Alien Protector’s Mate (Latharian Mate Program #4)

Chapter 16

16

“ A nd then there was the incident with Prince Rohn’s mate’s daughter,” S’aad told Z’yan, his voice low and controlled despite the anger simmering beneath the surface. The memory of that near-disaster sent a chill down his spine. “Her birth father, with the aid of some traitorous Lathar, nearly succeeded in kidnapping her. If not for the quick action of?—”

A sudden commotion from the reception area cut him off. The sound of raised voices and the unmistakable thud of bodies colliding made his heart leap into his throat. His eyes widened in horror. Jay was out in reception.

“Trouble,” Z’yan growled, and the two of them bolted from the lab, thundering down the corridor toward the reception area. The doors to the reception hall slid open with a hiss, revealing a scene that sent ice through his veins.

The usually orderly space had descended into chaos. His gaze swept the room, cataloging details with the precision of a trained warrior and healer. In one corner, a group of terrified human females huddled together, their wide eyes fixed on the Latharian warriors advancing on them.

But there, standing between them as if he could take on a horde of Latharian warriors all by himself was Jay.

S’aad’s world narrowed to a pinpoint, his focus on the slight figure of his assistant. Jay stood defiantly, his arms spread wide as if to protect the women behind him. The stance was protective, but S’aad could see the tremor in those slender limbs, the rapid rise and fall of Jay’s chest that betrayed his fear. However, despite that, he held his ground, glaring at the warriors in front of him.

At the front of the Lathar group was M’lak, his face contorted with fury. S’aad recognized the look of a warrior on the edge of violence. He’d seen that expression many times before, on the battlefield, in the training halls, hells, even in bars… but it had no place here. This was supposed to be a safe haven for the humans.

“Jay!” He surged forward, intent on placing himself between his assistant and the threat, but he was too late.

With a roar of rage that shook the walls, M’lak lashed out. His massive fist connected with the side of Jay’s face, and a wordless cry was torn from S’aad as the young human flew across the room. The sickening sound of flesh meeting unyielding metal echoed through the chamber as Jay collided with the front of the reception desk and slid down it to the floor.

Time slowed as he raced toward Jay’s crumpled form. Each step took an eternity, the distance between them impossibly vast. He slid to his knees next to Jay just as he stirred, a low groan escaping him. Relief flooded through S’aad at the sign of life, quickly followed by a wave of protective fury.

“No, no… stay down,” he ordered softly, pressing Jay back down when he tried to sit up, his hands moving over him with the ease of long practice to check for injuries.

Then he froze.

Jay’s clothes were torn, revealing what his hands had already told him.

Curves. Delicate, unmistakably female curves.

He jerked his hands back like he’d been burned. Jay, his assistant, the young male he had taken under his wing, was, in fact, female.

A human female.

One who had been hiding in plain sight all this time.

“He’s a girl!”

“Oh my god!”

“Is she okay?”

“He hit her really hard!”

Shocked whispers rippled through the room as others came to the same conclusion. S’aad’s protective instincts, already in overdrive, flared again.

“Stay down, Jay,” he ordered again, putting the fact Jay was a female from his mind as he checked her over for injuries. But she had already slipped into unconsciousness, her chest barely moving with the rise and fall of her breath.

A bellow of rage shattered the stunned silence. S’aad’s head snapped up as Z’yan advanced on M’lak, his face a mask of fury.

“You dare,” Z’yan growled, each word dripping with menace, “to lay hands on a human female?”

M’lak stumbled back, his face deathly pale.

“I… I didn’t know,” he stammered, his earlier bravado evaporating. “She was disguised! How was I to know?”

“Silence!” S’aad roared, his anger finally breaking free as he gathered the unconscious female against his chest, feeling the fragility of her human body against the strength of his own Latharian frame. “Your ignorance is no excuse for your actions. You have violated every code of honor we hold dear. We all know the punishment for harming a human female, as decreed by the emperor himself.”

M’lak’s gaze darted between S’aad and Z’yan, desperation clear in his eyes. “Please, I beg you. I never meant?—”

“Enough!” Z’yan cut him off, his voice sharp enough to cut through steel. “You and your accomplices will be dealt with later.” He glanced at the security team crowded in the doorway. “Get them out of here before I do something I won’t regret.”

As M’lak and his group were escorted out by security, S’aad looked down at his precious burden. Her breathing was shallow, her skin pale beneath the bruises already forming. Fear, cold and sharp, sliced through him. “I need to get her to medical,” he announced, striding for the door.

The corridors blurred around him as he carried her. How had he missed what she was? All the signs had been there, and he’d just been too stupid and wrapped up in his own troubles to see them. She was too small and finely boned to be an adult male. As soon as she’d revealed her age, he should have suspected. It was a miracle that she’d even… draanth, how had she managed to hide her true identity to get aboard the station? Questions whirled through his mind, stopping him from dwelling on the worst of them.

Would she survive the injuries inflicted by M’lak’s brutal attack?

He burst into the medical bay, Z’yan hot on his heels, startling the on-duty staff.

“I need a diagnostic bed!” he barked, only to have the staff guide him to an empty bay. Gently, he laid the unconscious female down. His hands moved with practiced ease, activating the bed’s scanners to begin the examination.

“S’aad,” Z’yan said behind him, concern evident in his tone. “What can I do?”

“Find out everything you can about her,” S’aad replied without looking up, his focus entirely on his patient. “Check the security footage to find out when she arrived on the station and where she came from. Find out who she is, and if she has any family, everything.”

As Z’yan nodded and left the bay, S’aad allowed himself to look, really look, at the woman before him. Without the baggy clothes and careful posture, it was draanthing obvious she was female.

He watched the bed’s reports as it scanned her body, his healer training taking over. Her face was pale, the delicate features contorted in pain even as she lay motionless. A trickle of blood had escaped her lips, staining the gentle curve of her cheek. He wanted to reach out and clean it away, but he couldn’t while the bed was running its scans. As soon as it snapped off, he was there, a soft cloth in his hand to clean her skin gently, but then a soft cheep from the bed warned him of a problem.

“Draanth, her vitals are dropping.” He moved to the side of the bed, peeling back her outer layers so he could check her abdomen. The sickening moment she’d hit the reception desk played over and over in his mind. “There’s internal bleeding.”

Kellat, the station’s lead healer, was already at his side, his expression calm and level. “I’ve secured the area and sent for additional medical personnel. What can I do to help?”

S’aad flicked a glance at him as he unhooked the bed from its cradle and activated the antigrav units. “I need to operate. Can you prep the theater for me?”

The lead healer inclined his head and disappeared. S’aad started to push the bed out of the bay, but a soft moan stopped him in his tracks. In a heartbeat, he was back at the side of the bed as Jay’s eyes fluttered open.

“S’aad?” Her voice was weak, a mere whisper that sent a jolt through him.

“I’m here,” he murmured, his voice gentle. “You’re safe now. I promise.”

Her eyes locked on to his, dark and unfocused. Then, like a weight too heavy to bear, her eyelids dropped, and she slipped into unconsciousness again.

S’aad’s jaw tightened as he quickened his pace.

“I’ve got you, kelarris ,” he murmured. “Don’t worry. I’ve got you.”

S’aad stood in the operating theater, watching as Jay’s bed was put into position and locked into place. A swift glance to the monitors reassured him that her condition was holding steady… for now.

He held his arms out at his sides as two technicians fitted the neural link gauntlets over his hands, fastening the straps over his wrists as his gaze returned to Jay on the bed.

Fresh bruises marred his… her skin, some almost faded, but others still darkened. Deep bruises. Older scars covered her skin, peeking through the torn clothing. His jaw tightened. She’d been abused. But by who?

“She’s prepped and ready, S’aad,” Kellat’s gruff voice pulled him from dark thoughts of tracking down who had hurt Jay… his Jay and back into the moment.

He inclined his head. “Thank you.”

Rather than leave the theater, the lead healer paused, “S’aad, I’m really not comfortable about you doing this surgery.”

“I’m more than capable of performing this operation, Kellat,” he growled, fighting to keep his voice level.

“You’re too close to the situation,” Kellat insisted, narrowing his eyes. “Your judgment is compromised.”

“My judgment is fine,” he snapped, pinning Kellat with a hard look. They didn’t have time for this. Every second counted. “Need I remind you that my trial scores were among the highest ever seen at the healer’s hall? I may not be listed as a healer but I am more than capable.”

And he outranked Kellat, but he didn’t say that. He didn’t need to. Kellat inclined his head and stepped backward. “Your patient.”

“Neural interface ready. Surgical unit online,” an assistant murmured. No one in the room had said a thing as the senior healers argued, not wanting to get involved.

S’aad nodded, steeling himself.

“Link me,” he ordered, his voice steadier than he felt.

The sensation of the neural link washed over him, and his consciousness expanded beyond the limits of his own body.

“Bringing the patient online.”

He braced himself, but nothing could have prepared him for the tidal wave of pain that crashed through the link. He gritted his teeth, using every ounce of control he had not to cry out. Jay’s agony became his own, a searing, all-encompassing torment that threatened to overwhelm him.

Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to focus and control the pain without letting it control him.

Through the link, his consciousness flowed into Jay’s body, and the extent of her injuries became clear. She had broken ribs and internal bleeding from where M’lak had thrown her against the reception desk. But there was more… like the bruises on her body, there were older injuries, old internal scars and breaks and fractures that had been set badly… or not at all. Like she’d been left, and her body had to heal them on its own.

Anger bubbled up within him, hot and fierce, but he fought it down. He couldn’t afford to lose his focus. He channeled his rage into determination. He’d heal her, not just from this recent attack, but he’d do what he could about the older injuries as well.

With meticulous precision, he began to repair the damage. Through the neural link he rebuilt torn blood vessels, knitted the fractured bones, and checked nearby organs for damage.

Hours passed, though it could have been minutes or days. He wouldn’t have known. Sweat beaded on his brow and trickled down his back, but he barely noticed.

Finally, he sealed the last of the critical wounds and moved on to the older injuries. Dissolving scar tissue so it wouldn’t adhere. Reworking old breaks and resetting them so they wouldn’t cause pain anymore.

Pursing his lips, he scanned his focus through Jay’s body one last time to check he hadn’t missed anything. Satisfied that she was out of immediate danger, he disconnected the neural link.

As his consciousness returned to his own body, exhaustion hit him like a physical blow, and he leaned heavily against the nearest support, taking deep, steadying breaths.

“The patient is stable,” Kellat announced, his voice a mix of relief and grudging respect. “Vitals returning to normal parameters.”

He nodded, too drained to speak, watching as the healer team began post-operative procedures.

“S’aad.” Kellat appeared at his side, his voice colored with concern. “You need to rest. We’ll monitor her condition.”

“I’m fine,” he insisted, even though exhaustion washed over him in a wave. He couldn’t leave Jay, not yet. What if she woke and he wasn’t here?

“You’ve done all you can for now,” Kellat insisted. “She’s stable. The best thing you can do for her now is to rest and recover your strength. Besides, Z’yan is waiting for you outside. He said he has information for you.”

He nodded, casting a look back at the delicate human female on the bed as he left the operating theater.

As they stepped into the corridor, the security chief pushed off from where he’d been leaning against the wall.

“How is she?” he asked, his eyes flicking between S’aad and Kellat.

“Stable,” S’aad replied, his voice hoarse. “She’ll recover, but it was touch and go for a while.”

Z’yan nodded, relief briefly softening hard his features. “We need to talk, S’aad. In private.”

He looked pointedly at Kellat, who gave a small bow. “And that would be my cue to leave and tend to my patients.”

A knot formed in S’aad’s stomach, cutting through the fog of exhaustion as Kellat walked off down the corridor. “What’s happened?”

Z’yan waited until they were alone. “We’ve been looking into Jay’s identity. There’s… a complication.”

S’aad’s stomach clenched. “What kind of complication?”

Z’yan sighed, running a hand through his hair. “We found an identity card in her jacket pocket for a Jared Ashton, so we checked for him in the human systems,” he began, his voice carefully neutral. “But he died as a child, years ago.”

S’aad frowned. “But he… she… Jay said his name was Ashfield.” Ashfield… Ash ton . Which meant that Jay had been hiding from him from the very beginning.

“But if Jared Ashton is dead, then?—”

“There is also a Jade Ashton in the system,” Z’yan continued, cutting S’aad off. “She’s Jared’s twin sister. But according to all official records, she’s alive and well, living with her foster parents on Earth.”

“Impossible.” He shook his head and looked at the door that led into the operating theater. “They’re lying. That female in there is Jade Ashton. She must have stolen her brother’s identity to escape them.”

His expression tightened as he looked at Z’yan.

“I found old scars and breaks. Whoever she’s running from,” he said, his voice low and intense. “They abused her for years and years.”

Fire flashed in the big security chief’s eyes, and he reached out a hand to squeeze S’aad’s shoulder. “We’ll get to the bottom of it.”

He nodded, feeling the weight of exhaustion and this new burden settling on his shoulders. “What do we do now?”

Z’yan’s expression softened slightly. “For now, we wait. She needs to recover. When she’s well enough, we’ll question her. Gently,” he added as S’aad whipped his head up. “But thoroughly. We need answers, S’aad.”

“I know,” S’aad whispered, his heart heavy. He thought of Jay—or whoever she truly was—lying vulnerable in the medical bay. The door behind them slid open as the healers moved Jay through to recovery. One look at her pale face, and he knew he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Find out what you can and keep me updated,” he ordered and turned to follow Jay into recovery, tucked away in a private room at the back of the main medical bay.

He settled into a chair beside her bed and studied her face. Without the baggy clothes and careful posture, it was glaringly obvious she was female. Her features, soft in sleep, were so delicate and beautiful that they tugged at something deep in his chest. The pull he’d felt toward Jay was just as strong now that he knew she was female, and he suddenly realized it wouldn’t have mattered what gender she was. He’d fallen for the person Jay was… whoever she might turn out to be.

He reached out, his hand hovering just above hers. He wanted to touch her, to offer comfort, but he hesitated. Did he have that right? After all, he’d failed to protect her. He’d been blind to her true identity, to the danger she was in. He might as well have thrown her across that reception hall himself.

A soft whimper escaped Jay’s lips, her brow furrowing in pain or fear. Without thinking, he took her hand, his thumb rubbing soothing circles on her skin.

“I’m here,” he murmured. “You’re safe now. I promise.”

As if she’d heard him, her expression relaxed, and her breathing evened out. A lump formed in his throat. He didn’t know who she really was or what secrets she held. But one thing he was sure of. She was his, and he would keep her safe…

No matter the cost.