“The pod exploded.”Drafe paused then leaned against the counter.
“So I heard.”Nenn met his gaze.“Yet, you left the loving arms of your female?”
“Mm, I have a dilemma I need to work through.”Drafe sat opposite Nenn, nursing a jar of water.
“Care to share?”Nenn flipped his tablet over and shifted his bowl for Drafe to rest his arms on the table.
“She does not want to involve herself out of fear.Revenge is driving her to take the hauler, but after that is completed, she might…leave me.”Drafe slumped, his shoulders bowing.
“You want a way to keep her?”Nenn arched a brow.“Drafe, she is not Qaldreth—”
Drafe growled.
Nenn raised his hand to silence Drafe.“Let me finish.”He popped the vibuy dangling from his fingers into his mouth.“She does not know our ways and cannot be held to our expectations.”He paused to swallow.“In addition, she is a warrior who will not be subservient to you.Perhaps all you need to do is ask her, warrior to warrior.”
“Thatisour way.”Drafe frowned.“To ask.”
Nenn swallowed a laugh, aware of Drafe’s dismay.“No, I mean, explain it to her, how staying with you will change her life.”
Drafe rested his chin on his hand.“She knows nothing of our homeworld.It is right that I share this with her.”
Nenn hid his grin by sipping his steaming asturo tisane.“If you are serious about having her for your love mate, then yes.”
“Wise, Nenn.”Drafe straightened, a small smile forming.“Do we have any Ivoyan data vids on Qaldreth?”
“We do.”Nenn gritted his teeth, smothering his urge to curse.Males could be such fools.“Images are wonderful, but memories spoken from the heart have greater impact.”
Drafe’s frown darkened.“She has my symbiotes and access to all Meorri history.”
“Yes, but she has not learned to commune with them.”Foq, it had taken him ages as a young male.His mother had despaired that he’d never learn.“You are rushing the most beautiful thing to occur to a warrior, Drafe.”
“I know.”He slumped, dipped his gaze, then leveled it on Nenn.“I want it done.I want her to be mine with no chance of her walking away.”
Nenn laughed.At last, the truth.“You are feeling insecure.It is not the way of a fearless warrior.”
Drafe glared at him.“Foq, Nenn.Wait until you meet your female.”
Images of tongues attacking him swept across his mind.It took all his focus to offer a shrug.“I hope to be as senseless as you.”He pushed aside his empty plate, then licked his thumb.“On a more serious matter, her besting Ulvus has enraged the male.I will guard your back.”
After Nenn’s demonstration, Ulvus had stayed clear of him.But when she bested Ulvus, he’d directed all his anger and frustration at her.Nenn was partly to blame for Ulvus’s vindictive state of mind and would protect her, as well.
“Ulvus is predictable.”Drafe downed his water and rose.“Thank you for the advice and warning, Nenn.”
Drafe’s nonchalance made Nenn smile.There went an arrak who’d tackled Ulvus on more than one occasion.Nenn had managed to avoid the male for the most part, but who knew if he was just biding his time?
He sighed at his cooled tisane.If Drafe mated with the human, Nenn didn’t know how the Q.C.C.would react.He leaned back, a decision forming.No matter what lay ahead, Nenn would make damn sure he and the males onboard theAroagni, Ulvus excluded, sided with the couple.
“Allpersonnelhavebeenallocated full access to all areas, including the engine rooms.Do not…disturb me, even if it’s life and death.”Captain’s voice snapped Tiny awake.
She blinked, trying to understand the reason for the announcement.Where hadn’t she been allowed to go before?Not that she’d need to know when her room, the mess, the zoo, her med bay, the bridge, and hydroponics were the only places she frequented.
She scrambled out of bed and hurried through her ablutions.Did she sneak out of her room?Yes.She listened with care to make sure no one crept up on her despite her stomping along the passages.The air in her lungs had solidified, like a pressure built, and the effort to inhale became a mission, so she veered to hydroponics, hoping to find some peace.Stroking the leaves while crooning at the plants gave her a sense of normalcy.The organic smell alone bathed her in peace.
“Oh, no,” she whispered when her thumb brushed along a jagged leaf.“You poor thing.”With clippers in hand, she glided her fingers along and snipped the leaf off, placing it in a bucket she’d later dump in the compost bin.
Focusing on not cutting off a finger kept her mind on the moment and not on the fact she’d survived a night without being jettisoned.And despite the aroma of bacon wafting from the mess, she’d avoided spending any time with Nikko, Leah, and Dieter.If she didn’t need to ‘act’ happy or lie, then she wouldn’t put a target on her back.
Approaching footsteps made her pause.The cadence was like Vic’s except for the heavy treads accompanying it.Was she losing her mind?
