Free Grai's Game (First Wave) by Mikayla Lane Page A

his friend.
    Grai wiped the mixture of his blood and sweat off of his forehead with the back of his glove before digging into one of the med kits they had brought. It was several moments before he realized that the shadows standing over him were not of the night and moon.
    Instinctively, he moved quickly to the side and came up at a crouch in front of his injured man , weapons drawn and ready. Ivint just grinned at the wicked looking blade that had appeared suddenly in Grai’s hand.
    “Let’s hope you have no more need of that tonight.” Ivint told the startled man with a slight chuckle. Although, he was grateful when he put the knife away. The man’s speed was still somewhat of a shock to him , as was Balduen’s. It had been so long since his people had been beast bonded, that he had forgotten how much faster their reflexes were.
    Ivint nodded to the med tech who immediately began treating the Relian on the ground, along with a few others who had finished with other patients.
    “Come, there is much to discuss.” Ivint held his hand out to Grai, knowing that he had not gotten up from the ground yet because he did not want his men to see him stumble.
    Ivint hoped that it would give the man an excuse to accept his assistance and save his pride in front of his men , even though he had no reason to feel less than heroic.
    His strength and skill had been impressive to watch and his concern for his people, including his hybrids was no longer a doubt for anyone. Ivint could well understand why his hybrids and Relian half-breeds were so loyal to him. He was a good leader, who obviously cared deeply for his people.
    Grai looked at the High Councilor’s hand for a moment before accepting it. He was barely able to hide his surprise at the older man’s strength as he quickly pulled him to his feet, holding his hand for a moment longer than necessary so that Grai could gain his balance.
    When he was steady, Grai let go of his hand and gave him a nod of thanks. Ivint just gave him a small smile and held his arm out for Grai to precede him into the warehouse.
    Once inside, Ivint took the lead as he went directly to the conference room. He was surprised to see the line of people that followed and waited while everyone entered the room, leaving the door open for the rest.
    Traze came in and went directly to his brother, breaking open a new med kit on the table in front of him. Ivint was surprised when Reven went to help him and not surprised when Grai tried to push them away.
    “We can’t discuss anything if you are passed out from blood loss. And I do not wish to deal with a mate’s wrath when she finds out that we did not force you to at least clean yourself before going to see your son.” Ivint told the man sternly , hoping he wouldn’t argue for long.
    Grai just nodded his head and allowed Risk to peel the blood-soaked shirt from his chest. Ivint stared at the Ator-Ma confirming that he was indeed mated, yet another truth he could add to the growing list of truths the man had told.
    It wasn’t the bleeding cuts that held his attention though, it was the scars. There had to be more than twenty across his chest, all in varying lengths and depths. Some were obviously inflicted by a blade of some kind, some burn marks; all were horrific.
    Moving silently behind the man as they continued to work on his abdomen, Ivint could see the expanse of his back as he sat on the edge of the chair and stifled the gasp that came at the sight.
    His chest had looked bad enough, but his back barely resembled a body part. The mass of scars upon scars had mottled and distorted the skin to the point that it looked more like he had suffered terrible burns. Ivint would have assumed that was the cause if he hadn’t noticed the individual slashes. The tell-tale signs of being severely whipped and maybe caned.
    Judging by the damage, he had to have been whipped from a small age long into his adulthood for the scars to have set in such a fashion. It