Page 117 of Fractured Souls

That’s when Lodan emerged through the hatch, fully armored and as dangerous looking as any Kordolian she’d seen. Even though she couldn’t see his face, Alexis knew it was him and not Nythian. Lodan was equally tall but not as heavily muscled.

He pulled himself to his feet and allowed his helm to melt away.

She would never really get used to that sight.

When Nythian didn’t appear, her anxiety skyrocketed. “What’s happening?” she demanded. “Where is he?”

“Easy,” Lodan said, his expression sanguine. “Nythian’s fine… well, he will be.”

“What do you mean, he will be?”

“Physically, he’s okay, but he’s a little confused right now… a little angry. It happens sometimes when we lose a lot of blood. I don’t want to fight him when he’s like this. It wouldn’t be good. Just give him some time. I’ve seen him like this before. This is the way he wants us to handle it. He’ll come to his senses eventually. There’s no danger down there now.”

“Damn it, Lodan. A lot of blood?”

“We heal,” the pilot said quietly. “The blood always returns to the whole. The training always kicks in eventually. Give it time."

She had an inkling about Nythian’s insane healing abilities, but she didn’t really know how much damage he could sustain… how much pain he could tolerate.

When she was in her most vulnerable state, he’d looked after her. In the same way, Alexis felt protective of him. She couldn’t stand that they were separated by these dark metal walls. “How do you know this is what he wants?” she demanded, her voice rising.

“Last time this sort of thing happened, he told me so.” Lodan grimaced. “He was quite explicit about it. Took me a whole rotation and three plasma-protein shots to heal from his explanation.”

Alexis wasn’t buying Lodan’s explanation. Ugh. Males. She exchanged a look with Noa before turning back to Lodan, her eyes narrowing. “You said there’s no danger, so why can’t I go and see him?”

“Trust me, you don’t really want to go down there right now.”

Her frustration mounted. She knew she was being irrational and terribly impatient, but she couldn’t help it. When it came to Nythian, all her cool, calm detective’s reasoning flew out the window.

A faint howl echoed from below, driving her crazy.

“That’s it,” she snapped. “I’m going down there.”

Lodan stepped in her way, a dark, immovable wall. “Alexis, don’t make me restrain you.” A dangerous note entered his voice and she tensed. Lodan might seem mild on the surface, but he was as lethal as the rest of them. “I’ve seen this before, and not just with Nythian. We have our own way of handling these things. Let it be, human.”

Alexis could have stepped down.

She could have trusted that Nythian’s battle-partner knew what was best for him, that leaving Nythian to fight his demons alone was the right thing to do…

But it just didn’t sit right with her.

Besides, she was crazy for him. She burned with the need to be close to him, to feel his warm hands on her bare skin.

Lodan couldn’t understand that… could he?

She took a deep, shuddering breath, meeting his golden eyes. “You’re his battle-partner, Lodan. I get what you’re trying to do, and I appreciate it, but I’m his mate. You don’t get to decide what’s best for me, and I’m not some delicate flower, either. Let me go down there.”

“No. Last time I’m going to say this, human. Just be patie—”

“Don’t you think Nythian’s suffered enough?” Alexis didn’t know everything about Nythian’s past, but she’d seen enough to know that one didn’t become as tough as him without going through hell first.

He was the one who’d so gently and patiently coaxed her back into the world of the living, protecting her from everything… even herself.

She would do the same for him, always.

“You’d better let her go, Lodan,” Noa chimed in. A vaguely threatening energy filled the room, and the wispy ends of her hair began to rise.

The Kordolian guards on either side of them tensed, their hands dropping to their weapons.

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