Page 2 of Alien Healer’s Mate

If she opened her eyes.

Draanth.

Shoving the thought away, he turned back to the readouts. She was going to wake up. She had to. She was his match…

“I’ll take the call in my office,” he said, pushing away from the bed. “Keep monitoring her. If anything changes, even a blip…”

“I will alert you immediately.” Miisan’s form flickered as she shifted her attention to the readouts. “Go. Eat something. I have the patient.”

He nodded and headed for his office, just over the corridor. It was a compact space crammed with data consoles and a desk that hadn’t been clear of work since he arrived. Kellat dropped into his chair, and no sooner had his ass hit the leather than the comm system chimed.

He sighed, looked like he wasn’t getting anything to eat, not yet anyway, and hit the answer sigil on his console.

Kirr M’Aab materialized in front of him, the war-commander’s broad shoulders and dark braids rendered in crisp blue-white light. He looked tired, but a grin, not a scowl, crossed his face.

“Healer,” Kirr said. “Tell me you’ve got good news.”

“Define good.”

“Harper’s been asking about her cousin every hour since we left the station. I’m running out of ways to tell her to be patient without her threatening to steal a shuttle and fly back herself.”

Kellat’s lips quirked. Harper. Delilah’s cousin. He’d only met her a few times, in the chaos after the crash, but he remembered a small human female with a spine made of steel and a mouth that never ran out of words.

“She’d have to get through station security first,” he said.

Kirr snorted. “And? You think they’d stop her?”

Kellat shook his head. “Your mate is… determined.”

“That’s a polite way of putting it. The last time I told her to rest, she threw a dataflex at my head.” Kirr’s expression shifted, the tension around his eyes easing. “She worries. Delilah’s the only family she has left.”

“They were raised together. Yeah, I read the files.”

“Then you know Harper’s not going to relax until she hears Delilah’s voice.” Kirr paused. “I’m taking her somewhere quiet for a few days. Somewhere without comms, and a dozen warriors hovering around every corner. She needs the break. After everything…”

Kellat nodded. A newly bonded pair needed time alone to solidify the bond and let the mating marks settle. Time for the couple to get to know each other and settle into their new life together. But he knew that Harper wouldn’t go anywhere if she thought her cousin was still in danger.

“She’s stable,” Kellat said. “Vitals are strong. The brain activity is… promising.”

“Promising how?”

“She’s healing, and faster than I expected. The brain trauma was extensive, but her neural pathways are remapping themselves. I’ve never seen anything like it in a human before.”

Kirr’s holographic eyebrow rose. “That’s good, then.”

“It’s fascinating.” The word came out before Kellat could stop it, and he caught the slight narrowing of Kirr’s eyes. “Medically speaking. She’s going to be fine, Kirr. I give you my word as a healer.”

“When will she wake up?”

The question Kellat had been asking himself for days. He looked at the secondary monitor on his desk, the one showing Delilah’s vitals in real time. They were steady.

“Not for another few days,” he said. “The healing process needs more time. She won’t wake before then. I’ve got her under constant monitoring.”

“So we can stay away three or four days…”

Nodding, Kellat leaned back in his chair. “Yes. Let the bond settle. By the time you get back, Delilah will be awake, and Harper can talk to her herself.”

Kirr was quiet for a moment. “You’re sure?”