Page 12 of BrOdByc
“You are on the ship, DoMicile. This room is our small bathing chamber. It was imperative to get the drying gelatinous goo off your body, out of your hair, and out of our clothing. I got some of the gel on my clothes when I skimmed it off your body and wrapped you in the sheet. I couldn’t manage both you and your covering in the shower. In here, I could hold your head above the waterline while preserving your modesty. The moving water washed most of the kack way.”
She relaxed a tiny bit. That made sense. “How long was I unconscious? More importantly, how did I get here?” Discovering a shelf at the edge of the pool, Casey sat. The water remained at chin level.
“What is the last thing you remember?” the male asked.
Casey thought about it. One thing stuck out. “You told me your name. Broddiebic, or something like that. I’m sorry if I said it wrong.”
His smile took her breath away. “BrOdByc.”
He spelled it in his language, and her translator made the switch.
“It is pronounced Brr_Odd_Bic. But it is much easier to call me Brode—as my brothers do. And you are Casey.” His small smile made her blush.
Oh, man. She was in so much trouble. Casey needed to focus on the important stuff, and not the gleam in this man’s eyes. Alien’s eyes. She reminded herself. She absolutely could not have a fling.
The smile died on her lips and a frown blossomed as she struggled to connect the dots. “You rescued me. I had to be quiet.”
He hesitated for just a second. “Yes. The compliance pool caused you a great deal of pain. I am worried that you don’t remember more.”
“I remember that. Give me a sec, maybe the rest will come back. I don’t think the compliance shit was supposed to hurt, but because I’m such a damn medical unicorn... it hit me wrong.” She stopped. Held up her hand to keep him from asking questions. There was something... else. Something important. “I didn’t want to go with you. Not because I was afraid of you, but...” Her eyes widened and she jumped up—sloshing water and almost dropping the sheet. “My sister! They’ve got my sister!” Clutching the material, she spun in a circle. Searching for stairs, or a ladder. Any method to climb out of the deep bathing pool.
He reached out, helping her gather the material. His voice soothed, “It’s okay, Casey. Your sister is at a Viant health facility. Viant is the name of this planet. The health facility is what you would call a hospital. My brothers are watching over your sister. You cannot go to her. You haven’t finished cleansing or healing from the effects of the compliance pool. Not to mention that the Siloth, the furry red aliens who brought you to this planet, and the Viant guards are searching for you.”
Casey turned and locked eyes with Brode. She tried to explain. “I can’t stay here. I’ve got to go back. They told me that the man who bought me would use my sister against me. He will make her pay if I don’t return.”
He nodded. “I overheard that warning. But I guarantee your sister is safe. When they took the two of you off the Siloth spaceship, my brother Reb followed her. I stayed with you. Since then, several brothers joined Reb. Three of my brothers guard her. Reb is medically gifted. He says she needs the life-saving treatment she is receiving from the health facility. It can’t be provided on our ship. The Siloth aren’t guarding her. They left and my brothers will watch over her and ensure she remains safe. The doctors will not release your sister to anyone until she is healed. As soon as they can, my brothers will bring her to the ship. You must trust me.”
This time, Cassey didn’t hide her eye roll. “I don’t even know you. How can I trust you?”
Chapter Eight
BrOdByc
Brode knew that trust would be hard-earned. His mate had been kidnapped, sold, and her sister taken from her. No, he would need to give her many small reasons to trust him before he could ask for more.
He glanced at the water monitor. Pointing, he explained to Casey, “The bathing pool monitors impurities. Once the dial moves into the red zone, all the gel will be dissolved and disposed of. You asked how long you were unconscious. It was about fifteen minutes in the hovercraft, five minutes in the med bay, and we’ve been in the pool for about thirty minutes.”
“Less than an hour. It feels like more.” Her sigh filled him with compassion.
Casey sat up straight. Her body was tense, her face remained pale. The sprinkling of freckles over her nose intrigued him. Her beautiful blue eyes followed his every movement. As if waiting for him to pounce on her.
Brode explained before she asked him. “We have about another hour in here.” Slowly, carefully, he leaned back in his seat and relaxed his body. Hoping that she would follow his lead. “Ask me any questions you have and if I know the answer, I will tell you. But first, may I ask something of you?” Brode intended to stay on his side of the pool. Hoping to give her enough room that she would feel safe. Comfortable.
“What do you want to know?” Raising one hand, she touched her hair and wrinkled her nose.
“I washed it when we first got in the water. I tried to clear away the obvious bits. If you like, I could wash it for you again now that I can use two hands. Are you hungry? Thirsty? I can have something brought into the room,” he offered.
She smiled at him and let her shoulders relax, just a little. “I am thirsty. It feels like days since I’ve had any water to drink.” Casey rubbed her throat. “And I screamed a lot, so it feels raw. I can wait to eat until we get out of the water. I might take you up on shampooing my hair. For at least five days, I was in a cell on the alien ship and it’s pretty dirty.” She shrugged. “It might have been longer. I don’t know how long they held us before inserting the translator.”
Using the connection with one of his brothers, he requested water for them both. Then returned his attention to Casey. “When I noted that the compliance pool caused you a great deal of pain—you said something about it wasn’t supposed to hurt, but because you are a medical unicorn… it hit you wrong. What does a horned horse have to do with this? And how can you be one? I didn’t realize that Earthers could shift forms.”
Casey burst out laughing. “Oh, my hell. A unicorn is a very unique and mythical animal. When I say I am a medical unicorn, it means that medically… I am unique… and well, mythical. My body doesn’t respond to medicine or any drug the way it should. The way others react. It was that way back home and seems to be that way here. When I’m given a sedative for surgery, one that is supposed to keep me asleep during the procedure—it doesn’t. Those red aliens gave me something to knock me out, then put in the translator. I woke before they finished and listened to their plans. The compliance pool was supposed to make me horny. It did, for a few moments. Then everything started to hurt. Until the pain became too much to bear.”
Brode frowned. “That could be dangerous for you.”
She snorted. “Yes. When I was young, I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a rare form of the disease that was extremely uncommon in girls my age. It was difficult to find a medicine that would work for me. The drugs either reacted in a way no one expected or didn’t work for me when they did for everyone else. My doctors were constantly saying things like… it isn’t supposed to do that. Or… I’ve never seen this before. So, they labeled me a medical unicorn.”
She would always be at risk. For a moment, his thoughts spiraled. Thinking about what this would mean for his mate. He couldn’t concentrate on that now. He held up his hand, feeling his brother approach. “The door will open in a moment. Don’t be afraid. It is one of my brothers.”
