Page 8 of Healing Creek (Arena Dogs #3)

Chapter Four

Grace helped the medic stow the mender and reset the rest of the equipment while Creek got to his feet. She’d rather he stay in the med-bay awhile, but he insisted he was fine now that the contusion had been mended.

Medic Shawber put a hand on his hip as he stretched. “Thank you for your assistance, Grace.”

“Thank you for taking good care of my new friend.”

Creek huffed at the description and Grace choked on her embarrassment.

He must think her presumptuous to claim his friendship.

Creek’s damaged beauty, his gentle strength, the bossiness that warred with his stoicism, it all drew her in.

But it wasn’t as if he would find anything to admire in someone like her—fragile, flawed, and keeping secrets.

“You have some training,” said Shawber.

“Yes. My brother is a clinical researcher. I work with him sometimes.” She’d floated from sibling to sibling through the years. It had been the easiest way to get out of her parents’ control, but it hadn’t exactly given her the freedom she’d hoped for.

Shawber instructed Creek to get plenty of water and rest to support the accelerated healing then covered a yawn with the back of his hand. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take what chance I have for a little rest. My usual shift was over hours ago.”

“Of course.” If he was the only medic that Samantha had deemed acceptable, the man would be on call until they could find him some help.

As the man stepped away, Creek took gentle hold of her shoulders and pulled her close. “I need to return to my task, but I’ll walk you to see Mercury first.”

His hands were warm against her skin and she thought about what it might be like to step into him and feel that warmth pressed all along her body. Instead, Creek released her and Lo joined them from across the room. “No, my friend. The clearing of the ship is complete.”

Creek’s head tilted as he studied Lo. “You’ll need guards for—”

“Everything is covered for now,” Lo cut him off. “Several of the others are taking their rest. You should both go and get some rest, too. She can speak to Mercury in the morning.”

A wave of lightheadedness swept through Grace. It seemed to be getting harder to stay on her feet. She hoped it was just the adrenaline of the day wearing off. She swayed.

Creek reached out to steady her. “When was the last time you ate?”

“I think it’s after midnight, ship’s time, so yesterday morning. You?” She did need to eat frequently to function. Morgan knew that and made sure her meals came regularly, but Morgan was dead.

Creek tilted his head. “We’ll both eat.”

Grace couldn’t suppress a grin at his concession—then instantly drowned in the guilt of letting her sister slip from her mind for a short time. She made a fist then tucked it behind her back. She couldn’t let her worry for Jennifer show. She didn’t need any difficult questions.

“Any of the freed slaves who aren’t assigned a station now are gathering at the observation point on this level. They have food there, too.” Diablo followed his statement with a soft noise Grace interpreted as insistence.

She looked up into Creek’s eyes, feeling buoyed by the idea. “Can we? I haven’t seen anything but the walls of my cabin for so long.” And she suspected Ghost would not be hiding among the former slaves. She’d be safe there for the night.

Creek’s features softened and he nodded.

As they headed into the corridor Samantha said, “We’ll assign everyone quarters tomorrow.”

***

Creek couldn’t deny that his pain had been greatly lessened by the medic’s care.

He moved easier, too. Grace slipped her hand into his as they walked, and he allowed it.

She’d been touching him nearly nonstop since she discovered his injury.

Her touch was soothing, not sensual, but that made it all the more tempting.

Soothing and supporting one another was something mates did.

That was a road his mind should not be venturing down.

He was no fit mate for any woman. He was more accustomed with killing than protecting.

No longer as strong as he’d been, he had little to offer, and he had no pack to help protect a female.

“Have you seen the stars from space,” she asked.

“No, but this is the fourth spaceship I have traveled in.” He didn’t want her to think of him as completely without experience of her world. “You must have traveled on many vessels.”

“Quite a few, but the stars never get old. In space or from the surface of a planet, there is just something magical about them.”

Creek could hear voices and laughter in the distance, Dreat and human.

He allowed himself a quick glance down at Grace.

Her wide blue eyes were focused down the corridor, leaving him with a view of the top of her very blonde head.

Everything about her was delicate and fragile in appearance, from the narrow width of her shoulders to her sleek curves, to the delicate bones on display in her wrist as she squeezed his hand.

These past couple of years, his preference had been for hearty women who needed nothing from him but temporary pleasure. But he couldn’t deny her appeal.

The hallway curved then widened into a large open space beneath a viewport.

He took a quick moment to register the people in the room, familiar and safe, then let himself be caught in the wonder of the stars outside.

The ship wasn’t moving, so the view outside was still, quiet, and cold, but Grace was right to call it magical.

Without the atmosphere of a planet between him and those points of light they were vivid and beautiful.

As Grace’s hand slipped free of his, he returned his focus to the room around him. Mattresses had been dragged into the wide space and men and women sat or lay on them alone or in small groups. Grace bent down to speak to a human female. One he recognized from the slave hold.

The woman pointed to a small cart pushed against the wall. Grace wove her way through the people to pluck two small boxes from a stack of similar containers. She made her way closer to the viewport and an empty mattress then gestured him over.

“Can you sit?”

He nodded. “What’s this?” He indicated the boxes in her hand.

“Rations. You need fuel to heal.”

He took one of the boxes and dropped to the floor, ignoring the pain in his knees. “Thank you, Grace.”

She sat with him and opened her box. She pulled out a protein-rich meal bar and peeled back the wrapper. “Do you need help with yours?”

“No. I can do it.” She’d caught him staring at her like a fool, but she didn’t say anything more.

Her gaze drifted around the room, pausing to take in a Dreat couple cuddling as they looked out the viewport, a human male laughing with a companion.

Her expression was peaceful, curious, but not intrusive.

“Tonight, they’re free,” he said.

Her gaze came back to him. “I’m guessing you were a big part of that.”

He shrugged and opened his box of rations. Inside he found an adequate meal of protein and vegetable bars with a container of water. “It was Mercury’s pack…and Jupiter’s woman who freed us all.”

“Samantha…she’s…?”

“Mercury’s mate. And perhaps Diablo’s.” He shrugged. “I’m not certain of that.”

“Is that common? Having two mates, I mean.” Her cheeks turned bright pink and her face scrunched up. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to get so personal. My family has business all over the sector and I’ve traveled with them often. I’ve encountered many cultures and I just—”

“It’s more common for one male and one female to be mated.

” Creek had to stop her embarrassed flow of words.

It wasn’t as if she were asking about his mating preferences.

“Among the gladiator packs, other males within a pack will often form a secondary bond with the mated female. To offer security and protection should the mated male die in the arena. That might also be the case with Diablo. But I suspect Jupiter, Feeona, and another male, Seneca, are all mated. There is also another mated pair within their pack. So many with mates in one pack is very rare. But I suppose, with freedom, anything is possible.”

The pink faded from her cheeks now and she’d started eating again. Between bites she said, “What will you do now?”

“I’ll travel with Mercury’s pack for a time. I owe them a great debt.”

“We all do.” Grace stared at the stars as if important truths drifted among them. “Samantha said tomorrow they’d be assigning quarters.”

“Mercury’s pack is keeping the ship.”

A soft smile lit her face. “That’s amazing! But…it’s a big ship. How will you manage?”

“The crew who are critical to running the ship will do so under guard.”

“Is that safe?”

He hadn’t realized she might be afraid of the crew, but he supposed it made sense. They had been a party to her kidnapping just as they had been culpable of imprisoning the slaves.

“They’re being held in the slave hold for now. Tomorrow, we will work it out.” Creek swallowed another bite of his meal. “Mercury believes we can free all Arena Dogs one day.”

“I’d like to see that.” Her words were sincere. He was sure of that. But one hand had drifted to her thigh to tap, something she seemed to do when stressed. When she realized that he’d noticed it, she forced her hand to still, rubbing her palm against the fabric of her pants instead.

“You’ll be home safe with your family long before then.” Creek chugged down his water then eyed her meal. “You’re not eating.”

“Sorry, sometimes I think too much.” She bit into her protein bar again and chewed.

Creek studied her a moment then said, “I’ll make certain you’re safe before I leave you.”

“Thank you.”

He couldn’t read her expression as she met his gaze, but he sensed his words had not comforted her as he’d meant for them to.

As they finished their meals, Grace gathered the empty containers and took them to a nearby waste recycler.

His eyes tracked her movements and he realized he wanted her to sleep next to him on the mattress and that was a very bad idea.

In a ridiculously short span of time this woman had become important to him.

He could not afford to let that bond strengthen.

She was not like the other human females he’d known.

She needed a protector, and he had nothing to offer her.

His body was broken and his future was uncertain.

Even if Mercury’s pack managed to free the other Arena Dogs, that did not guarantee their safety.

They would likely be hiding and running for the rest of their lives.

Creek gathered some blankets and pulled them onto the floor, leaving the soft mattress for Grace.

He had no business longing for her warmth.

Change had come and he was grateful it had provided him a new purpose—freeing his kind from the masters of Roma.

Tonight, he would breathe in Grace’s almond cookie scent as she lay nearby, and he would watch over her sleep.

Tomorrow, he would turn her over to Mercury’s care.