WarDog: Book Twelve in the Galaxy Gladiators Alien Abduction Romance Series

by Alana Khan

  As soon as WarDog releases the pressure, Khour tries to sound in control. He even manages to add a sneer to his tortured voice when he says, “I remember your piece of drack planet. Is that what this is about? I seem to remember setting a village on fire many annums ago. Whichever backwoods primitive male you are, I should have never let you live.”

  He must realize he can’t bribe his way out of this, so he’s decided he’ll try to injure our feelings with his words. Perhaps he’s lost all hope and wants to spur us on to hasten the killing blow that will end his suffering.

  “As I recall that was a fun day. I remember it well. The smell of smoke in my nose couldn’t overpower the stench of your unwashed tribe or the metallic scent of blood. It flowed in rivers, didn’t it?”

  He must sense that he’s gotten to us because he keeps up his stream of verbal shit.

  “The silence of the dead and the cries of the dying. Ahh, I remember it as if it was this morning.” He sniffs in long and deep, enjoying the memory.

  “You lived. I must have sent you to fight in your canine form. Did you think of me often? Perhaps thank me for allowing you to express your animal urges?”

  Does he see a hint of weakness on WarDog’s face as he taunts us, because he continues.

  “How many times did you picture that day? Did I haunt your dreams? Funny. I never gave that day another thought except to remember those rivers of blood.”

  Although he’s mangled, bloody, and in pain, the gaze he spears me with is full of contempt.

  Enough, I tell WarDog. Show him what painful emotions really feel like, I urge.

  Tell me when we can end this. I could do this all day but I want to get back and mate Willa.

  I never would have thought WarDog would be the more level-headed of the two of us, but today he is.

  A pang of guilt slices through me. If my inner canine is ready for this to be over, I should be, too. He’s right, Willa is waiting, and in my bloodlusted mind set on making this male suffer, I’m prolonging her suffering with every minima we’re apart.

  Okay, I tell him, get the job done.

  I have to give WarDog credit. He could literally bite the male’s head off, or rip his carotid out of his neck and get this over in an instant. Instead, he bites the male’s arm where there is no body armor so I can appreciate the male’s high, female screams of pain, then WarDog shakes his head like canines do when they have prey in their mouths. He keeps shaking, slamming the wall on either side until the male’s body acts more like a ragdoll than a humanoid.

  He might not be dead yet, but he’s certainly no longer conscious.

  WarDog finally lets the body slump to the floor and nudges it with his nose.

  Think he’s dead? he asks.

  Don’t worry. I’ll make certain of it after I switch back. Before you shift, I have something I want to say.

  I feel him edge nearer, his head cocked as he waits.

  Apologies. I’ve resented you. Maybe I was even a bit jealous. You were out for all that time. So long. I lost myself. Then I shifted out and Willa felt more comfortable with you than me. She shared more of herself with you. She seemed to prefer you.

  But I don’t want that again. Ever. We’re a team. I want Willa to be my mate, and I want you to be part of whatever life we create together. I know she loves you, too. I’m sorry. I’ll never banish you again.

  He heaves a huge gust of air, relaxing perhaps for the first time since Khour stepped out of that hover a decade ago.

  I missed you, he says with the full force of his golden eyes staring into mine as we face each other in my mind. I had to take care of everything when you were forced to hide from me for so long. I had to fight. I had to endure . . . so much. Then you finally shifted back and you shunned me. It hurt. I didn’t have you. I didn’t have Willa. I was lonely. I’d like for us to be a team again. We work well together.

  With that, we both glance at the dead male not two fiertos away. I haven’t seen him twitch, or breathe, but as soon as I shift, my dirk will be up to the hilt in his heart just for good measure. Although I’m not sure he has a heart.

  And then we’ll call the Fool. And we’ll return to our mate. And although mates shouldn’t keep secrets, perhaps we should never tell her just how much we enjoyed what happened in this room. With a huff that sounds remarkably like a laugh, WarDog agrees.

  As I shift back, I become painfully aware of where Khour stabbed me with the broken end of a statuette. It hurts like the burning fires of seven hells. Dracker.

  The pain again slips to the back of my awareness when I allow myself to share WarDog’s pride and satisfaction that we fulfilled the promise of revenge we made to our uncle, mother, and friends on that fateful day over ten annums ago.

  We did it. I say to him.

  Of course, we did, he replies as if there was never a shred of doubt. He prances and swaggers inside, pulling a laugh from me even in my weakened state.

  My legs can barely hold my weight and I stagger. WarDog whimpers in worry.

  Get help, you’re hurt, can’t fix this.

  I pull my knife from my leg holster and stagger to Khour as I leave a thick trail of blood. I’m weak and unsteady on my feet, but I make it to Khour, touch the auto-zip to remove the body armor, and stab his chest over and over, making sure the bastard is dead. If there is a heart in his chest, it’s no longer beating.

  I have just enough energy to whisper, “Come” into the comm and the world goes black.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Willa

  I’m waiting at the gangway as Stryker and Dax rush Bayne up the ramp on a hover-stretcher. I’ve been standing here since Zar comm’d and told me Bayne had called for retrieval and only gotten out the word ‘come’ before the comm ended.

  Aerie’s been at my side for the last hour, holding my hand because I’ve lost my mind waiting for them to bring him back to me.

  Dr. Drayke is here, medpad in hand, ready to start diagnostics the moment he’s onboard.

  “Zar!” It’s either Axxios or Braxxus’s voice over the overhead comm. I can’t tell the twin pilots’ voices apart. “A fleet of six harriers is coming in fast. As soon as the door closes, we’ll launch into hyperdrive.”

  When the hatch closes, I grab the top bar of the hover-stretcher as we race to medbay. I’m glad I’m holding on when I feel the distinctive lurch as we shift into hyperdrive.

  Bayne is pale. And covered in blood. The skin on his chest is charred; some of the pelt high on his shoulders is singed. Worse, though, is the gaping wound in his belly. It’s three inches wide with jagged edges and appears to have bled profusely although it’s not bleeding now.

  I want to ask Dr. Drayke a thousand questions, but one glance at his serious face and his swift fingers flying over his pad tells me it’s more important for him to tend to my male than to answer me.

  My male. Yes, there it is. Bayne is my male. I love him and he loves me. And bonus! WarDog is a two-hundred-pound lovebug who’s a great addition to the mix. The male I love, though, looks like if they don’t run faster he’ll die of blood loss on the stretcher before they reach medbay.

  Dr. Drayke is an amazing male. He’s supremely competent and has the kindest bedside manner of any doctor I’ve ever met. The fact that he’s not calmly reassuring me makes my heart race. I’ve seen him with other males’ mates when they’ve come back on board with an injury from a match. He’s kind and unflappable and tells them not to worry.

  No comforting platitudes are escaping his mouth now.

  Aerie is following us, but Drayke won’t let her into medbay.

  “I only need essential personnel. And of course you, Willa.”

  Drayke’s mate, Nova is here. She’s been training as a nurse. They have a telepathic link and can move so swiftly as the perfect team that it’s a joy to watch them. There’s no joy today, though. My top teeth nibble my bottom lip as I press my back against the wall to get out of the way and watch Drayke give orders to the medbot while
Nova cleans his chest wound.

  “The belly’s the worst,” Drayke says out loud for my benefit. “The laser to the chest isn’t serious. Well . . .” he pauses as he checks readings on his medpad, “it is serious, but it's the abdominal wound that’s the real worry. Internal damage and bleeding could . . .”

  Maybe I overrated his bedside manner skills. He did not reassure me.

  I stand motionless for two hours while the medical team and the medbot do what they can. Bayne’s beautiful face is pale and immobile as they rush to patch him up.

  About an hour into the procedure, I realized I could hover over his right shoulder and still be out of the way. My fingers lodge into the pelt there. When I used to pet him like this in his canine form I always told myself it comforted him. But that’s partially a lie. It gives me comfort. My fingers feel at home in his soft fur.

  I’ve been watching Drayke and Nova’s expressions. They don’t need to talk out loud for me to know they’re concerned. Nova’s amber eyes are especially expressive. She’s not optimistic.

  “There’s nothing more for us to do right now, Willa,” Drayke says. “The bleeding has stopped, the damage has been repaired, and the blood he lost is being replaced. Time will tell. I’ll sleep in the lab next door tonight. Why don’t you sleep in your own bed?”

  “Would you sleep in your own bed if Nova was lying on this operating table, Doc?”

  He flashes me a small smile. “That’s not a hypothetical, Willa. Nova was in my medbay when we first met. I did not sleep in my own bed.”

  They look at each other with the most tender expression. They are so happily mated I used to envy them when I watched them together in the dining room. They can’t keep their hands off each other.

  “I’ll roll a bed in here from one of the other rooms. You can sleep just inces from Bayne. I understand.”

  The sympathetic look he flashes does not inspire optimism.

  A few minutes later, they’ve washed off the blood, covered Bayne in a clean sheet and blanket, and left me here alone with my male. I shove the bed next to his, lie down, and stroke the bare arm nearest me.

  I haven’t prayed in a long time, but I do now.

  Bayne

  Awareness rises in my head like the slow dawn of the sun. My first conscious thought is to wonder where I am, then I hear WarDog’s persistent chuffing. He’s close, sitting stiffly, his worried eyes watching me intently. At the first sign of my waking, his tail thumps and he licks my face with unbridled enthusiasm. Even in my mind, it’s warm and welcoming, if somewhat sloppy.

  You seem awfully happy to see me. I laugh and pull him close for a fierce hug.

  I am. I thought you’d heal faster than you did. I could smell Willa’s fear and sorrow, and I could not reach her.

  Heal? I release him and look down his body for signs of injury.

  Not me, you. Remember Khour? He asks. The laser? The statue in your stomach?

  It all rushes back to me. The most prevalent feeling isn’t pain, but satisfaction as I remember every moment of our battle with Khour. The revenge was a decade in the making. If people across the galaxy knew, there would be tens of thousands of them cheering what WarDog and I accomplished in that living room.

  Willa? I ask.

  WarDog’s tail thumps as he says, She hasn’t left our side since we were transported back on board. She’s our mate, right? We need to mate her.

  Yes. We will.

  I force my eyes open and see Willa at my right. There she is, sleeping in a bed that’s pulled next to mine. I pause, wondering if I should wake her. I know she’d want me to wake her the moment I wake up.

  “Willa, my love. Wake up.”

  Her eyes pop open, and a wide smile replaces her initial startle response. The way she scoots next to me reminds me of the way WarDog wiggles to get closer to her. It’s endearing. My heart warms at the happiness in her eyes.

  “How are you feeling?” she asks as she feathers a hank of hair off my forehead.

  “Fine.”

  “I’m surprised you’re up so soon. Not that long ago, Dr. Drayke wasn’t sure you’d make it.”

  I assumed as much. The look of concern on her face, her brown eyes filled with worry, tells me all I need to know about my condition.

  “Skylosians heal fast. If my eyes are open, I’ll be fine.”

  The doctor enters briskly from the adjoining lab, medpad in hand. He hides his initial surprise at seeing me awake, then conducts some readings. After setting the pad down, he grabs another as he says, “Looks like this one’s broken. You couldn’t have recovered that quickly.” He fiddles with the pad, his face looking increasingly amazed, then says, “Speedy recovery is an understatement. Is it a shifter trait? Looks like you’ve made a full recovery.”

  He unwraps the bandages on my chest and stomach and shakes his head, his eyebrows lifted in astonishment. “I would love to run more tests to find out what is in your blood or genetics that accelerates the healing.” He has that excited look a youngling gets with a new toy.

  I shrug. “My species heals quickly.”

  Drayke performs a few more tests, then says, “I still don’t understand what I’m seeing, but at this point, you’re just taking up space in my medbay. I can study the results of these tests later. You’re fine. Zar asked to see you the moment you woke. Think you can talk if he comes to medbay?”

  “Yes, as long as my Willa can stay.”

  Mate, WarDog insists.

  Soon, I reassure him as I gulp down two glasses of water while we wait for Zar.

  Within minimas both Captain Zar and Captain Beast enter my room and squeeze against the wall across from my bed. The room is small and the two enormous males make it feel even smaller.

  “We were relieved to hear you’ve recovered,” Zar says with a smile. I always have to look at his eyes when he wears this expression, not knowing whether he’s snarling or smiling. His eyes look genuinely happy to see me. “We want to know what happened on Fairea.”

  “Willa, would you mind finding me some food? I’m starving,” I say when I realize the last thing I want is for her to hear the details of what WarDog and I did in that mansion.

  “Sure. I’ll leave the room. That’s what you’re asking, right? Do you really want food?” Out of anyone else’s mouth, that would be sarcastic, but she’s serious. She called it compassionate forgiveness. I believe she’ll be granting it to me often—I’m a lucky male.

  “I am hungry, Willa. And yes, I’m asking you to leave the room.”

  “I’ll take my time,” she says and kisses me without embarrassment in front of not one but two captains. WarDog proudly shifts his weight from paw to paw as we both realize the kiss was a bold announcement of her feelings for me.

  As soon as she leaves, I tell the males what happened. The further into the story I get, the more they both nod and smile.

  “High five!” Beast says as he steps next to me and puts up his palm. When I look confused, he explains, “Aerie taught me. It’s a way of saying ‘good job’ on Earth.”

  I slap his palm, enjoying being accepted as an equal.

  “We’re going to call an all-hands meeting for this afternoon. We’d like you to be there.”

  “Absolutely.”

  After they leave, Willa returns with a sandwich. I eat ravenously and finish in mimimas. Now I’ve coaxed her to lie down next to me and we face each other.

  Before I can speak, she says, “I was worried, Bayne. First I was terrified when they left you on the planet to deal with Khour alone, then even more so when they brought you back on a stretcher. I promised myself many things while you’ve been in medbay.”

  I breathe in her sweet scent and WarDog inces closer. He’s so bonded to her. Her gentle fingers stroking his fur make his life worth living. Guilt slices through me when I recall how I banished him. I reinforce the promise I made to him and myself that I won’t do it again.

  Thank you, WarDog says with a happy chuff and perks his ears forwar
d to hear Willa while his tail is thumping in a frenzy of delight and anticipation.

  “What things did you promise yourself, Love?”

  “That making you and a certain furry someone happy is the most important thing in my life. That if I were lucky enough to have you come back to me I’d never let a day go by where I didn’t show you how much I love you both.” WarDog’s tail is wagging so hard his back end is doing a happy dance. I can’t help but smile at his exuberance and joy.

  She sees my smile and presses her palm to my cheek. I turn my head to kiss her hand. Then her fingers lodge in the pelt at my shoulders. She loves to pet me there.