Page 4 of Murgul
Sighing, I shake my head at Vrog and his unhinged thoughts. He has not shut the frack up about Gwendolyn since I met her. If he is not talking about her during the rising, he is flooding my mind with visions of her during the sleep cycle. His delusional fantasies are starting to wear on me, as are my raging, hardened shafts, but blaming Einar is unnecessary.
You will not take any vengeance out on Einar. This was not his doing, as you very well know. The only reason we are alive is because of him. You owe him some drayt gratitude, and you know it—even if you will never admit it.
It still weighs heavily on my tender-hearted brother that he could not correct the destruction done to my own vocal cords by the Velgriddix. What he does not know is that he only has an inkling of what was done to me, as I have never divulged the true scope of what those fracking bugs did to me.
And I never will.
On that we can agree.
Refocusing on my mate, I nudge the bright spot in the center of my mind and follow the vivid golden path to my mate’s consciousness, before seamlessly sliding into her psyche.
Keep your frackin mouth shut, Vrog. I do not know how she will react to a voice not her own inside her mind.
Frack off, Murgul. I cannot own her if she is terrified of us. So, for now, I will allow you to take the lead.
Assured Vrog is going to mind his manners, I refocus on Gwendolyn. This ability is something I discovered late one sleep cycle, shortly after meeting her, when I felt a deep sense of disquiet. Following the feeling of unease, I discovered a tiny spark in the corner of my mind that shone like a beacon in the darkness Vrog inhabits.
After tracing the unfamiliar presence back to its source, I found myself within her mind—trapped in the throes of her nightmare. A human male had his hands around her throat, strangling the life from my precious mate.
Vrog surged forward the instant he saw it, nearly wrenching control of my body from me in his fury, and for a heartbeats, I nearly allowed it. The incandescent rage that consumed us both at the sight of her suffering was absolute, burning hot and unrelenting, a reflection of the bond that tied us to her pain.
You are not alone in that. Her suffering pained me as well. I am the only one allowed to terrorize her, yet my desire is not so depraved that I wish to possess a petrified female who flinches at the very sight of me.
Her subconscious recognizes me, even if her conscious mind does not. Gwendolyn’s body relaxes imperceptibly as I arrive in the stormy waters of her thoughts. Her mind is rapidly flickering between nerves at the impending pain of her injections and discomfiture at my looming presence in the room. It is a humbling thing to not only smell your mate’s nerves but toknowthat I make her nervous… well, it elicits feelings I never thought I would ever have. Yet it fills Vrog with a sense of satisfaction that she is so aware of us, good or bad.
Einar strides back over, a smile on his homely face as he places several syringes on the med tray.
“Good news, Gwen. These are the last set of injections I need to give you. I was able to correct almost all of the damage to your vocal cords and the surrounding tissues. You may not ever be able to yell, but you will be able to speak without pain at a normal volume. Please inform me if you experience any troubles in the future, and I will be happy to reassess.”
A tremulous smile creeps across her face before she replies.
Good, I do not have to make the giant beast suffer for failing our mate, but I do not like her smiling for others.
“Thank you, Einar. I never expected to have a voice again, let alone speak without pain. Although my voice doesn’t sound exactly the way it did before, I am beyond grateful for everything you’ve done since I arrived on the Zenith. Rowan is a fortunate woman to have someone like you in her life.”
I have to stifle my snicker when my gentle giant of a brother blushes at the praise my bright one is heaping upon him. Einar clears his throat and reaches for the first of the syringes.
“Thank you, sister. I deeply appreciate your kind words. Now hold still, these will sting, as you well know by now.”
Unable to leave her sitting so forlornly, I leave my comfortable spot on the far wall and prowl over to her. Einar pulls the needle away from her throat, waiting for me, since I’ve repeated the same actions every time I have brought my bright one to the med bay for her treatments.
Scooping her up, I take her place on the bed and settle her on my lap, safely ensconced in my arms. Flicking my electric blue eyes up at Einar, I chuff at him to get on with it as I inhale her delicious scent, allowing it to roll across my olfactory organs to the point I can almost taste her on my tongue.
Chuckling softly, he steps closer, tilting Gwendolyn’s chin up with the tip of a massive finger so he can inject the medicine precisely where it needs to go. I feel my mate’s body tense up as Einar quickly moves through all three syringes, while I send waves of comfort and reassurance to her through our bond. Tics later, Einar is done and steps back with a crooked smile.
“All done! Remember, Gwen, if you experience any pain in the future, let me know as soon as possible.”
I feel her nod against my chest.
“Don’t you worry, Einar. If I feel the slightest tickle in my throat, you’ll be the first to know.”
We should be the first to know if anything is wrong with her, not Einar!
Grumbling out my own displeasure over that statement, I silently agree with Vrog as I shift Gwen more securely in my arms before standing. Flicking a glance over at Einar, I huff at him in thanks. Years of practice at my non-verbal communications means he knows what I am ‘saying’ because he nods at me.
“You are welcome, Murgul. I am glad I could help her when I could not help you.”
Hissing in annoyance, I curl a lip at him in reproach, exposing the edge of one of my sharp incisors. His rueful chuckle is closely followed by an affable response.