palm against the mechanism to open the door. She learned quickly and it was one of the many things I was growing to admire about her. That, and her grit.
She’d been through a lot. It was written along the lines of her face the first day I’d laid eyes on her. The anxiety and fear in her gaze. I didn’t need to know the details of her past to know she’d walked through the fires of her own hell. But she was still standing and I had great admiration for that steel spine.
Frode and Levin strolled inside, an implant device in Levin’s grip. She mumbled something, her last word tipping at the end as if in question.
I took the device from Levin and held it to my ear, watching her watch me, her eyes following my every move. A quick beep and my mind splintered in pain briefly before the new information flowed freely.
“Is he okay?” I hear her soft-spoken question. Her voice echoing in my mind as the implant translated her words through signals. It was not a computerized voice translating but rather a knowing. The implant embedded deep into the brain to redirect information and reconfigure so it more clearly understood. Her voice was light as air and thick as honey.
My cock throbbed painfully and I felt the beast roll over in recognition. He’d grown accustomed to her these past few nights and it was as I feared. He was entranced. Nearly more so than myself.
She reached for me and I stepped away, noting the flash of hurt in her eyes but it could not be helped, I needed to speak with my father immediately.
An Ockdal had not succumbed to his inner beast in over a century. Not outside the controlled environment of the Halvin.
“I’m fine,” I rasped, the need to give in to the beast dense and foreboding.
“You can understand me?” She asked, her voice now pitched with excitement.
I cleared my throat and nodded. “Now, explain your shedding skin.”
Chapter Twelve
Emerson
Lotion. Just a little lotion was all I needed. Now, their idea of it was a thick oil but it soothed my itchy skin, especially the red areas where the leather had rubbed the dead skin off too soon.
I sighed in relief, stretching out on the bench as the healer rubbed it into my back and shoulders. My shirt had been white in the slave cage so I had some burnt skin along my spine but not as bad as my arms, shoulders, neck and face. My Irish roots gave me skin sensitive to the sun and I knew from experience it should clear up in another two or three days but the oil would go a long way to speeding up that process. Still, I may have shed a tear or two when it was time to pull the leather vest back on.
Thankfully only the healer was here to witness it. Fenru and the other two were waiting outside the door for me. It felt strange to be able to answer their questions and I knew I would miss having that mystery but I was grateful too. We were about to step off the ship onto Ardaren and I was going to need my words to feel comfortable enough in a new alien environment.
Skin slick and shiny, I stepped out to the silent trio. “Ready.”
Fenru grabbed my arm lightly and tugged me down the hall. “I need to make a comm call. You are to stay with Levin in the markets. Get what you need and I’ll meet up with you at the games.”
There was a lot to unpack there but I nodded, happy he was so willing to buy me new clothes.
Levin and Frode looked to their boss stunned. Frode’s lashes seemed to flutter in confusion. “You would leave her with us on the station?”
Fenru glowered at him. “I can’t take her. Not in such a crowded area.”
“What’s going on?”
As I spoke, Fenru stiffened. “Take her.”
Levin watched Fenru carefully, his eyes darkening. “It is reacting to her.”
Fenru nodded stiffly. “I can feel myself slipping.”
Both Frode and Levin cursed.
“Hello,” I waved at them. “What’s reacting to me?”
Fenru turned his back to me and I frowned, getting a little peeved that I could finally talk and he was ignoring me.
“I am Frode,” the alien tried to distract me. But I wasn’t having it.
I waved him away. “Yeah, yeah I remember. Frode the mighty, son of somebody the something. Hey!” I jogged up to Fenru, grabbing his arm. “Don’t