“I will explain everything to her after she is awake and healthy.” Zade could not fathom that conversation. The v-link communicator in his ear chirped at him. He recognized the pattern as Yoli’s and opened the link.
“Zade,” his assistant said. “Patient 33-H is conscious.”
His heart thumped hard in his abdomen. “She is?”
Yoli paused. “You asked us to inform you of any status changes regarding the human. If we misunderstood…”
“No,” he cut her off. “I am returning now.”
“Uh, okay.” Yoli sounded utterly confused by him.
He tapped his earpiece, ending the conversation before he felt compelled to offer an explanation he was not ready to give.
“When are you going to tell your staff?” asked Ger.
Zade moved to the exit. “When I have to.”
“They will not think less of you.” The older male stood up and crossed his arms. “Youshould not think less of you. This is a gift, not a burden.”
He said nothing for a moment, allowing Ger’s words to sink in. His father had hit on something there. It was supposedto be a gift, yes, but itfeltlike a burden. It was something he was not an expert on, and for someone who was an expert in many things, this was unsettling. “Please give my best to Mother.”
Ger nodded. “So what are you going to do?”
Zade approached the door and it slid open. “I will not be feared by one of my patientsormy mate,” he replied roughly. “I will wear theeniband.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Ash
The light came, as it always did. Ash knew she was not waking up from a normal night’s sleep. This was a different type of awakening. From the soft, warm in-between place she had been, the darkness closed around her like a suffocating trash bag. It felt like she was clawing free of it, fighting for air and light and breath.
Even as she fought to wake up, she feared the reality that came with consciousness. Sounds blurred, then settled to a soft hum and voices speaking quietly in a foreign language. She opened her eyes slowly, but the light was low and not painful to her eyes. The surprisingly large and bare room was bathed in a soothing blue. Her body was supported by a warm, gel-like substance and the air had no scent whatsoever.
She frowned. This was different from any hospital she knew of. A pair of faces bent over her, one female, one male. They wore snug head-to-foot bodysuits in light blue and both were so attractive, Ash thought they looked more like TV doctors than real ones. Actually, they looked likesci-fiTV doctors, like from Star Trek, but that had to be the effects of whatever drugs she was getting.
“Can you hear me?” asked the female in an accented voice.
Ash nodded. Her throat was dry as dust.
The woman turned to the man and said something in that language again, while the male turned to a panel on the wall beside her. The section lit up and became a screen. There, she saw a diagram of her body. Text scrolled down beside it and different parts of the image lit up as the man touched different areas of it. It was running a diagnostic, she assumed. It had been four years since she had been in a hospital and she had no idea they had gotten so high tech. Maybe she was in a different country with better tech. That would explain the foreign language accent she couldn’t quite place.
Perhaps other countries were getting technology from those aliens who were around now. Everyone was so fascinated by them—Baylans, they were called. Most of her friends in New York talked about how sexy they were. Ash agreed, objectively. She just didn’t see a point in swooning over guys so obviously unavailable. It wasn’t like they were wandering around on Earth looking for girlfriends. They seemed to dislike coming to the planet’s surface.
The woman returned, looking somewhat bemused. “I am Dr. Yoli and this is Dr. Pruk. Would you like to sit up?” she asked with a smile.
“N-no,” Ash croaked out. Well, she would, but she was too tired to move anything. Her voice was ragged. “Where am I?”
The two doctors exchanged a glance. Their names were unusual. She was definitely in a foreign country. “You are in a safe place. A…” She seemed to search for the right word. “Ahospital. Your family is being informed that you have woken up.”
Relief swept through her. “Can I see them? Can you let them in?”
“Not yet,” the woman replied. Her gaze flicked worriedly to her partner. “We are waiting for the high physician to return. Zade is the one who makes these decisions.”
High physician? She’d never heard a doctor called that before. And the guy’s name was Zade. That was unusual, too. Ash’s fingers played with the soft fabric of her simple hospital gown.
Dr. Yoli tilted her head. “How is your memory?” she asked. “What do you remember before being here?”
Ash frowned. “I—I was on a retreat, I think. I don’t remember much else.” Her gaze flew to the woman. “Why? What happened to me?” She tried to sit up abruptly, but the doctors placed firm hands on her shoulders and kept her in place.
