Mission: Planet Biter (Veslor Mates #4)(13)

She spun away, sighing. “Someone find him the largest damn set of scrubs we have and bring them in here.”

A human male rushed out of the room, returning with folded clothing in his hands a few minutes later. He approached Roth with a wary expression. “Here you go, man.”

“Thank you.” Roth accepted the clothing.

“You can use the next exam room to dress in. It’s empty,” the male stated.

Roth shook his head. “I won’t leave Vera.” He removed the sheet and put on the pants and shirt. He didn’t bother to glance at the humans watching him. They might have odd customs about nudity but Veslors didn’t.

The thin shirt and pants were ill fitting, too tight, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Roth pulled a chair from against the wall closer to the bed, watching Vera sleep. The other humans seemed hyper aware of his presence but he ignored them. His only focus was on the female he’d made a promise to.

An alarm began to loudly beep, and he rose to his feet. Dr. Kane rushed in with one of the males, reading the monitors. “Shit!”

“What is wrong?” Roth hated feeling powerless. It would have been more beneficial if Vera had anchored her sanity to Maith. He was a medic and would know how to better help her.

The doctor and male nurse quickly removed the two thin IVs they’d placed in Vera’s skin. The alarm still beeped loudly.

“What is it?” he snarled, not liking being ignored.

“Be quiet or leave. We’re trying to figure that out right now. Get clear, Brian.” Dr. Kane stepped away from her patient.

The male nurse backed up and the scanner came on, lighting up the medical bed under Vera. Both medical personnel turned their heads, staring at a monitor to Roth’s left. He looked, too, but besides seeing an outline that had to be Vera’s body, he couldn’t understand the words flashing over it. They weren’t in Veslor and he didn’t read Earth language.

“Goddamn it,” Dr. Kane muttered.

“Her heart rate is dropping too low,” Brian stated.

“No shit. I see that,” Dr. Kane snapped. “So much for keeping her sedated. Fucking Brilon and their crappy-ass drugs!”

The scanner stopped. Roth didn’t need a medical device to tell him that Vera’s breathing continued to decrease, slowing even more. The human doctor rushed to a medical cabinet and yanked it open. Then she returned with a medicine injector, pressing it to Vera’s thigh.

“Is she worsening?” Roth worried that Vera might not survive. “I don’t understand what is going on. The medic of our grouping had to remain on the surface. He’s the only one of us with medical knowledge.”

Dr. Kane faced him. “I just had to hit her with some adrenaline. Her heart rate is coming back up. It seems sedating her isn’t an option. She should be waking at any second.”

Roth moved closer to Vera and took her limp hand in his, leaned close to her face and prepared for her to open her eyes. He’d be the first thing she’d see if her vision wasn’t impaired. He would let her know he was there, either way.





Chapter Four



Vera jerked awake—or at least tried to. Everything was dark. She was either back in the storage locker or her eyesight was gone. No tight metal walls were pressed against her. She was laid out flat on something soft and there were low beeping noises.

A scream rose in her throat. The alien who’d come to save her had been a hallucination, she was still locked inside the security office.

“I am here,” a familiar growly voice rasped, just as a big warm hand gently cupped her cheek and part of her head. “It is Roth. Do you hear me, Vera? You appear terrified. I’m real and you are safe.”

She realized another warm hand tightly gripped hers. She clung to it, panting. Her alien was real, after all.

“I’m here, Vera. You need to slow your breathing.”

She blindly reached out with her free hand, found material and fisted it. “Roth? Is this you?”

“Yes. I put on a shirt. You are holding on to it.”

She felt hot tears sliding down the side of her face. “I can’t see anything.”

“Can you please step out of the way?”

That voice belonged to a woman, and it sounded irritated.

“No.” Roth stroked Vera’s cheek with what she thought might be his thumb. “The female will panic if we break connection.”

“I need to examine her, damn it,” the woman snapped. “Get out of my way, Mr. Roth. That’s an order. You’re interfering with her treatment.”

“Don’t leave me!” Vera tried to sit up and turn into Roth’s chest.

“Miss Wade, you need to calm down,” the woman sternly ordered. “I’m Doctor Cynthia Kane. Do you remember me?”

Vera didn’t care who she was. Roth was real. She clutched him tighter and refused to let go. She wiggled closer until she pressed against that shirt, burying her face in it. Her alien had to adjust his hold and instead wrapped his hand around the back of her head, before sliding it down to her back. She wasn’t wearing anything, since he touched her bare skin. He stopped midway down.

“Vera?” Roth sounded closer, his voice next to her right ear. “You need to allow this female medic to help you.”