Page 36 of Einar (The Brigands of Ruk #2)

Chapter Thirty-Six

ROWAN

After Einar emerges from the bathroom, it’s apparent that he’s taken care of himself because the front of his pants no longer look like there’s a jackhammer in there trying to escape. I don’t know if that makes me feel relieved or irritated. I’m not sure if I’m ready to have sex with him yet, but I don’t like that he feels like he has to hide himself from me in that manner.

He grabs our plates, beating me to it as he explains his morning tasks.

“ I must go check on the other three human females. It has been several risings since I initially treated their wounds and installed the translators. Slavic , and my duty, require me to follow up with them. Do you wish to go with me, or would you prefer to stay here? If you want to stay, you are welcome to my personal viewer to research anything you wish.”

Taking a second, I think about it. I want to see how the other women are being treated since none of them are mates that I am aware of. Einar also said he healed them before inserting the translators. That means they can tell me about their treatment before they could speak with our captors.

Wait .

That doesn’t sit right. These guys aren’t holding us against our will. Einar’s told me several times that I’m free to come and go as I please.

So no, they’re not our captors.

They saved us from the bugs. These males may not be human, but they are not evil either. Not that being a human means you can’t be evil. Robert and his cronies are a specific example of that.

“ I want to go with you. I’d like to meet the other women.”

Nodding , he motions me to follow him to a door across the room. To my surprise, it opens and we walk into the med bay.

That’s how he came and went so fast when I was in here!

Narrowing my eyes at him, he smiles innocently and grabs his proverbial black doctor’s bag. Exiting the med bay, we stop in the dining chamber to return our plates, and then we leave to head toward Falon’s room. To my surprise, Slavic emerges from what I think is the hologram room with a laughing Ruby tossed over his shoulder. I avert my eyes as soon as I realize Slavic has his dick out, but I have to make sure she’s okay.

“ Sis ?”

My hesitant question causes Ruby to push up off Slavic’s back so she can see Einar and me standing a few feet from them. “ Oh , Hi ! Don’t mind us, just a little fornicating in the hallways. I love ya, sis! You’re looking much better.”

Snickering at Ruby’s cheeky words, I shake my head. My sister is a handful and a half. She pinches Slavic’s butt, and he smacks hers in return. Their interaction is hilarious, and I can’t help but smile at her and their shenanigans. Ruby’s grinning face is quickly hidden behind their bedroom door as they disappear from the hallway. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what they’re doing in there.

I want to be that happy.

A whisper of a touch on my arm catches me by surprise, causing me to flinch a little, and I wince as Einar jerks away from me like I’ve burned him. Opening my mouth to apologize, he cuts me off with a warm smile.

“ All is well, little one. Shall we proceed? Falon’s room is the next door down.”

“ I’m ready when you are.”

Knocking on the door, he takes two steps back and waits. A few seconds later, the door slides open and one of the most beautiful, yet painfully thin, women I’ve ever seen stands there. She has to be pushing six feet tall with platinum blonde hair, bright green eyes, and exquisite features. Then recognition hits me like a sledgehammer.

“ You’re Gwendolyn Palmer !”

Her smile falls a bit at my exclamation, and without saying anything she steps back from the door, motioning for us to follow her inside. As I enter the room, I notice two more women sitting at a table with some sort of small screen between them. Their heads jerk around and stare at me in shock. Getting to their feet, the curvy one with black hair, blue eyes, and girl next door vibes starts talking.

“ Oh my gosh, the guys mentioned there were two redheads on board, but since we haven’t seen either of y’all, I was beginning to doubt them! Hi , I’m Heather , and this is Bambi .”

Heather motions to the woman at her side as she reaches out and shakes my hand. Bambi extends hers as well, and I shake it too. Bambi is homely compared to former supermodel, blonde bombshell Gwendolyn , and the striking Heather , but her twinkling brown eyes, massive head of curly brown hair and athletic build are nothing to sneeze at. She’s all smiles as she greets me.

“ Heya , nice to finally meetcha!”

“ Hello . Call me. Gwen .”

My head jerks at the roughness of Gwen’s voice, the contrast between her appearance and the jaggedness of what she sounds like is a stark contrast. Seeing my confusion, she offers me a wan smile and a brief explanation.

“ Stalker . Strangled me. Irreparable vocal cord damage. Don’t talk much anymore. Hurts too much.”

Turning my head, I frown in confusion when I see that Einar has lingered by the door and didn’t follow me all the way into the room.

“ What are you doing?”

“ Waiting for the females to invite me further into their room. It is rude to assume things, little Starshine ,” he says, tongue in cheek.

Heather chortles at that before calling out to Einar .

“ Y’all and your manners. Your momma must have been a real lady to instill such good values in her sons.”

His response is heavy as he walks across the room to set his bag on the table. “ Yes , she was a female of high moral values and taught us all well. Now , with your permission, I need to make sure everyone is healing well.”

To my surprise, all three of them immediately nod their heads in agreement while murmuring verbal responses in agreement, sliding into chairs around the table. The swish of the door opening catches us by surprise, but Einar doesn’t even look up from what he’s doing as he examines Heather .

“ Greetings Murgul . How nice of you to join us this rising.”

Gwen jerks around the second Murgul’s name, leaves Einar’s lips and blushes a becoming pink.

Oh ? What is this?

My inner gossip girl is instantly curious.

Einar’s youngest brother, if I remember correctly, doesn’t say a word, just walks in and goes to stand against the far wall, folding his arms across his chest while glaring at Einar , or more accurately, glaring at everyone in the room. Movement by his feet catches my attention and, to my utter surprise, I see the end of a tail curled around his boots. The end of which looks like a wicked blade. Not wanting to be rude and stare, I focus on what Einar is doing as he moves from Heather over to Bambi . His motions are fluid, like this is a well-choreographed dance, his hands unfailingly gentle, but professional, while he performs his exam on the other women.

“ Since my youngest sibling is not a conversationalist, allow me to introduce him. Females , this is Murgul . He is the weapons specialist on board and in charge of the armaments.”

Murgul’s only reply is a soft hiss full of irritation with eyes full of menace as he glares at Einar . His dark body tenses, becoming freakishly still as Einar reaches Gwen to begin her exam. Electric blue eyes bore into Einar with an intensity that is rather intimidating until Einar moves away from her.

“ I am glad to say that all of you are healing well. The translators have grafted well, and I cannot detect any malfunctions or errors in how they merged with your cochlear nerve. This is excellent news. Now , Gwen , was it? I scanned your throat while checking your translator. I have good tidings and bad. Which do you desire to hear first?”

“ Bad first. End with good. ”

“ Bad is that I cannot fully repair the damage to your vocal cords. The trauma happened too long ago. However , I can ease the worst of the symptoms. You may never sound like you once did, but I can at least make it where every utterance does not cause you pain. The inflammation and ragged edges in your voice box is what is causing you the most issues. If you will permit me, I can apply a series of therapeutic injections to the area that will provide long-term relief.”

“ Thank you! ”

Tears fill her green eyes as she jumps up and wraps her arms around Einar in a hug, her shoulders shaking with the force of her sobs. Two things happen with her abrupt motion.

Einar freezes, with his hands relaxed down at his sides.

Murgul snarls, takes two steps from the wall, and I see claws almost twice the length of Einar’s slide out of his fingertips. His tail is held aloft, and I was right. The tip is a blade because it looks razor-sharp from where I stand across the room.

“ Uh , Gwen . I think it would be a good idea for you to take a step back from Einar right about now.”

As soon as Gwen releases him, Einar moves over to me and stands in front of me, keeping his eyes on his brother as Murgul seems to be waging some sort of internal war with himself. Einar’s next words snap his attention to us.

“ Accept what you have been given brother. Do not fight fate. You will only hurt her in the end.”

Snarling , he bares his teeth at Einar before resolve hardens his eyes. Stalking across the room, he heads toward Gwen , stopping in front of her as she looks up at him with an indiscernible expression. He scoops her up into his arms, bridal style with infinite tenderness, before prowling out the door.

“ Would you like to explain yourself, Murder Boy ? ”

Alarmed at what the heck Gwen just said, I look over at Einar , expecting him to do something, but he has a smirk on his face and looks rather unconcerned.

“ Einar , he can’t just take her like that! Do something!”

He shoots me a slightly admonishing look before calling out to Murgul .

“ Bring her to the med bay when she is ready to begin her treatments!”

Murgul’s slight pause is the only acknowledgment he gives Einar’s words before they disappear down the hall. Heather , Bambi , and I look at each other before Bambi huffs out a breath, her brows creased in concern.

“ Where the hell is he taking her?”

Heather reaches over and grabs her hand, clinging to her in worry.

“ Einar , is she safe with him? He doesn’t exactly look sane.” She winces at how harsh her words sound but doesn’t back down from her question. Sighing heavily, Einar looks in the direction his brother left.

“ That is because he is not sane, but he would sooner slit his own throat before hurting his female. I had my suspicions, but his reaction to her touching me answered them. No male, especially one experiencing an open bond, would permit his female to touch another male. It would be perceived as a threat to his status as her mate.”

Packing up his bag, he contemplates us before speaking.

“ Rowan , I must go tell Slavic about Murgul’s mating so he is kept informed. Would you like to stay here to visit?”

Eyeing a concerned Heather and Bambi , I glance up at him with a tentative smile and nod.

“ Yes , I think I would enjoy that very much.”