“These are only temporary translators which allow us to understand one another. You can be fitted with a permanent one later,” Krin added from where he stood across from them.
When a female asked where we were taking them, he avoided eye contact and instead looked at me.
A split second of a smirk played on my lips before Krin shook his head and scowled. Krin was an excellent Commander, but he was less confident around females.
The warrior next to him responded to her question. “To our ship. It’s in orbit above the planet.”
“What will you do with us?” another of the humans asked with suspicion in her voice.
Nobody answered, and I heard her sigh in exasperation.
Turning in my chair to face the females I said, “You are fortunate you did not damage our shuttle, or we would have been required to wait for someone to come and assist us.”
The light-haired female inhaled through her teeth. “Yeah. About that. I’m a pilot and I figured...”
I glanced at her before finishing her thought. “You thought you could fly it?” I was impressed by her courage.
“Refrain from doing such an action in the future. You could have killed all of you and destroyed my shuttle.” My voice held enough of a stern tone the female blushed a deep shade of crimson.
I turned my chair back to face the console.
“What’s your name?” A melodic female voice asked. I detected a hitch in her breath and my gut told me it was the red-head.
It was clear she was uncomfortable, but it wasn’t a sense of fear that radiated from her.
“Who? Me?” I asked, turning my seat to face her.
My brow quirked as I breathed her in. Beneath the scent of sweat and dirt, I caught a whiff of a delicate floral fragrance lingering around her.
“Yes,” she croaked, then wiped her forehead.
“I am Captain Trex of the space vessel Chetok, and Commander of the Protectorate Forces of Alaran space,” I stated.
The female looked impressed by my title, and I beamed with pride.
Continuing the introductions, I motioned with my head to the pilot. “This is Aza, our versatile pilot, who occasionally doubles as an engineer.” Aza responded with a flick of his furry tail, with barely a glance over his shoulder.
I continued my introductions. “Standing at the door are Kimur and Commander Krin.”
The beauty greeted each of them with a fleeting smile, her eyes sparkling with warmth, before her attention shifted back to me.
Her gaze pierced through me, causing my heart to skip a beat.
Each time I made eye contact with the female, my mating marks flared, which left no room for doubt that it was not a mere coincidence.
Just thinking about what this meant I clenched my jaw, then with a slight cough, I redirected my gaze to the front, refocusing on what lay ahead.
If her presence alone made my chest markings throb what would happen if we touched? My thoughts were interrupted by Aza’s cursing in the seat next to me.
“What’s wrong? Did they damage the ship?”
“No. A flutzing Krilex ship is headed our way,” he ground out.
A groan of frustration escaped my lips.Great.
Our small shuttle was armed only with light phase cannons and blasters, which would not be much help if they decided to engage us. TheflutzingKrilex knew this.
“Hail them,” I ordered.
