?” I ask, somewhat surprised. I have never discussed other males with Varrek. Not that I expect him to be jealous––in fact, I would be disappointed in him and protective of Cloh-ee if he were––it is just a strange topic for us. But I have no idea how long it will take to reach Waldric’s ship, and it is silent in this ship to the point of being uncomfortable, so I suppose we may as well talk about it.

“Of course, I am. The entire clan has known about Waldric’s feelings for you. I am happy to see something finally becoming of it.”

That certainly stirs feelings inside me––namely, anger. “The entire clan knew of his feelings, and no one told me?” Then I remember that I still do not have my memories. “Or did they tell me before my injury?”

Varrek scrunches his nose, deep in thought. “I do not think anyone told you, no. Most likely because it is not our concern. How you did not realize it on your own . . . now, that is the better question.”

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