WarDog: Book Twelve in the Galaxy Gladiators Alien Abduction Romance Series Alana Khan (i like reading TXT) 📖

Bayne

Awareness rises in my head like the slow dawn of the sun. My first conscious thought is to wonder where I am, then I hear WarDog’s persistent chuffing. He’s close, sitting stiffly, his worried eyes watching me intently. At the first sign of my waking, his tail thumps and he licks my face with unbridled enthusiasm. Even in my mind, it’s warm and welcoming, if somewhat sloppy.

You seem awfully happy to see me. I laugh and pull him close for a fierce hug.

I am. I thought you’d heal faster than you did. I could smell Willa’s fear and sorrow, and I could not reach her.

Heal? I release him and look down his body for signs of injury.

Not me, you. Remember Khour? He asks. The laser? The statue in your stomach?

It all rushes back to me. The most prevalent feeling isn’t pain, but satisfaction as I remember every moment of our battle with Khour. The revenge was a decade in the making. If people across the galaxy knew, there would be tens of thousands of them cheering what WarDog and I accomplished in that living room.

Willa? I ask.

WarDog’s tail thumps as he says, She hasn’t left our side since we were transported back on board. She’s our mate, right? We need to mate her. 

Yes. We will.

I force my eyes open and see Willa at my right. There she is, sleeping in a bed that’s pulled next to mine. I pause, wondering if I should wake her. I know she’d want me to wake her the moment I wake up.

“Willa, my love. Wake up.”

Her eyes pop open, and a wide smile replaces her initial startle response. The way she scoots next to me reminds me of the way WarDog wiggles to get closer to her. It’s endearing. My heart warms at the happiness in her eyes.

“How are you feeling?” she asks as she feathers a hank of hair off my forehead.

“Fine.”

“I’m surprised you’re up so soon. Not that long ago, Dr. Drayke wasn’t sure you’d make it.”

I assumed as much. The look of concern on her face, her brown eyes filled with worry, tells me all I need to know about my condition.

“Skylosians heal fast. If my eyes are open, I’ll be fine.”

The doctor enters briskly from the adjoining lab, medpad in hand. He hides his initial surprise at seeing me awake, then conducts some readings. After setting the pad down, he grabs another as he says, “Looks like this one’s broken. You couldn’t have recovered that quickly.” He fiddles with the pad, his face looking increasingly amazed, then says, “Speedy recovery is an understatement. Is it a shifter trait? Looks like you’ve made a full recovery.”

He unwraps the bandages on my chest and stomach and shakes his head, his eyebrows lifted in astonishment. “I would love to run more tests to find out what is in your blood or genetics that accelerates the healing.” He has that excited look a youngling gets with a new toy.

I shrug. “My species heals quickly.”

Drayke performs a few more tests, then says, “I still don’t understand what I’m seeing, but at this point, you’re just taking up space in my medbay. I can study the results of these tests later. You’re fine. Zar asked to see you the moment you woke. Think you can talk if he comes to medbay?”

“Yes, as long as my Willa can stay.”

Mate, WarDog insists.

Soon, I reassure him as I gulp down two glasses of water while we wait for Zar.

Within minimas both Captain Zar and Captain Beast enter my room and squeeze against the wall across from my bed. The room is small and the two enormous males make it feel even smaller.

“We were relieved to hear you’ve recovered,” Zar says with a smile. I always have to look at his eyes when he wears this expression, not knowing whether he’s snarling or smiling. His eyes look genuinely happy to see me. “We want to know what happened on Fairea.”

“Willa, would you mind finding me some food? I’m starving,” I say when I realize the last thing I want is for her to hear the details of what WarDog and I did in that mansion.

“Sure. I’ll leave the room. That’s what you’re asking, right? Do you really want food?” Out of anyone else’s mouth, that would be sarcastic, but she’s serious. She called it compassionate forgiveness. I believe she’ll be granting it to me often—I’m a lucky male.

“I am hungry, Willa. And yes, I’m asking you to leave the room.”

“I’ll take my time,” she says and kisses me without embarrassment in front of not one but two captains. WarDog proudly shifts his weight from paw to paw as we both realize the kiss was a bold announcement of her feelings for me.

As soon as she leaves, I tell the males what happened. The further into the story I get, the more they both nod and smile.

“High five!” Beast says as he steps next to me and puts up his palm. When I look confused, he explains, “Aerie taught me. It’s a way of saying ‘good job’ on Earth.”

I slap his palm, enjoying being accepted as an equal.

“We’re going to call an all-hands meeting for this afternoon. We’d like you to be there.”

“Absolutely.”

After they leave, Willa returns with a sandwich. I eat ravenously and finish in mimimas. Now I’ve coaxed her to lie down next to me and we face each other.

Before I can speak, she says, “I was worried, Bayne. First I was terrified when they left you on the planet to deal with Khour alone, then even more so when they brought you back on a stretcher. I promised myself many things while you’ve been in medbay.”

I breathe in her sweet scent and WarDog inces closer.