“What’s wrong?” Merr-anda asked, fussing over me. “Why’s he upset?”
“These guys won’t rest unless we knock them out,” Val said to Merr-anda. “I gave him something to force him to sleep. He’s probably fighting sleep. They always do.”
“It’ll be okay,” Merr-anda petted me, her hands warm on my chest. “Just focus on resting. We’ll worry about everything else later. I’ll be right by your side. I promise.”
She was perfection, more than I could ever deserve in my life. My eyes weren’t focusing, and my body felt fuzzy, like I was floating on a cloud. With the last bit of energy I had, I reached for Merr-anda’s hand and placed it on my throat. I’d been working on this at night after she fell asleep. My last effort before I let sleep consume me was to say in a scratchy, halting tone, “Merr-anda.”
Nine
Miranda
I was not going to cry again. I refused. But nothing had ever felt quite like my palm vibrating with Drak’s broken, “Merr-anda.”
Val didn’t speak, and neither did Sax or Ward. We sat there in silence as Drak’s breathing evened out and his arms flopped to his sides. I kept my hand on his throat, comforted in the pounding of his pulse and the echoing vibration of my name. Thank fuck for medis because I felt no pain. Even my ankle seemed good as new.
We weren’t in the healer’s hut. This one was empty except for a cleanser in the corner and the fur palette on the floor. No windows except for a barred hole in the ceiling. A prison hut.
I’d moved from sad and scared to downright fucking mad. I whirled on Sax and Ward. “How dare you? How fucking dare you!”
“Miranda—” Val began in her soothing tone.
“Do not use your nurse tone on me right now, Val,” I snapped. “I love you, but not right now. Not while my mate was marched in here in chains like a criminal.”
“He is a criminal,” Ward said. “The only reason we didn’t turn him away is because you pleaded for him. I understand your anger, but be mindful, Miranda, we are making concessions.” He waved a hand around the hut. “This is a concession.”
I gritted my teeth. I wanted to argue more but I also knew I’d get nowhere. Not tonight They’d given him medis and a bed. I’d fight for more tomorrow. I ran my fingers over the hard planes of Drak’s face.
Despite the late hour, the silence was broken by the sound of feet slapping the ground outside before the hut was filled with a gaggle of women. Reba, Tabitha, Justine, a pregnant Frankie, and last but not least Naomi. With Drak safe and resting, I relished in my homecoming and threw myself at them. All the pregnant ladies were crying, along with Tabitha. Justine was yelling about never allowing me to leave the walls again. Meanwhile Naomi clung to me, her face buried into my side like she wanted to live in my skin.
“I missed you all,” I said. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“What happened?” Justine was still on a rant. Her emotions almost always manifested themselves in anger. “Why the hell did you run away from Gar and Crius?”
“I didn’t run away…” I sighed. “I’ll explain tomorrow. Right now, I just wanted to hug you all and hear how my baby mommas are doing.”
“Terrible!” Frankie wailed. “Aunt Miranda was off gallivanting in the forest finding a mate while I’m growing a baby with horns!”
I rolled my eyes. “I was not gallivanting.”
“You’re like the solid rock we all pivot around,” Naomi said in her soft voice at my side. “Without you, we flailed in orbit.”
“That’s pretty poetic,” Justine said with a sniffle. “But accurate.”
“They’re not lying.” Frankie poked me in the side. “The guys here might love me, but they don’t listen to me like they do when you crack the whip.”
I laughed, remembering all the shenanigans some of the warriors got into, like when a bunch tricked a younger warrior into sticking his head between two wooden slats of fencing and then scattered when he’d gotten stuck.
We hugged and talked some more. But eventually the girls grew tired as it was the middle of the night. They left after I promised to explain what had happened while I was gone. Frankie remained behind with Val.
“And now,” she reached for my hand and examined my loks. “You’re mated, Miss I Don’t Need a Man.”
I yanked my hand back. “I still don’t need one.” I glanced back at Drak as he twitched in his sleep. “But I do want this one.”
“Miranda,” Frankie whispered.
“He’s good, Frank,” I pleaded to her and Val, ignoring the piercing looks of the warriors in the room. “When he’s himself again, he’ll show you. He’s kind and gentle. I don’t know what happened all those cycles ago, but he’s a good warrior. Strong and resourceful.”
Frankie looked me right in the eye and said the three words I hadn’t realized I’d wanted to hear. “I believe you.”
I held back the tears that threatened and whispered a broken, “Thank you.”
“We’ll talk tomorrow,” Frankie said. “Get some rest. Don’t worry about anything. Daz has the last word, but I’m his mate and I’m carrying his child. If anyone has his ear, it’s me.”
“I love you, Frankie.”
She pressed a kiss to my cheek and smiled. “I love you, too.” With a flourish, she tightened her wrap around her bulging belly and walked out.
“Come on, Val,” Sax said. “Time to get some rest.”
Val gave me one long look and turned to leave.
“Val,” I called out.
She looked at me over her shoulder.
“I’m sorry for snapping at you.”
She smiled. “No need to apologize. I know what it’s like to desperately want to protect your mate.” With a nod, she left.
Ward gave me one final long look and walked out. He shut the door, and I heard him slide a bolt across, locking us in.
I glared at the door for a while until I swayed on my feet. I needed to sleep too, so I curled up next to Drak’s big body and finally let myself drift off.
Drak
My mind churned with images, sounds, and visions. I didn’t know what was a dream and what was memory. I felt my pulse pounding in my ears and opened my eyes on a gasp to stare not at the stars but at an unfamiliar ceiling. The sun’s first rays of the rotation beamed through a barred window in the room, and I frowned at it.
Merr-anda!
I jolted to a sitting position, ready to slay the world to find her, only to realize she was curled in a ball with her back to me, asleep.
I winced, kneading my temples as I sought to remember what happened last night, and where I was. Spotting a jug of qua near the door, I stumbled from the bed to retrieve it. I chugged the cool liquid as the memories returned. Fighting the Kulks. My injuries. Remembering the Night Kings would protect Merr-anda. A yellow-haired female who’d healed me as Merr-anda raged for the chains restraining me to be removed.
I was in the Night Kings compound, and while they allowed me in their walls, they didn’t trust me yet. I scratched my head, wishing I could remember what I’d done to be forced out. Exiled. Shunned.