The man’s eyes rolled up into his head before he fell back. His large body crashed to the floor. Casey turned away. The fighting was still going on but she saw bodies down. Terror hit her as she scanned the still, large bodies on the floor until she realized they weren’t Zorn. She didn’t see Argernon.
She got a glimpse of him when two men fighting in the front line went to the floor together. He was on his feet fighting another Collis. Argernon spun, his powerful leg shooting out, nailing the man who was trying to attack him from behind. The man hit the wall hard and went down. Argernon roared his rage. She saw blood on his face. Men moved as they fought so Casey couldn’t see Argernon anymore as the melee blocked her view.
A sound carried her way. She spun around. Zorn men, six of them, were running from the opposite direction. They actually had to jump over the alien she had killed. One of the men grabbed Casey with his arm locking around her waist. She gasped as her feet left the floor as he swung her out of the center of the corridor. He leaned back against the wall, lifting her up his body and adjusting her in his tight embrace until they were chest to chest. She dangled a good half a foot from the floor but she still had to raise her chin to get a look at his face. His fingers wrapped around the tool she still gripped, tearing it from her numb fingers to toss it away from them. His hand went to her waist.
Shock tore through her. The Zorn man looked a hell of a lot like Argernon. He sniffed at her, frowning, as his gaze flew to hers. He growled. She waited but the conis didn’t translate. Her attention turned to the wall. She saw that it was there, but it wasn’t working anymore. She looked back at him.
“Can you understand me?”
He nodded. One hand released her waist. He turned their bodies as he tore his gaze from her. She followed where he was staring. The Zorn men had all of the Collis who were still alive on the floor. Argernon stumbled forward from the mess, covered in blood. Casey saw his head lift. Their gazes locked.
“Let me go.” She hit at the chest of the man holding her.
The Zorn gripping her let her slide down his body. He released her the second her feet touched the floor. Casey was shaking as she closed the distance to Argernon. He just stood there waiting. Casey was alarmed with how pale he looked and there was a good amount of blood on him. He had it on his face, in his hair, down his chest, arms, and shoulders. His pants were torn above the knee on one leg. Blood even covered his bare feet.
She was in front of him in seconds. “Are you all right?”
Her hands reached out but he growled at her, showing sharp teeth. She jerked her hands back to just stare up at him.
“You look so pale. Please let me touch you.”
He growled again holding out his hands, showing her the blood as he turned his hands over. He met her look, slowly shaking his head. He made a sound she identified as he mimicked rushing water. Relief hit her.
“You want to shower first before I touch you?”
He nodded.
The man who had grabbed Casey walked behind her. He growled something to Argernon causing him to smile. Argernon was still smiling as he gave his full attention to the man behind her. He opened his mouth but instead of growling he softly groaned. All the tan color drained from Argernon’s face as he slowly sank to the floor.
Casey lunged forward trying to catch Argernon. He was too damn big to hold up but she did manage to slow him just enough so that the man behind her could lunge forward to grab Argernon too. The man gently lowered Argernon to the floor. Casey ended up on her knees next to him clutching his hand. His eyes were shut, he was too pale, and while he was breathing, he was definitely unconscious.
Argernon’s almost look-alike snarled loudly at all the men around them. He grabbed Casey’s arm, ripping her away from Argernon. She cried out in protest but the man moved fast. He dug his hands under Argernon’s body, lifting him. The man groaned slightly. Both men were about the same massive size but the man stood up with Argernon cradled in his arms. The man snarled, jerked his head to Casey, and then was storming away with Argernon.
One of the Zorn men moved forward to grip Casey’s arm. He softly growled at her as he gently pulled her to her feet. He gripped her hand, pulling her down the corridor. She realized they were heading in the direction that the man had taken Argernon. She walked faster, almost running. She did run when she saw the man carrying Argernon ahead. She tore her hand away from her escort’s hold. She wasn’t going to let Argernon out of her sight.
It was some kind of medical room. Casey saw an older Zorn man in the room as Argernon was gently placed on a flat bed. The Zorn doctor, Casey assumed, shot her a curious glance but then ignored her. The man went to work.
Argernon’s obvious relative moved to stand next to Casey. She looked up at him. “Are you Argernon’s brother?”
He turned his head to stare down at her. He gave her a nod.
“Is that a doctor?”
The man hesitated before he shook his head no.
“Where is the doctor?” Fear hit Casey. “He needs one. Isn’t there a doctor on the ship?”
The man looked grim as he growled, shaking his head, looking pissed as his eyes lingered on his brother’s still form. The man attending Argernon was cleaning off the blood. Casey moved forward to grab some of the small hand-sized towels the man had put on a small table next to the bed holding Argernon. She wanted to help so she worked on his other side, cleaning off the blood.
Argernon’s brother helped strip Argernon out of his pants so they could turn him over. The conis wasn’t working so they couldn’t talk to each other but both men understood her. That was something but she was still frustrated. They found a large bleeding lump on the back of Argernon’s head. He had a knife wound on his thigh where his pants had been torn above the knee where one of the Collis bastards had stabbed him. He had cuts, bruises and a few claw marks to show for the fighting. The worst and most worrisome injury was his head. The bulge from the lump was bad.
“Do you have ice? I need something really cold to put on the wound to reduce the swelling.”
The older Zorn got the equivalent of an ice pack. Nothing more could be done for Argernon’s head injury. Casey and the older Zorn cleaned and bandaged the other wounds. Casey helped the older man treat each man as more injured Zorn came looking for help. He wasn’t a doctor but he obviously had a little medical training.
* * * * *
They were three days from Zorn. The ship was crippled but the engines were fine. The conis program was damaged and they weren’t able to retrieve it. Communications were down all over the ship. They couldn’t even get in contact with the Zorn home planet. The Collis had taken out their long-distance communications when they’d fired on the ship.
Argernon’s brother visited often as Casey stayed at Argernon’s side. He didn’t wake up and she was worried sick over his head injury. By asking questions she knew they were having all kinds of electrical problems. Some parts of the ship weren’t livable so most of the Zorn moved to deck three with Casey and Argernon. The water systems were down so even showers were out. Casey knew they were also having problems with food since she was handed packets of dried food to eat.
Casey tended to the Zorn men who were injured while Argernon remained unconscious. Over twenty Collis attackers had been killed when they’d boarded the ship but the Zorn had only suffered four losses along with the death of Rachael. At least thirty Zorn males were living in the same area Casey was, so by Day Two everyone smelled due to the scarce water supply. The air circulating wasn’t the greatest either but she’d been assured they wouldn’t suffocate when she’d noticed the poor air quality and had asked someone.
She was frustrated. Argernon was healing but he wouldn’t wake up. The knot on his head had gone down. She’d talked to him while he slept, begging him to wake up, but he’d continued to sleep deeply. Every time exhaustion threatened to take her, she’d climb up on the bed with him to curl into his side. She rarely left the room they were keeping Argernon in except to use th
e bathroom.
She was uncomfortable since most of the male Zorn were living in the corridors and sleeping on floors outside the door. When some of them looked at her, she didn’t like the interest she saw there. Argernon wasn’t able to protect her so she just stayed at his side as much as she could.
They finally reached Zorn and the crippled ship was boarded by other Zorn. They instantly headed for Argernon with a mobile board like a cot with straps. Casey stood back while they loaded Argernon gently. She followed them. When one of the men had tried to stop her, she’d glared up at him.
“I go where he goes. Get the hell out of my way and let me follow him.”
Argernon’s brother had stepped out of a room at that moment. He growled at the man, glanced at Casey and nodded. The big man moved out of the way so Casey could rush after the men taking Argernon away. As they boarded a small shuttle Casey felt terror. She was going to Zorn but Argernon was gravely injured. She was facing stepping on an alien planet without his protection. Was that even safe? She didn’t know. She moved closer to his cot, gripping his limp hand.
Chapter Nine
Casey stared at the red planet around her in wonder and shock. She was exhausted and worse, worried. She’d just spend three hellish days of her life in a crippled ship with a lot of Zorn men, an unconscious Argernon, with no way to communicate except by asking questions that had a yes or a no answer.
The shuttle ride down to the planet had been bumpy and crowded with the injured. After they landed on the surface more Zorn rushed inside the cramped space to carry out the injured, going for Argernon first. Casey tried to follow the men taking him away, but one of them moved in her path, trying to prevent her from staying by his side.
“Get out of my way, damn it. I’m with him.”
The man had frowned, but he’d moved out of her way after sniffing at her.
She’d run after the stretcher that carried Argernon. They walked into some kind of hospital but not one like she’d ever seen before since it resembled an office building. They’d let her stay with Argernon but no one had talked to her. They’d put him on a table bed in a large, private room, under a machine that hovered over him scanning back and forth over his body. She paced, watching Argernon, feeling worried. He hadn’t woken up in three days.
She’d taken care of him by forcing water into him by dripping it into his mouth hour after hour. She’d hand bathed him with his brother’s help twice. She didn’t see any infection in his cuts and his bleeding had totally stopped. He’d actually started to heal. The gash on his head was closed so it was just a red-scabbed area. The bump though had worried her. It had just started to go down. The doors to the room opened to admit a Zorn woman.
Casey was taken aback by her. The woman was probably five feet ten, muscular and wore a tunic top with loose pants. She stopped to stare at Casey for a moment before walking all the way into the room. She cleared her throat.
“Hello, Earth woman. I am Scientist and Healer Ahhu.”
Casey almost hit her knees and would have if she hadn’t locked them together. “You speak English. Thank God!”
“I don’t speak it.” The woman touched her ear. “I have the upgraded translator implant programming to understand your Earth language. We also have the conis running so you can understand me in this room. I will get you fit with implants soon. What is your name?”
“Casey Santhrom. How is Argernon? He hasn’t woken up in three days.”
The woman darted her eyes to Argernon, clearing her throat. “He’s very ill. He hit his head hard but he will recover.”
“Why isn’t he awake?”
The woman moved closer, studying Casey. She sniffed and made a face. “You smell.”
Anger simmered up instantly in Casey. “I’ve been stuck in a crippled ship in tight quarters with a bunch of men for three days without a shower. What is wrong with Argernon, damn it?”
The Zorn woman growled. “There is not a need for rudeness. I was merely stating an observation. Would you like to bathe? I will see to it that you get clothing while we take care of Argis Argernon. He should be awake by the time that you are clean and smelling well again.”
“Lady,” Casey warned. “I’m about to lose my temper and then you’ll know rudeness. Tell me what’s wrong with Argernon, damn it.”
Ahhu stepped back, frowning. “He injured his head enough to put his body in a protective hibernation.”
Shock tore through Casey. “Hibernation? Like bears?”
The woman frowned. “What is a bear?”
“Forget it. How do we wake him up?”
Casey moved to Argernon to grip his hand. Between her worry for Argernon’s health, the constant concern on the ship that she was being lied to and they were slowly going to suffocate, and the fear of what would greet her on Zorn, she was an emotional mess.
“You need to bathe. Your smell is offensive. We will bathe Argis Argernon.”
The door opened. Three pretty women who were all tall and muscular too rushed into the room. They all quickly advanced to Argernon. One of them actually knocked Casey out of the way. Casey ended up stumbling back about four feet. The distress on the women’s faces was evident as they ran their hands over Argernon’s still body. One of them turned her attention on Ahhu.
“Will he recover?”
Ahhu nodded. “Yes, Bara. He had swelling in his brain but it has left no permanent damage. He shut down for more than a day so his body responded in kind to protect him. He’s hibernating.”
The woman swayed, tears filling her eyes. “We’ll wake him up after we bathe him clean so he isn’t upset by his odor.”
The woman sniffed. Her face crinkled into a bunch of wrinkles as she leaned down to inhale slowly. She lifted her head, her attention going to Casey, looking really pissed off as she glared right at her.
“Who is she? Her scent is all over Argernon. I didn’t detect it at first because of his body odor from days of not washing and all the other male scents.”
“Who are you?” Casey didn’t like, one bit, the way the woman was glaring at her. She was pissed off that three women were touching Argernon after knocking her out of the way. “And why in the hell are you touching him? Are you his sisters?”
Ahhu cleared her throat as she looked between both women. She softly growled. She turned her attention to Casey looking really uncomfortable.
“These are Argis Argernon’s house helpers. This is Bara, Valle, and Din.”
Bara snarled. “Why are you addressing her? You address me. I am house lead.”
Ahhu visibly flinched. “This is very displeasing news for all of you obviously. Argis Argernon bound to this Earth woman, Bara. You know I have to address her first now. You no longer lead his house. She does.”
Bara snarled, shock gripping her features as she paled, swaying a little on her feet. Her eyes shot to Casey. Casey saw emotions in the woman’s face. The woman was furious, shocked, and judging by the way her fingers clawed, she wanted to shred Casey with her fingernails.
Casey was in shock too. Argernon had told her about house helpers. She let the information he’d given her slam into her brain as understanding hit her hard. She stared at the three women while jealousy reared its ugly head, but mostly it was pain that surfaced. These three women lived with Argernon, slept in his bed with him since he wasn’t bound, and he kept them as his lovers.
Her body swayed a little. She backed up to sit down hard in the nearest chair. She felt betrayed and heartbroken. The anger and pain tore her apart at the same time. He’d said he wanted bound to her but she never thought, never even let it sink in, that he might have house helpers living with him.
Casey forced herself to her feet. She clenched her teeth as she blinked back tears to stare at the doctor or whatever she was. “I’d like that shower and please address…” Casey’s eyes went to Bara. “Her as lead. I’m not bound to him. He’s got enough damn women in his bed.”
Casey let her eyes drift to Argernon. Those
women were touching him. One had her hand on his thigh right against his balls, another one had her hand on his heart rubbing his bare chest like a lover would, and the third one was touching his hair. Jealousy hit her hard. She wanted to cry. She blinked the moisture back, tearing her gaze from Argernon’s still body to Ahhu.
“I want to leave now.” Her voice shook and Casey hated it that her pain was evident.
Ahhu frowned. The door opened behind the woman. Argernon’s brother from the ship stormed in. He took in the room and froze. Behind him another man walked in. At his side was a human woman gripping his hand. The man was obviously another brother judging by the way he looked so much like Argernon. How many brothers were there?
“This is very tense,” Ahhu said softly. She turned her attention on one of the brothers. “Argis Rever, there is a problem.”
Rever frowned. “What is Argernon’s condition? Will he survive?”
Ahhu hesitated as her eyes darted from Casey to the three women touching Argernon. She nodded. “He will recover. His body went into hibernation from the trauma of the head injury. His house helpers will bathe him and revive him.” She paused. “He didn’t tell his bound about his house helpers. She’s stating she isn’t his bound and wants to leave now. I can smell her pain from here. She’s very agitated.”
Rever turned to Casey. Casey blinked hard as she met the eyes of the man she’d spent three days with. Now she knew his name. Rever opened his mouth and then slammed it shut. He frowned at Casey, his intensely blue eyes locking on her.
“Son of a bitch,” the human woman ground out, jerking away from the man she was holding hands with, spinning to face him. “Your brother is an asshole. Damn it, this isn’t why I sent you people to Earth to get women. I told you this was going to be a bad idea.” She spun back around, looking at Casey, sympathy welling in those eyes. “I’m Ariel. He didn’t tell you he had three women living with him?”
Casey shook her head. “I want to leave now.” She was proud that her voice didn’t break. “Right now.”