33. Vanessa

Chapter 33

Iawoke to someone carrying me and a throbbing pain in my left arm. It bled, blood trickling off my fingers and down my side. Thinking Aizor must be holding me, and I was safe, I snuggled into his embrace.

His scent was totally wrong. Looking up, I'd never seen this alien before in my life.

Squawking, I flailed, almost passing out when pain exploded in my arm. His grip on me tightened. He was so much larger than me that he barely had to use any of his considerable strength to make me hold still.

"Let me go," I snarled, tears trickling from my eyes. I wasn't scared, though I wasn't sure why, but my arm . . . It hung at an odd angle, telling me it was broken. Even worse, shattered bone gouged through my skin.

"I need a doctor. A hospital," I cried out. "I'm going to get gangrene. My arm will rot and fall off. I'm going to die." And I'd never see Aizor again, never feel his touch or hear him whispering sweet words in my ears.

"You won't die. I'll protect you, tiny one," the male said. He wore furs, unlike those in the Indigan Clan who dressed in clothing provided by their gods. "I found you lying on the ground, and you're sorely wounded. I'm taking you to my clan's healer."

"Take me back to the Indigan Clan. My mate . . ." Should I mention him, or would that only put him in danger?

"Whois your mate? Indigan, you say? That means you belong to Aizor." His head cocked as he strode along a path weaving through the woods. Other males dressed in a similar manner trotted along with him, bristling with simple weapons. I spied wooden spears, and one male held a large bow with a quiver full of arrows strapped to his spine. Feathers jutted up behind his head.

Otherwise, they looked much like Aizor's people, from their blue skin to their silver hair.

"I belong to myself." It seemed silly to protest about something like this when my arm was going to rot and fall off. "My clan has a healer. Please, take me to them. You'll be rewarded."

"Rewarded, you say?" The male carrying me laughed, a rich sound. He was handsome, as were all the Zuldruxians, but my heart belonged to Aizor. "I doubt anyone in the Indigan Clan will reward one such as me."

"You're Nevarn." The realization sunk into me, making me shake. Even this subtle movement made agony blast up my arm to my shoulder. My head pounded and spun, and I worried I'd pass out and be defenseless. "Please. Don't kidnap me. Take me back to my mate." I loved him. I'd already realized that. I was going to tell him tonight that I was staying here, that I didn't want to return to Earth.

If I didn't tell the gods on the island tomorrow, they'd automatically send me back.

"If you won't take me to the Indigan Clan, would you please take me to the island gods?" I asked. Maybe they'd help me after I told them I wanted to stay.

He frowned. With a leap, he jumped over a boulder blocking the path. The trail leveled off, telling me we'd reached the lower valley, and he picked up his pace to jog. "Why would you wish to go there?"

My arm jarred; it was all I could do to remain conscious. "Please, just do it." My vision swam and my arm throbbed.

His frown deepened. "Be quiet now. We're approaching my clan's territory, but there are beasts that—"

A roar echoed to our right.

The males jogging with us shared concerned looks and they started running, weaving through a forest filled with enormous trees like the ones growing in the western United States. Sequoia? Yes, that was what they were called.

Each of his steps made pain bolt through me. My vision wavered, and if he didn't stop, I was going to start screaming. I'd never stop. Giving way to the pain would draw the attention of whatever hunted the forest, so I kept my mouth shut. They couldn't run forever, and when they stopped, I was going to break free and flee toward the island. It was in this general area, and I'd find it. My arm was useless, but my legs still worked.

Please stay awake!

Stomps echoed in the woods. My heart slammed against my ribcage as if it, too, wanted to bolt. I sucked in deep breaths of air, panting through the agony.

"Put me down," I hissed. "Please."

"Here?" He shook his head. "Are you aware of the beast that hunts us?"

"My arm hurts so much," I whimpered.

"Which is why I'm taking you to our god. She'll heal you."

She? "Another crystal building?"

"Not crystal." He scoffed. "Our god of wood is superior to theirs."

"That's what they all say."

"Why would you run from me when I'm only trying to help? I've watched the Indigan Clan for days. I wanted to make sure you were treated right."

"It's not up to you to decide something like that."

"Of course it is. I'm male, and you're a foolish female. Are all of your kind like this?"

"I'm not foolish. You're the one snooping around my clan, spying on us."

He drew himself up stiffly. "I don't spy. I merely watch to make sure they don't do anything they shouldn't."

"Maybe pay attention to your own clan instead."

"My clansmales listen to me. I don't need to watch them."

Men. "Put me down."

"No."

"As you said, a beast is hunting us. I want to be on my feet to run."

"Will you run faster than me and for a longer distance with your injured arm?"

"I'll try."

His glare took in my legs. "You're puny. You have no muscle mass. One swipe of the beast's claws will send you flying into the side of a tree. You'll be dead before you hit the ground and become the creature's meal not long after."

"I hope the crystal gods never send you a mate. You're arrogant, conceited, and irritating."

He snorted. "Fortunately, my god doesn't listen to you."

We'd see about that.

"Hold your arm," he said. "Clamp your hand over the wound. Each drop of blood is a trail for the creature to follow."

My skin quivered, and I whimpered. I'd faced a horrifying beast when I arrived, and it sounded like another was on our trail, and I was leading it right to us.

"Run faster, then," I snapped, slapping my hand over the wound.

The world wavered. Only the stomp of his feet and the agony slamming through my arm kept me awake.

A roar rang out from our right.

"You're taking too long. It's getting closer!"

"It won't catch us."

"Climb a tree or something."

"They climb as well."

Well, wasn't that nice? "Then find some bushes to hide behind." We were out in the open, racing along a wide trail. The creature would see us from a mile away.

"How about this, puny female?" He ran faster, aiming for a huge dark purple tree with lighter lavender leaves that had to be as wide as a house.

"You're going to smack into it. Is that how you're going to save me?"Crystal gods, please do something about these cocky males.

Before he could impale us in the tree, the bark . . . parted. There was no other way to describe it. It split down the center, each side sweeping away like they were curtains at the start of a Broadway show.

He strode inside and the walls closed behind him, leaving me alone with him in utter darkness.