Chapter 8

Krogal landed our shuttle on the roof of the medical center of the fortified city in a reserved parking spot. Chivalrous as always, he rushed to my side of the small vessel to help me down the couple of steps. Obviously, I didn't need it. Still, his attentiveness to me truly warmed my heart. Then again, I believed he was seizing any opportunity to touch me without coming across as a creeper or pushing my boundaries.

It was becoming increasingly clear to me that my brand-new husband loved physical contact. I couldn't forget how his face lit up when I took his hand yesterday. None of the other Zamorians we encountered during our stroll displayed any form of affection in public, aside from the occasional wife touching or caressing her husband's braid. But Krogal seemed to crave it. And frankly, so did I.

Nowadays, people too quickly ended up in each other's beds, often on the very first night they met. Going through this old-fashioned and slow-paced courtship with Krogal was every shade of awesome. He was making me feel safe and respected. That he gave the best hugs in the universe certainly didn't hurt.

Even now, I couldn't stop thinking about how it felt being surrounded by those massive arms of his. I could have stayed there forever. He was so big and strong that I felt tiny and fragile, and yet completely sheltered and protected, like a nuclear bomb could go off right next to us and I'd remain unscathed.

And he smelled so freaking good!

I wanted to rub my face all over his muscular chest. The softness of his skin, stretched over his firm and bulging muscles, had taken me by surprise. I had to invoke every ounce of my willpower not to run my palms all over his back. I didn't want to rush things between us or send him any misleading signals. But damn, my man was fine!

Noticing the uncertain glance he cast towards my hand, I reached out for his and held it. He immediately beamed at me, happy I guessed his unspoken wish.

Yep, my man was a snuggle bunny!

We took the lift down to the basement of the facility. The wide doors opened directly in front of the clinic's reception. A jovial Zamorian female in her early fifties greeted us with a warm smile that lit up her four light-brown eyes. Despite her blatant curiosity as she ogled me, I felt nothing but kindness emanating from her. Her friendly smile was intoxicating, and I immediately liked her.

"Dhalgal, this is my mate, Farah," Krogal said proudly as he introduced me to her. "Farah, this is Dhalgal, the queen and taskmaster of this clinic. She has us all terrified and has no qualms cracking her whip whenever we stray from the right path."

Dhalgal snorted and waved a dismissive hand. "Don't listen to him. I'm the sweetest person you'll ever meet. But I do have to crack my whip with this one," she added, designating Krogal with her chin while taking on an air of pure discouragement. "Bring in a cute little critter, and he will spend a ridiculous amount of time caring for it and neglecting his other duties. I have to kick him out sometimes or he would forget to eat or go home to sleep. He's a hopeless one!"

"Sounds like a dedicated one," I countered while casting an approving glance at Krogal.

"See?! She gets me!" Krogal replied smugly to his receptionist.

"I do, but she also has a point. You have to take care of yourself as well. And I'll help her make sure you do," I warned.

"Ha!" Dhalgal said mockingly at Krogal.

He scrunched his face at me as if I had committed the ultimate betrayal. But Dhalgal's next comment had him puffing out his chest again like a peacock.

"That is one magnificent braid you're boasting, Krogal!" she exclaimed. "I've never seen such a design before. Your cousin is going to be green with envy!"

"Him and everyone else!" he replied with a huge grin. "My mate is the best."

I felt both flattered and a little embarrassed. A mix of relief and worry swelled within me. Obviously, I hoped my design would be well-received. But I wasn't here to compete with anyone, especially not Belle who had become the queen of adorned braids throughout the galaxy. I just wanted to make sure my man would always be happy with what I did for him without feeling insane pressure to constantly try to outdo myself every day.

But there would be plenty of time to cross that bridge later.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Dhalgal shooed us off, reminding Krogal he had less than thirty minutes left to give me a quick tour before he had to go prep for surgery. Still holding my hand, he led me down the corridor on the left which gave access to a series of rooms.

The first one was his office complete with a massive couch that could be turned into a sofa bed for the occasions where he decided to sleep over to be close to a patient in critical condition. The others included the staff's recreation room, a small boardroom, three separate examination rooms, an operation theater, a massive storage room, and one holding area where they could keep a few pets overnight.

Like with everything else on Xoccoris, brown colors dominated. Here at least, most of the walls were the palest shade of beige, with the only dark browns stemming from the hardwood floors and exposed wooden beams. Photos of exotic pets on the walls with a short text below with clever tips and tricks regarding their care gave the place the splash of color it needed to make it inviting instead of drab and clinical.

But seeing a live version of a couple of those same animals in the holding area had me bubbling with excitement. About the size of an eight- or nine-month-old cat, the creature had the body of a squirrel, the face of a guinea pig with the chubby cheeks of a newborn baby, and a massive pair of wings that extended from behind its ears and down the length of its body. Tan fur with the occasional black spots covered its body, while the fluffiest, snowy-white fur puffed out around its chest and the upper part of its underbelly like a Maine Coon.

It peered at me with the most adorable big blue eyes and with undisguised curiosity.

"Oh, my God! He's the cutest thing ever!" I exclaimed while approaching the large cage it was held in.

"It's a she," Krogal corrected gently while opening the door of its cage. "Her name is Joree. She's a Nulia."

"Hi Joree," I said in that silly, high-pitched voice we instinctively took whenever addressing animals or young kids. "May I touch her?"

"You can pet her head and scratch her neck, but be gentle," he said, caressing her head first as if to show me how to do it.

The way Joree stretched her neck to increase contact with his hand screamed how much she craved being petted. My heart instantly melted when she welcomed my touch with the same eagerness. The loud purr steadily flowing out of her could have easily belonged to a cat. In between, she emitted brief, high-pitched little yips with the sharpness of a bark, but which struck me more as a pained or distressed whine.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked, my chest constricting with compassion.

"Joree is the runt of the litter," Krogal said with a sad expression. "She was too small and too weak, so her mother kicked her out of the nest. Considering the height it was located at, she fell and broke her front legs, and sustained a couple of fractures in her ribs and her right wing."

"Shit! That's terrible! But you can fix her, right?" I asked, hope filling my voice.

He hesitated before nodding. "I can mend her injuries and give her all the nutrients and supplements she needs to gain a normal weight and be healthy."

"But?" I insisted.

"The fact that her mother kicked her out is very problematic for her development," he said with a sigh. "Her owner is extremely unhappy about it. Nulias are worth a lot, especially when properly trained."

"Trained to do what?" I asked, genuinely intrigued as I scratched the fluffy fur under her chin.

I couldn't help but smile when she stretched her neck to give me better access, her eyes closed as the volume of her purring went up another notch. Joree's front paws, with the same type of padded mittens of a cat, kneaded the plush cushion she was lying on.

"Nulia's are service pets, like the humans' service dogs," Krogal explained. "They have empathic abilities that allow them to sense what their owner needs, from thirst and hunger to pain requiring medication, or simply help them overcome a bout of depression. They can also work as messengers, watch guards, and search and rescue pets. As they can easily reach places that are difficult to access, Nulias can greatly accelerate rescue efforts, on top of bringing emergency supplies to the victim, be it some water or medication."

"Holy cow! I never thought such a little cutie could be so amazing!" I exclaimed, impressed. "But what does her mother have to do with any of that?"

"Most of her empathic abilities require stimulation from her mother. Without it, that skill will be stunted. The window to get trained before those muscles atrophy is very narrow. A number of other interactions with her are required to help Joree fully develop. If we can't get her to a state where her mother will accept her within the next week, it will be too late," he said with a somber expression.

My chest constricted as I looked sadly at the adorable little female. "What does that mean for her?"

"If we fail to get her back with her pack by Friday, her owner, Cyric, will discard her."

"What do you mean by ‘discard'?" I asked, my voice filled with tension. "You're not going to put her down, right?"

"Technically, that would be the expectation. But I won't do that," he added quickly when I opened my mouth with an air of outrage. "My goal will be to find her a forever home to settle in if things don't work out."

My shoulders instantly relaxed as I once more smiled at the little cutie. She made that yipping sound again and licked my fingers. The roughness of her tongue tickled. I looked back up at Krogal with my most shameless puppy eyes. Finding him frowning at me with a stern expression testified to the fact he was already anticipating the next words about to come out of my mouth.

"Don't even think about it, woman," he said preemptively in a tone that brooked no argument. "This is your first visit here, and you're already getting sucked in by an adorable little face? Do you know how many pets I would have at home if I allowed myself to become smitten by all my homeless patients?"

"But she's so cute!" I said in a pleading and somewhat whiny tone. "See? She likes me and needs a home!"

"Cyric might take her back," I countered.

"But if he doesn't—"

"If he doesn't, we will reassess at that time," Krogal said begrudgingly.

And yet, my gut said I had already won. To my shame, as much as I wanted little Joree to be reunited with her family and achieve her full potential, the selfish part of me was hoping Cyric would discard her so that I could take her home.

Leaning forward, I booped her snout, and she rewarded me with a lick on the tip of my nose.

"You like me, don't you? Yes you do, you little cutie pie," I said before pressing a soft kiss on her forehead.

Behind me, Krogal groaned in discouragement.

Yeah, I have no shame.

After petting Joree one last time with a gentleness that had me melting from the inside out, he closed the door of her cage and led me out of the room mumbling something about how we better get out before I tried to adopt another wounded creature.

We were walking towards his office when the elevator chimed, and a pretty blonde stepped out of it. I immediately recognized the now famous face of Annabelle Parker—AKA Belle. She waved enthusiastically at the receptionist then jerked her head to the left, having likely perceived movement at the edge of her vision. The way her face lit up when she spotted us put a smile on my face.

"Sorry, I'm late!" she exclaimed while walking hastily towards us. "The twins were being a pain. Oh my God, you're so pretty!"

I couldn't help but chuckle at the exuberant energy that emanated from her. Clearly, Belle was the type of person that lit up a room and made you want to laugh.

"Thank you," I said with a grin. "You look lovely as well."

She huffed as if I'd said something silly and continued in the same upbeat tone. "I'm Belle. I married this big guy's cousin," she added, pointing at Krogal.

Before I could answer, she did a double take. Her jaw dropped, and her pretty blue eyes widened with awe.

"Oh wow! Your braid looks totally badass!" she exclaimed.

Krogal pushed back his shoulders proudly. "It most certainly does!"

Belle glanced back at me with a glimmer of approval on her pretty face. "I see I'm gonna have some competition. That's awesome. I never thought of an ancient Egyptian style like what you did or to even match my hair to my mate's. Don't be surprised if I start stealing ideas from you."

I snorted. "I've been taking inspiration from you since the day they posted that first painting you did of Bayron. In case you haven't guessed yet, I'm a huge fan."

She giggled. "Aww, thank you. You and I are going to be the biggest BFFs! I can feel it!"

I could feel it, too.

"Don't let her overwhelm you," Krogal warned me before giving Belle a stern look.

"We'll be fine," I said with a smile.

Belle playfully glared at him before glancing back at me with a sheepish expression. "When I get nervous or excited, I can be a little over the top. Never hesitate to tell me to rein myself in or to slap my wrist if I get fidgety. I'm the type who will tap my foot, tap my pen on a hard surface, or make all those obnoxious noises that drive people crazy without even realizing I'm doing it."

I burst out laughing. "No worries, I don't mind at all."

"Like I said, you and I are going to be BFFs!"

Dhalgal poked her head into the hallway where we were talking. She cleared her throat and gave Krogal a severe look, putting an end to our chatter.

"Right, I better go get ready before she cracks her whip at me," Krogal said with an exaggerated air of despair.

"And we are off shopping. We're going to spend all of your money, and I will spill all of your secrets," Belle added as she gave Krogal a mischievous look.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, glaring at her with pretend ire.

"Just kidding!" she said with a less-than-innocent expression before leaning towards me and whispering loudly, "not really."

"Be back in time for the assembly," Krogal grumbled.

"Will do!" she replied.

Belle waved goodbye to him then faced me, waiting for me to tell him goodbye as well. I glanced at him, and we stared at each other awkwardly, not knowing exactly what would be an appropriate manner for us to part ways. I wanted to get on my tippy toes to kiss his cheek. But we'd never exchanged any kiss before, even a chaste one on the cheek. Not wanting to let time stretch to where things would become truly embarrassing, I just wrapped my arms around him and gave him a hug. He happily returned it and rested his cheek on top of my head for a brief second before releasing me.

Feeling stupidly shy, I waved at him and flicked my braid over my shoulder before turning away. Belle's intense stare was making me incredibly self-conscious. But her happy smile reassured me that we were doing okay.

I followed in her wake, and we left the clinic.