“We’re from the Zarain ship, the Vigilant, although we were on one of our scout ships when we received the alarm of the incursion. We’re here to help.” Jagger smiled and stopped a small distance away from the group. He wanted to let them think and adjust without pressuring them.
An older, red-haired man nodded and took a deep breath. “We’re from the trade ship, Setona. The pirates attacked and took control of it.”
“Are all of you hurt?” The physician asked.
“Yes, we all need care.” The man’s answer was slow and measured.
“We’re setting up a medical tent and some shelters. The scout ship has gone after the pirates. We’ll be here until the Vigilant arrives.” Jagger stayed where he was, although he felt a strong urge to walk over to the group. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the urge to protect them or from that other feeling growing in him. He still couldn’t identify it. “We spotted the shuttle as we were searching for you. Are there any captives on that ship?”
“No, just the two pirates. They were trying to make it back up to their ship before it left. I’m Captain Joshua Thomas.” The man stepped forward and held out his hand.
“I’m Jagger Antein.” Jagger shook his hand. He deliberately left off his rank. His title would mean nothing to them. “Let’s go over to the tents. They should have the medical tent finished or almost so by now.”
“Is there anyone who needs help walking or who needs immediate aid?” the physician asked before anyone could move.
“We can all walk,” Captain Thomas said simply. “We were beaten, but they tried other methods first.”
“Other methods. Were they after something or was it simply because they were sick bastards?” Jagger frowned. The use of other methods was different and he wanted to know if the pirates had a reason for it.
“They are bastards, but they wanted something. Not that we could decipher what that was. They took everything we had, yet still asked for something else.” Captain Thomas shook his head.
Jagger stepped back to allow the people to walk toward the green tents. The men and women began limping over to the rising shelters. He stood to the side, watching as they made their way across the clearing. Grimaces tightened their lips with each slow step. He could tell they were in pain just by looking at them.
As they passed, the light wind blew their scents to him. The bite of pain was obvious in all of them. As the women began to pass him, he straightened. All the other scents faded away as one particular feminine essence exploded through him. His muscles tensed and he had to fight to keep his claws and fangs from bursting free.
He wanted to wade into those women and find out exactly which one of them was his mate. The scent of lingering fear held him back. They’d been terrorized. He didn’t want to scare his mate more by blundering in amid her and her crewmates. They’d all have to be examined and treated. He could discover which of the women was his without unnecessarily frightening her.
He caught the physician’s glance toward him. He must have smelled the rush of arousal. Kairn Tashien raised an eyebrow and sent Jagger a disbelieving look. In fact, the blond-haired physician looked a little appalled. Jagger understood it. The situation seemed a strange time to be aroused, but he couldn’t explain everything when they were surrounded by other people. At least not out loud. He was simply glad that there was another way he could do it. Shadatai Zarain had a few extra abilities, and communicating mind to mind was one of them.
My mate is among those women. Jagger sent the thought to the physician.
Kairn smiled and nodded his head once. You can stay around to help me a little. Guide them in or something so you can discover which one it is.
Thank you. Jagger looked at the women with interest. He would take that opportunity.
Frustration pulsed through him. Not only at being denied an immediate answer, but because he knew he wouldn’t be able to mate with her fully for days or more. Because she was hurt, he’d need to give her space. While shifter relationships tended to develop quickly, most of the time there was some period of normal getting to know each other. If the situation was stressful or dangerous, especially when they were thrown together in isolated circumstances that period was often shortened or dropped altogether.
His mate had been hurt. He wanted nothing more than to keep her close to him at all times. Instead he’d have to watch from afar until he could work his way into her trust and life. He fought the urge to growl.
Never would he have thought that when he found his mate, he’d have to wait and try to discover which woman was his without scaring her. He’d always thought his mate would be Zarain. Not that he minded mating a human.
The only thing causing him any irritation was the fact that with a Zarain, no explanations would be needed. A Zarain woman would know him as her mate, scent him and fully feel the pull to mate. A human woman would be drawn by the pheromones he exuded and feel the draw to him, but she wouldn’t understand it. She wouldn’t realize it was because she was his mate, just as he was hers.
When they neared the tents, the physician hurried ahead and opened the flap of the medical tent. In spite of being housed in a tent, they had brought almost every high-tech device that was portable. First, so that any humans wouldn’t have to suffer needlessly and second, just in case any of the injuries was life threatening. There had been some very severe trauma on one or two of the people found in other areas. While they couldn’t do everything that was possible on the larger ships, they’d be able to stabilize the person until help could arrive.
Jagger was glad that the higher levels of medical care weren’t necessary. If his mate had been one of those hurt severely, he didn’t know if he could act civilized and give her time to adjust. It was hard thinking about it now when he knew she was well enough to walk on her own.
The physician performed a cursory examination of the men and women to determine if there were any injuries that needed immediate attention. They were all injured, but it seemed on the whole, they’d been through roughly the same thing.
“I’ll see the women first and then the men.” Kairn smiled. “Jagger, you can help me. You lead them in to the med tent and then to their tents. That is unless you have something you need to do.”
“I can help you for now. I might be needed elsewhere a little later though.” Jagger nodded. He wasn’t going anywhere until he discovered who his mate was.
“Let me go inside to check that all my equipment has been set up properly and we’ll get started.” Kairn lifted aside the flap of the tent and went inside.
Jagger waited outside with the trade ship crew. Most tried to stay as still as possible while others seemed to be trying to find a comfortable position. From experience, Jagger knew the last would be impossible until the treatment began to take effect.
“Jagger, you can bring in the first woman,” Kairn called.
Since he had no idea which woman was his, he gestured to the closest female, a blonde. She limped forward, and he opened the tent for her. As she passed, he inhaled, but she wasn’t the woman. He closed the tent behind her so she and Kairn could have some privacy.
He ran his eyes over the rest of the crew, lingering on the five women. Two black-haired women, a redhead, one with brown hair and another blonde stared back at him. He smiled.
“Kairn will work as fast as he can, but he won’t want to miss anything. He’ll get to all of you as soon as possible.” Jagger met their eyes.
“This is better than what we expected. We honestly thought we might have to wait for someone to check the planet. Standing here a little while is better than living with the pain for a week or more.” One of the black-haired women smiled at him.
“And that’s the least amount of time others have been stranded without aid. So we can be patient now.” The redhead shrugged and then winced, her hand cupped her side. “Thank you by the way. We were beginning to worry about what we should do next when we saw your shuttles.”
“We’ve been on notice
for a few weeks. Ever since the first trade ship crew was found on a planet on this side of the border. There are ships looking to see if there were other people left on isolated planets before we discovered the pirates’ tendency to run into our space to get away from anyone tracking them.” Jagger knew he wasn’t the only one who wondered how long the pirates had been stranding people on isolated planets.
Ships did go missing, and in the past six months a few ships had been found damaged and seemingly abandoned. Two of the crews belonging to those ships had been found. Other vessels had been found and taken to the closest planet or base, but the crews were still missing.
The men and women waited patiently for Kairn to get them. In fact, they were more tolerant of the delay than Jagger was. Kairn opened the flap of the tent and escorted the woman through it. “I’ve given her something to help with the pain. I’ll need to clean and prepare for the next person. Take her, and by the time you come back, I should be ready to take the next person.”
Jagger smiled at Kairn’s tone. When it came to medicine and healing, Kairn was focused completely on the patient. Jagger escorted the woman to one of the nearby green tents. Although not luxurious, they weren’t roughing it by any means. Single camping beds had been erected. Cushiony padding topped the bed and should be comfortable even with their aches and bruises. These tents weren’t large enough to fit six of the beds in one tent, so the women would be split into two groups of three while the men would be put into larger groups, four or five to a tent.
Jagger returned to the medical tent after the woman had walked into the shelter. He poked his head into the opening to make sure Kairn was ready and then stepped back. The black-haired woman who’d spoken to him earlier entered the tent. He inhaled as she passed him. She wasn’t his mate.
His frustration grew. Would he have to wait until the last woman entered the tent to know who his mate was? The Zarain within him pushed at him. It wanted to walk right up to the women and sniff. The animal wasn’t subtle and didn’t care to try to be. On top of that, the fact that his mate was still in pain irritated the animal within him. It wanted her treated and safe. It needed to ensure she wasn’t so vulnerable, to change her to a Zarain so that she’d be stronger and more able to take care of herself.
He escorted two more women to receive treatment and then to their tent before he returned to find the redhead standing beside the blonde. They looked at each other.
“You should go first. You’ve been hurt longer,” the redhead said.
“I’ve had more time to recuperate. I’d also bet they did a little more to you and the others than they did to us to try to get the information out of you. Whatever the hell it was. They weren’t giving up on getting it either. They talked about coming back and doing whatever was necessary after they lost the ships trailing them.” The blonde folded her arms across her chest.
This looked as if it could become a long, drawn-out discussion. Jagger cut it short. He wasn’t standing around and letting them argue when his mate was still in pain.
“You come with me.” He pointed at the redhead before she could come up with some counter to what the blonde had said.
The redhead looked at him with mouth hanging open for a moment as if she was stunned that he’d interrupted them. She closed her mouth and narrowed her eyes at him but took a step forward.
He pulled back the flap and stepped out of her way. As she passed him, a sweet scent with a hint of some spice hit him. He tensed and held himself perfectly still until she was in the tent and heading toward the examination table. It was the only way he prevented himself from reaching out and grabbing her.
He stared after her for a moment, taking in the taut curve of her butt. He especially appreciated her height and those long legs. They’d fit together well even standing up. She was eye-catching. Her bright red hair stood out, making her pale creamy-white skin appear even paler. Not that the pain didn’t help with that. He looked forward to seeing her with a healthy glow and a smile curving her lips.
He wanted to know everything about her and had to hold back from grilling her crewmates for her name, if she had any family and what she was like. Holding back from demanding those answers strained his control. He needed to move slowly with her at least for a few days until her wounds were healed.
That’s my mate. Pay extra attention to her. Jagger immediately contacted the physician.
All of my patients get my full attention. Kairn’s voice popped into his mind full of irritation. Her name is Adalyn by the way.
Jagger smiled. Adalyn. Well, that answered one question but left him with others. He couldn’t wait to start discovering the answers. He wanted to start asking as soon as he saw her again, but rushing in with the intrusive questions now would only make it harder to get to know her later.
The tent flap opened. Kairn escorted Adalyn out the door. Staring at his redheaded mate, Jagger felt tongue-tied and lost for a moment.
“Take Adalyn over to her tent, Jagger. She needs to rest.” Kairn caught Jagger’s eyes.
Jagger nodded and began leading her away from the medical tent. “Are you feeling better?”
“The pain is gone. He said that it might take a few days before I was feeling completely well.” Her lips tilted up into something resembling a smile.
Whatever Kairn had given her, it must already be taking effect. She looked half-asleep.
“That’s good. Here’s your tent. If you need anything, just ask.” Jagger reluctantly left her at the tent entrance. It was harder than he expected.
He wondered if he’d be able take it as slowly as he thought necessary. Privacy wasn’t going to be easy. Because of the size of the group, everyone shared a tent. Once he convinced her she was his mate, he’d think of something, but until then, he’d use the time to get to know her and build the connection between them, both emotionally and physically.
Jagger returned to the medical tent and continued to help Kairn. First, because the people did need help and second because he didn’t want any of her friends to realize there was more behind his helping than good intentions. They might try to warn her away from him. Not that it would work, or that he would allow it, but he didn’t want her to be afraid of him.
Once the crew was treated, he stepped into the medical shelter with Kairn but turned to look at the tent where he’d left Ada. She walked out and over to a table that had been set up in the square formed by their temporary camp.
“The dry mouth is normal for the pain medication I used.” Kairn moved over beside him. “She’ll be fine, but overall, she’d be better if you started the change within her.”
Jagger wished he could, but it was too soon. He barely knew her name. As for getting physically close to her, it would probably take days. He watched her as she headed back to the tent. He didn’t take his eyes off her until the flap closed behind her.
“That would go over so well.” He shook his head, although he knew Kairn was right. The change wasn’t immediate, but it would speed her healing. “We haven’t even truly met and I’m supposed to go up to her, bare fang and bite her without scaring her.”
“It wouldn’t be easy, but if you could manage it, she’d be safer.” Kairn stepped back.
“Yes, I’m supposed to walk over to her and say you’re my mate and I can’t stand to see you in pain. I’m going to bite you now so that you’ll be out of pain sooner. Yes, all for your health and not because I want to fuck and claim you.” Jagger leveled a disbelieving look at Kairn. No woman would believe it. Hell, he wouldn’t believe it and he was Zarain.
Chapter Three
Ada stepped out of the tent and stretched. She felt better than yesterday and having these shifters here reassured her. She didn’t know what she and the crew members would have done if someone hadn’t shown up to help. They’d had nothing. No food, water or shelter. She was realistic enough to know that survival wouldn’t have been easy. That wasn’t even counting the possibility that the pirates might return to get the information
they wanted.
Comparatively, this was luxury. They had tents and beds, which was so much better than the hard ground. The only thing she wished for was more clothing. She still wore the same clothing she’d thrown on at the sound of the alarm, a yellow shirt and black pants. The shirt had blood on it. Although she didn’t smell anything, she knew she needed to wash her clothes as well as herself.
The tent had been empty when she’d finally awakened, but it was still morning. In a way, she was surprised she was awake and alert now. She’d been coming off her shift when the pirates had attacked. After that, the only sleep she’d gotten had been when she was passed out from pain.
Shifters. She definitely hadn’t expected to see them, but was glad someone had come to help. Until she’d realized that their rescuers were shifters, she hadn’t thought they’d left Galactic Central Command space. From the moment they’d been introduced though, there was little doubt about where they were. Shifters didn’t cross into Galactic Central Command space without reason and permission usually, although there were exceptions to the rule. Some shifter traders had routes that crossed the boundaries. Central Command ships also stayed on their side of the boundary until granted access. The relationship between the two groups was tense, but cordial.
“There’s food over there on the table. It comes from an autoprep, but it’s still good.” The man who’d walked her to the tent yesterday stepped up beside her.
She tensed and drew in a sharp breath, barely holding back a startled yelp. She hadn’t seen him there or heard him walk up to her. For a big man, he seemed to move as silently as the wind through the trees.
She had a feeling that his ability to move quietly wasn’t the only predatory skill he possessed. He had blond hair that hung past his shoulders. His face had a hard look with a square jaw and strong angles at his cheeks. Silver eyes focused on her. Intensity burned in his eyes as if she was the only thing that mattered at the moment. That look made her feel good, even if it was only normal behavior for him.
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