“Igid?” I groan. There is something very wrong about the way my voice echoes in the quiet. The hard surface beneath my palms is definitely not the bed I remember falling asleep in. Fuck, if I could keep my eyes open for more than two seconds, maybe all of this would start making more sense.
“Igid!” I shout again when she doesn’t respond, and a cold feeling creeps up my spine.
“Igid?” My voice quivers and echoes back to me. “Damnit, talk to me!”
Driving my fist into the ground, I let out a long guttural shout. Fucking hells, what happened? Were we attacked? Is she in danger? I pause, taking a deep, shaking breath. Or is this her doing?
It feels like an eternity passes before I gather enough strength to finally sit upright and get my first look at my surroundings. I’m—in a hangar of some kind? All I see is scuffed metal and very little else. The floor beneath me. The walls. Wherever I am, whatever this place is, it’s deserted.
Another wave of nausea hits me, and I spit out the bile that floods my mouth. The strange lethargy and foggy headedness makes me suspect I’ve been drugged.
Ikurvinghope this is Igid’s doing, because if we were attacked, and she’s—
I shake my head, trying to clear some of the fog. First of all, if we were attacked, then I should be more worried about what Igid did to the attackers. My female can handle herself.
Which brings me back to being drugged.
With a heavy sigh, I push myself to my feet, where I waver unsteadily.When I get my kurving hands on her— I have to catch my balance against the wall before I nosedive back into the floor. Picking the direction I’m already facing, I slowly start making my way down the wide passageway. My steps are a slow shuffle, and I mostly focus on keeping myself upright.
I’m starting to think this is some kind of abandoned station. But I don’t think it’s been abandoned for long. It looks like it’s still in the process of being gutted. Most of the rooms I’ve passed are empty except for smaller piles waiting for the next crew to finish clearing them out.
It feels like I’ve been walking for close to an hour, through endless vacant halls, when movement in the shadows catches my attention. Instinctively, my hand goes to my hip, where it’s met with the familiar shape of my blaster. Thank the stars Igid strapped my belt on when she finished dressing me before dumping me here.
Gripping the blaster at my side, I flick my thumb across the safety, and the soft whine of the charge settles my nerves. The sound of a low moan, followed by the soft rustle of movement, has me freezing in place. Lifting my blaster, I crank the charge to max, preparing for anything that might jump out at me as I slowly creep toward the sound.
“Who’s there?” I call out into the darkness.
The rustling stops immediately, followed by the sounds of soft pants, then another painful moan.
Squinting into the shadows, I can just make out a balled-up pile of rags. Whoever—or whatever—is inside might be sick or injured. Or both. Which could make them unpredictable and dangerous.
“Who’s there?” I demand again. “I won’t ask again. I’ll just put you down.”
“D-don’t,” a muffled voice wheezes from the pile. There is a shift, and then a head appears. “Although, being put down has its appeal at the moment.”
“Fucking hells,” I hiss, bringing my blaster to the ready and training it on the last male I ever expected to run into. Especially not on a deserted space station. “Volethos? What the fucking hells are you doing here?”
His yellow eyes narrow as recognition hits him. “I could ask you the same question, pup,” he groans as he pushes himself up so he can lean against the wall.
Gods damn, he looks like someone dragged him through the sewers of Pamia, beat the shit out of him, and then sent him through a black hole. The last time I saw Volethos, he was being dragged away by one of the galaxy’s most notorious bounty hunters, a male known for being just as dangerous and evil as many of the bounties he brings in.
“I asked first.” I don’t lower my blaster.
Volethos leans his head back and closes his eyes. “After my little argument with Treto and his female, Tamir brought me here. To die, I suspect. Fucking Shirah couldn’t just kill me outright for what I did to his cruiser, he had to stab me and leave me here to slowly bleed to death.” Cracking open one eye, he looks up at me. “And you?”
“Igid,” I growl.
“I thought as much.” He nods solemnly. “Youreekof her. I have to ask, how did you manage to crawl between her legs—”
“Not anotherfuckingword about her!” Stepping forward, I train my blaster on his head.
Volethos lifts his hands, palms up. “My apologies. It’s only that Igid isn’t the type to take a lover.” His eyes narrow on me then, and his lips peel back to flash his sharp teeth with a menacing growl. “You didn’t force her, did you? That might explain why she’d dump you here.”
“No.Gods no, I would never.” How dare he even suggest such a thing. “She’s my mate.”
“Your…mate?” Volethos tips his head back and lets out a deep belly laugh, followed by a painful fit of coughing. “Oh, that’s just perfect! I never thought I’d live to see the day.”
“That’s enough, Vesen,” I warn, keeping my blaster leveled on him, silently begging him to give me an excuse to shoot him.
