Free Claimed by Lee-Ann Wallace

Sorvar.”
    She sat perfectly still as the medic gave the laser device to the assistant and took the extractor. God, she hated tests, hated the endless poking and prodding. All those tests and scans Earth government had forced her to go through to ensure she was healthy and clear to join the space program almost drove her insane. She was a medic, for fuck’s sake, she would know if something was wrong with her.
    The Morgath medic pressed the blood extractor against her neck, and Tina winced as the small machine took a small sample of skin and extracted her blood. Her arm throbbed where he had healed her wounds, but Tina ignored it and slid off the table after the medic moved away.
    Sorvar was still face down on the other table, his wings spread out to drape down to the floor. Making sure she didn’t stand on them, Tina walked over to him and stroked the hair away from his face. He didn’t move from her small strokes, didn’t shift or change in any way, and she still couldn’t feel him inside her. He had the most luxuriant soft hair, and it tumbled all around him.
    With nothing else to do while the medics analysed her blood and the sample she’d seen them take from Sorvar, she finger-combed his hair and braided the waist length curls into a long tail. The ends curled around her fingers and formed a gorgeous ringlet. Her heart squeezed. If he was awake, she could have teased him about his pretty hair or shown him some of the fun things you could do with hair in bed.
    The medic hissed, snapping Tina’s head up. She walked over to the console he was staring at.
    “What is it? Have you found something?” she asked.
    He turned to look at her, his yellow gaze penetrating.
    Tina stared back, refusing to flinch from his direct gaze. “Please, I’m a medic as well. Maybe I can help.”
    The medic flicked his hand at the screen, then stepped back. “What do you see?”
    Tina looked at the screen, her eyes widening at the detailed image of two separate DNA strands. She’d seen human DNA, had even taken some classes in genetics and molecular biology, but she’d never seen anything like this, not even in her studies at The Fortress.
    “It’s DNA, but it’s not like anything I’ve ever seen before.” She couldn’t take her gaze off the slowly spinning image.
    “That’s because it has mutated no less than six times. Whatever you are, Princess, when the Prince claimed you,” he waved at the screen with one hand, “it did this, and this is the cause of his change.”
     

Chapter Six
     
     
    It took three hours for Sorvar’s crew to defeat the Crasgich—three of the most terrifying hours Tina had ever gone through in her life. The ship had shuddered and metal screamed as the Crasgich bombarded them with a hail of fire.
    Tina didn’t have much time to think about it as wounded males turned up packing the small med bay with bodies. She helped where she could, mostly with minor wounds.
    They limped the rest of the way to Morgath, the damaged ship making the journey take ten hours instead of the five it should have. Tina sat beside Sorvar the entire time despite Seklan trying to chase her out repeatedly.
    She refused to do what he wanted, and even went so far as to threaten him with a pissed off Sorvar if he touched her or had her removed. By the time they landed on Morgath, she was sure she could sleep for days and was in desperate need of a meal and some pain relief.
    Sorvar hadn’t so much as twitched the entire time. He was in a coma, and every attempt Seklan made to wake him failed. But Seklan scanned and tested Sorvar to the point where he could probably map every individual cell in Sorvar’s body. The mutated DNA was the only thing Seklan could find wrong with him.
    Tina struggled with the building pain wracking her body in bursts and her guilt as she waited for the medical assistants to bind Sorvar’s wings for transport. His hair was still in the braid she’d put it in. She smoothed it down his back between