Free The Theron Residency (Brides of Theron Book 4) by Rebecca Anthony Lorino, Rebecca Lorino Pond Page A

not know what would happen if Zirlo had come home. How would Yasa and all the other people that knew and loved him react to his return from the dead? As he neared the desk to the critical care ward, he paused just a moment. It was an ominous feeling that one got when they knew that a particular moment that their life and the lives of many others was going to change forever. Everything was going to be different once he decided to take that next step. Hesitantly, he approached the nurse’s station. “I am Dr. Arden and I want to see the elder crash victim.”
    The nurse looked away from his monitors and said, “The patient is still unconscious. I will need to get Dr. Zane’s permission for you to enter the room. You see, his identity is being withheld for security reasons.” Arden nodded and looked at the name tag pinned to his uniform and taking note of his name. He hated addressing people without using their full name. It did much to show his respect for the warrior he was talking with when he used it.
    The nurse was young and probably didn’t know who he was in relation to Zane. “Please Eagard, call my son Zane. I am sure that he will give me permission to visit with the patient.” Eagard picked up the receiver spoke quietly to Zane. “He said it would be alright for you to check in on the patient. He wanted me to tell you that he would be up to join you within the hour. He still has several other items of business to take care of.”
    “Thank you,” Arden said. He took his time getting to the room that the nurse pointed out. At the door, he picked up the electronic chart and scanned the notes made by his son and the other medical staff on duty. Arden nodded silently collecting his thoughts. When Edgard saw he was at the door, Arden heard the buzz of the lock disengage. He turned the knob and walked over to the side of the bed. As he looked down at the weather-beaten leathery face of the warrior on the bed, a flashback hit him hard.
    Zirlo and Arden spent most of their childhood together living in the same city sector and rooming together at the academy the entire time they studied there. They were as close as brothers, made a family by love and respect for each other. Faced with the possibility of long space missions away from home, Zirlo had Arden placed as medical director on his ship when he received orders to take his first command so that they would not be separated. There wasn’t a significant event in either one of their lives that weren’t shared between them. When Zirlo was taken, it was hard for Arden to accept. Being on the medical staff, Arden was generally stationed on the ship during a battle to be ready to accept and treat the wounded while Zirlo was out leading his troops to battle. When they told him that Zirlo would not return, he was fighting with all his might to gain access to one of the returning small spacecraft to go and find his friend. It took several warriors to hold him back as he screamed and cried out in frustration.
    Just then, a single tear trickled slowly out of the corner of his eye and made its way down his cheek. He vowed on the loading dock that day ten years ago that he would bring Zirlo home. He missed his friend and hated seeing Yasa broken hearted. It killed him to know that he still had his mate by his side, but she did not. However, it looked as if Zirlo made it home without his help, after all. Arden always credited his best friend and blood brother to be able to pull off the feats that others believed to be impossible. Zirlo was always the man he most admired and aspired to be like.
    He scanned the room around him. It was a private room with an adjustable bed. The colors of the room were neutral and calming like the rest of the hospital. It had all the standard equipment you would typically see on the walls and near the bed. The heart monitor was beeping with every heart beat and he could hear the drip of the IV bag hanging from a hook on the right side of the bed. A