CHAPTER 4 – Sarah

“Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in.”

I turned around to see a woman that looked like she should have been trying out for roller derby or professional wrestling. Her hair was a bright orange, unlike any color I had ever seen before. I wondered if it was natural, but wasn’t brave enough to ask.

“Hello,” I tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, “I am Sarah.”

You know those mean girls in high school? The ones that knew their shit didn’t stink? I had the strongest impression that I was meeting Zeronian’s version of that.

“I know who you are, Human.”

I narrowed my gaze, “What is it with you people and your prejudices against Humans? Isn’t it your creed to fight for all living things in the galaxy?”

Her eyes blazed and I wondered for the briefest moment if I had a death wish. What in the hell was I thinking talking like that to Zena Warrior princess? Fuck one punch and I would be shitting teeth for a week.

“Lay off, Loraine,” Axel came up behind me and wrapped a beefy arm around me.

I tried not to concentrate on how I immediately felt safe, or how right his arm felt. He most likely had tried to reach my waist but because of the height difference, he caught me just above my breasts.

Her face immediately changed to peaches and cream.

What a bitch!

“Nothing to worry about Axel, just getting to know your new friend. Sarah, wasn’t it?”

Seriously?

“Yeah, we are going to be besties now and tell each other all of our secrets.”

She laughed like I had said the funniest thing, and I really started to hate her.

“Not everything, Sarah,” she shot a heated look at Axel. The one that said I know what you look like when you are fucking the shit out of someone.

I didn’t like it, not even a little bit.

My eyes narrowed and the next thing I knew Axel was throwing me over his shoulder while Loraine was screeching. The familiar scent of burning flesh in the air.

A large hand came up and smacked me sharply on the ass. Stupid prick through he could spank me? Oh, hell no. I leaned down and bit the top of his ass as hard as I could. Granted I couldn’t have done too much damage through the leathers. But the next thing I knew I was being dropped on my head.

“Human!” he thundered and I knew it was time to get the hell out of Dodge.

I jumped to my feet and ran.

I still wasn’t super familiar with the training center. I could get to the common area and from the gym to our pod. But as I zigzagged through the unfamiliar corridors I found that it was much larger than I had even anticipated.

Axel’s yelling from behind let me know that it wasn’t the time to sightsee. I raced through one unit to another until I finally saw a door to the outside. Suddenly, I was desperate to see the sun. I ran up to the door and right before I touched it Axel screamed.

“Sarah, no!”

My body was hit with an electric shock so powerful that I flew back and smacked my head on the wall behind me. Before I passed out I had the fleeting thought that he had finally gotten my name right.

**

When I opened my eyes, my head was throbbing and I felt horribly thirsty.

“Axel?” I croaked.

He was beside me in seconds. His face was pale beneath his tan almost the same shade as mine. It wasn’t a good look for him.

“Are you okay? Goddess, Human, I thought you were dead.”

And we were back to Human.

“Water?” I managed to get out and he nodded grabbing a cup beside the bed. My arms felt like they weighed a million pounds and I couldn’t lift them.

Thankfully, Axel lifted my head and brought the sweet goodness to my lips. It tasted better than any wine or drink that I had ever tasted.

“Thank you,” I managed and turned my head away.

His concerned face came back into view, “You need to rest, Human. The elders are working on healing you, but they need time.”

Axel went to stand and I whimpered in pain. Immediately he was back at my side.

“Stay,” the word wasn’t more than a whisper, but I knew he heard me.

Regardless of the pain, I forced myself to try and reach for him.

He blew out a slow breath, “Okay.”

The moment he sat beside me and placed his hand on mine I felt better. But I knew that if he would just hold me I would find rest.

“More, please.”

Axel looked ready to pull his hair out. I was in too much pain to register that I was begging the man to lay beside me. I didn’t give a fuck about our little personality battle at the moment. All I knew was that he had what I needed.

Gently, Axel picked me up and laid down beside me cradling my head against his chest. The same frisson of awareness that always sparked through the connection we had was there. But this time I also felt warmth and peace.

My eyelids began to droop, but I was terrified he would leave me there. Somehow I worried that if he did I wouldn’t be waking up again.

“Stay,” I rasped, “Please, Axel, stay.”

He didn’t say anything for a long while, and as I slipped away I thought I heard him murmur my name once again.

I wasn’t sure how long I slept in his arms but when I awakened again I felt immeasurably better.

“Are you going to live, Human?”

His voice was rumbly and I could tell he had been sleeping. It was oddly endearing.

“I couldn’t leave you, big guy. Who would you throw around during practice?”

He muttered something about the intelligence of humans but I didn’t care. His arms were still wrapped around me and our legs were tangled together.

“What happened?” I asked tucking my face into his neck.

He shuddered, “You tried to leave through the force field. You are lucky to be alive.”

“Forcefield, shit, Axel, that should be marked!”

His chin rested on my head and I could feel his hand gently stroking my back.

“Something like, DO NOT EXIT, HIGH POWER?”

I made a face that I was grateful he couldn’t see.

“I thought that was like the doors at the mall that say an alarm will sound, it never does.”

“Human,” he seemed to be considering his words, “We don’t place signs about for no reason. It is safe to say that whatever we label will do precisely what it says.”

I thought about that and enjoyed the feeling of his hand on my back and our legs tangled together. The blanket was wedged between us somewhat so I didn’t know if Vlad the Impaler had woken up or not. But the longer he rubbed my back the warmer I felt in my lady bits.

“What now?” I managed, trying to change the subject.

“Von will come back in a few minutes to ensure that you are alright, then we can go back to our pod. If all goes well we can resume training tomorrow.”

Training, ugh.

“Why were you angry at Loraine?”

His question startled me.

“She’s a bitch,” I said without thinking.

Axel was quiet for a minute, “How can you tell that when you only spent a few seconds talking to her?”

“She’s a total mean girl. She pretended she didn’t know my name and then when you showed up she was all kissy nice face. And the way she rubbed it in that you had slept with her, that was too much!”

Axel pulled back so I could see his face, “What are you talking about?”

I rolled my eyes, “It was obvious she was staking her claim.”

He was quiet for a moment just looking at me. I started to fidget. Thankfully, Von came in and Axel disentangled himself from me.

“How does she look?” Axel was impatient as Von went over my vitals.

The elderly man smiled at me, “Right as rain, you might be tired the rest of the day but your body will continue to heal especially if your imprinted pair is touching you. By tomorrow you will be up and go about your usual business.”

I nodded my appreciation and sat up, the room spun a little and Axel frowned. The next thing I knew I was in his arms and he was carrying me out of the health unit. I buried my face in his broad chest, not wanting to see the curious eyes staring at us, as he trods toward our sleeping chambers.

The moment we were inside I begged him for a chance to take a bath.

He frowned, “Not without me you aren’t.”