The male spun away, running.
Roth lunged forward and pursued. His clothing fell from his body, part of his pants stuck to one leg. It didn’t matter or slow him down.
That human had attempted to kill his mate and had shot Maith.
Humans screamed and shouted out as he turned the corner in the corridor. The shooter kept running, plowing into a few innocent crew members reacting to the sudden attack. Roth had to jump over one female who had been shoved to the ground.
The shooter turned, raw terror displayed on his features. He tried to twist his body to fire at Roth, and it slowed his pace just enough for Roth to leap at the male. The shooter fired but his aim wasn’t accurate. It missed hitting Roth completely.
He didn’t have the same problem hitting his target.
With one swipe, Roth’s claws hooked into the male’s upper arm and raked across his chest.
They both hit the corridor floor hard. Roth could almost hear some of the human’s bones breaking under him, and he inhaled the scent of fresh blood. The male had dropped his weapon upon impact, and Roth dug his claws into the human’s upper arm while using his other paw to swipe at the blaster, sending it flying out of reach.
The human under him recovered enough to suck in loud gasps of air. “Don’t kill me!” he screamed.
Roth sensed Drak near him. He snapped his head toward him and roared. Drak gave a slight nod, turned on all fours, and rushed back to Maith.
Roth gave the human under him his full attention again. Rage still boiled his blood. It was tempting to rip the human apart. Kill him, as the male had tried to kill his mate.
“Don’t hurt me,” the human pleaded again.
Roth opened his mouth, showing off his fangs as he snarled. The scent of piss reached his nose. The human had lost his bladder functions. It caused Roth to adjust his back paws and lift just a little weight off the male. He didn’t want his waste touching him.
Pounded footsteps could be heard even over the alarms, and Roth glanced up. Four security officers rushed toward them.
Roth glared at the shooter and let his claws dig into his prey’s arm a little deeper. The shooter screamed in agony and the blood scent grew.
The temptation to kill the human also grew stronger. Roth resisted. He needed answers. It took vast amounts of control to find his inner calm but he forced his body and mind into submission. His skin tingled and his bones began to transform. In seconds, he could speak to the human…but he kept his claws out.
“Who paid you to hurt Vera?” His voice came out rough but he knew the human understood him.
The shooter sniffled, his eyes full of tears. Roth figured it was from the pain. A male capable of hurting a female had no sense of remorse. Not in his opinion.
“Who paid you to hurt Vera? Tell me or I’ll return to my battle form!”
“Help me!” The human under him twisted his head enough to stare at the four security officers, who had stopped near them, their weapons drawn. “Shoot this fucking freak!”
A flash of nervousness hit Roth. It was possible the humans might stun him. They weren’t members of the tactical teams who had grown to trust the Veslors. He knew his males made a lot of the crew nervous.
Trowly suddenly shoved his way through the four security officers, spotted Roth and the human pinned under him, and yelled, “Lower your weapons now! Mr. Roth, what’s going on? Why are you naked on top of a bleeding man? And someone shut off that fucking weapons alarm!”
In seconds, the alarm stopped blaring. Roth didn’t miss the annoying sound that hurt his ears. He glared down at his prey. “He attempted to shoot my mate. He succeeded in shooting one of my males.”
“I demand legal counsel!” the male under Roth shouted.
Roth snarled. “I demand you tell me who hired you to kill my mate. I swear I will return to my battle form and use my claws to shred every inch of you until you give me that answer.”
“Help me, goddamn it!” the shooter practically screeched.
Roth waited, expecting Trowly to order him to release his prey.
Seconds passed before Trowly spoke. “I’m not in charge of the Veslors. Their handler, Clark Yenna, isn’t here. I strongly suggest you do as Mr. Roth here says before he makes good on his threat. He seems to have quite the temper. And I’d like to hear your answer, myself. I’ve had my fill today of liars who refuse to tell me the truth before they hide behind legal counsel. Who hired you to go after Miss Wade?”
“Are you fucking for real? Get this freak off me!” the shooter begged. “I have rights.”
Roth took advantage of the situation and flexed his claws, still sunk into his prey’s flesh, just enough to cause immense pain. The human under him screamed. Once he stopped, Roth repeated his question. “Who hired you, human?”
“Are you really going to let this freak hurt me?” The male under him was almost sobbing.
“Who?” Roth roared. He twisted his fingers, his claws doing further damage.
“Carson Bickler!” the prey shouted. “Stop!”
Movement drew Roth’s attention as Trowly stepped closer and crouched in front of them. “How did this Bickler contact you? Do you know him in person?” The investigator pulled out a data device. “Is he also on Defcon Red?”
“He’s from Earth. My brother works for him, and he’s the one who reached out to me,” the prey blurted. “It was a lot of money for us to split and I needed it. I was just supposed to poison the bitch, but she fucking lived.”
More rage boiled through Roth. “Don’t insult my mate! Her name is Vera.”
“Okay, okay! Then I was told to try again but I heard she was protected. I told my brother it was too risky—now he’s going to die if I don’t take her out! That’s what the last message threatened. It came directly from his boss. I had no choice but to go after her again. I only have one brother, man, and we’re close.”
“Give me the name of where your brother works.” Trowly was tapping on his data device.
The prey grew quiet.
Roth leaned lower over him, holding his fearful gaze. “Talk, or you lose the arm. I can shred it off.”
“You can’t let him do this to me! I have rights,” the prey whined again, still sobbing a little. “I’m going to bleed to death. My brother’s life is in danger. His boss will kill him for not getting the job done!”
“I don’t care,” Trowly replied, voice devoid of emotion. “You and your brother agreed to take money to kill an innocent woman. Answer my question. Give me the name of where your brother works.”
The prey pressed his lips tightly together, refusing to speak.
Roth dug his claws in deeper still.
The prey screamed. “Gemini!”
“Mr. Roth?”
Roth lifted his head enough to stare at Trowly. The male met his gaze.
“Please release this piece of shit and allow my officers to arrest him. Preferably with his arm still intact so I don’t have to wait for him to undergo surgery before I finish questioning him.” He stood. “I’m also getting updates. The Veslor who was shot is alive and has been taken to Med Bay by one of your team. Clark Yenna informed security that Miss Wade has safely arrived at your cabin, and he’s staying there until you get home. I’m certain that she’s worried about you. I can take it from here, and I promise I’ll find everyone responsible for everything that’s happened to Miss Wade. They will be prosecuted.”
Roth lowered his head closer to the prey under him, permitting the hate to show in his eyes. “I will kill you if my male dies,” he swore. Then he yanked out his claws from the soft flesh. The shooter screamed in agony, rolling to his back and grabbing his bleeding upper arm as Roth got to his feet.
Two security officers rushed forward to grab the male. Roth retreated a few more feet.
Trowly approached him. “Thank you, Mr. Roth. I’ll let you and Clark know everything I learn about the man who hired that piece of shit.”
Roth grumbled and turned, heading
back toward the lift. Half a dozen humans were in sight as he rounded the corridor. Most shrank against the walls to avoid coming into physical contact with him, but one male held out a pile of Roth’s discarded clothing. He must have collected them after Roth had shifted.
He paused and took the pile that included his boots and weapons. He put it in front of his exposed groin. “My thanks,” he said to the brave human.
“Your shirt seemed ripped up the most but the pants will probably work if you want to put them back on. That was really something to see.” The human smiled. “I wish I could switch from normal me into something ferocious.”
Roth wasn’t certain what to say to the human, so he just gave a slight head nod and stalked toward the lift. Laser fire marred the walls next to it. One blast had even scarred the metal doors. They parted, the lift empty. Roth stepped inside, ignoring the sensation of being stared at. He turned to face the doors.
The humans still watched him.
He sighed, knowing they were likely shocked at having seen him completely bare. He dropped the pile of clothes to the floor, hit the button for his level, and quickly put on his pants. As the human had said, the shirt was too damaged to wear. He collected the rest back into his arms just as the lift doors opened. He just wanted to get to his mate.
* * * * *
Guilt ate at Vera. A stranger on Defcon Red had attempted to kill her for a second time. Thankfully, Roth hadn’t been hurt, but one of their grouping had.
They currently stood inside a private laboratory next to Med Bay. Maith lay on his stomach on a med bed with a woman doctor attempting to use a hyper-syringe device on him. The grouping’s medic snarled a warning at her, making her retreat a few feet.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” the woman yelled. “I’m trying to help you. That won’t happen if you keep refusing to let me near you. Stop snarling at me, you grumpy bastard.”
“Maith,” Roth growled. “Enough. Permit her to treat you.”
“I don’t trust her,” Maith grumbled. “I’ll be fine. It’s only a graze.”
“You heard me,” Roth snarled louder.
“I swore I wouldn’t run any scans without your permission, or sneak blood or skin samples,” the woman loudly huffed, her two different-colored eyes blazing. “Those other idiot doctors were about to dope you with a drug that would have made you puke your guts up, Veslor. They don’t know shit about your kind. You should be thanking me for rushing to get to you as soon as I heard you got nailed with a laser blast, and for having Drak bring you to my lab.”
Vera leaned into Roth’s side, curious. “Who is she exactly, and why are they arguing?”
The woman herself answered, overhearing Vera. “I’m the alien research specialist assigned to Defcon Red,” she called out. “Jessa Brick. I’m a doctor who specializes in non-humans. Maith here has refused to let me work on any of his grouping, but he needs me now. Just call me Jessa. I’m informal.”
“Hi.” Vera forced a smile.
“Now hold still, grumpy ass,” Jessa snapped, rushing forward to press the hyper syringe against Maith’s thigh while he was distracted by a glaring contest with Roth. “Done. See? That wasn’t so bad.”
“What did you give me?” Maith twisted his head her way. He growled low…but then his eyes closed and his body went lax. His head fell against the pillow under his cheek.
Jessa chuckled. “He’s out for a good hour.” She placed the hyper syringe down on a tray and picked up a small tool, approaching Maith. “I’m just going to cut off his shirt to get a look.” She lifted the material at his neck, running the tool down the center of the shirt, exposing the Veslor’s back.
Vera saw the wound, and she turned her face into Roth’s chest. She could’ve never gone into the medical field; gross stuff always made her squeamish. The burned skin on Maith’s back near his shoulder blade wasn’t pretty.
“It doesn’t appear bad.” Drak had moved closer to the bed, based on the sound of his voice.
“No. You bastards are tough. I’ll give you that.” Jessa paused. “Maith was right. He just got grazed. The laser split his skin open but it didn’t penetrate deeper. I wish humans had the same skin and bone density as you guys do.”
“It knocked him out.” That was Drak speaking again.
“I doubt it,” Jessa mumbled. “It probably just stunned him for a few seconds. He was probably amazed that someone actually managed to shoot his ass. Is the idiot who did this dead?”
“I permitted him to live.” Roth put his hand on Vera’s back and gently stroked his fingers along her spine.
“Shocking.” Jessa chuckled. “I would have guessed I’d be done treating Maith here long before a cleanup crew were finished wiping down the scene of what was left of the dumbass who went after one of you guys.”
Roth sighed. “The investigator in charge of Vera’s case wanted the male alive to question him.”
“Are you guys growing softer, living with humans?”
One of the Veslors snarled, but it wasn’t Roth. Vera turned her head toward the sound, discovering it had come from Gnaw.
“Kidding! Don’t get your boxers or whatever you wear under your pants in a bind.” Vera risked a glance to see Jessa hovering over Maith’s back, applying a thick white substance to his damaged skin. “Grumpy here will be fine.”
“What are you putting on him?” Roth kept stroking Vera’s back.
“It’s a burn treatment cream that I managed to synthetize from the minimum medical information your king has allowed me to have. According to what I read, it will help him heal faster and reduce the risk of scarring. It’s mostly used on facial injuries. I also learned that most adult males refuse to use it. Just your females and children.” Jessa raised her head to stare at Roth. “Don’t let him wash it off for at least six hours. Knowing Maith, he probably likes scars, but they make shifting more painful in certain areas of the body. It’s right over his right shoulder blade. I imagine that’s one of the ouchie areas.”
“Why did you make this cream?” Roth asked.
“Um, because I remembered the last time one of you guys got shot with a laser. I wanted to be prepared.” Jessa finished spreading the cream on Maith, dropping the tube on a tray before removing her gloves. “I figured it was just a matter of time before grumpy ass here got hurt, and you guys might actually need me. I know I’ve been tempted to shoot him myself.”
Roth snorted a laugh. “I will make Maith wait to remove the cream.”
“Great.” Jessa peered at Vera, glancing between her and Roth. “Is this the one I heard rumors about? The one from the bar, who you’ve been protecting?”
“Vera is my mate,” Roth admitted.
Jessa’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. She recovered fast, her eyes practically gleaming with…excitement? “Has it been at least twelve hours since you mated her?”
Roth hesitated. “Yes.”
Jessa rushed across the room to grab a strange handheld device off a charging station on one of the counters. She started to walk toward them with it, then paused. “May I?” She pointed at Vera, but her gaze was locked on Roth’s face.
Roth tensed as he pulled Vera closer. “What do you want to do?”
“You don’t seem like a guy who mates without doing it in the proper Veslor fashion. Since grumpy-ass is snoozing on the only med bed in here, I can’t take detailed scans of her body. I want to perform a blood test on your mate. I adapted this one specifically with Darla’s help. She was nice enough to let me take a few blood samples from her before the twins were born, to perfect a Veslor-slash-human pregnancy test. We’ll know in seconds! I just need her to place her fingertip on the end of this. It will take a drop of blood and analyze it.”
“Will it hurt Vera?” Roth kept her tightly pressed to his body.
“There will be a tiny jab of a needle. A pinprick.”
Roth lowered his chin to peer at Vera. “Will you agree to this test? I trust Jessa.”
Vera definitely
wanted to know if she were pregnant. “Sure.”
“Great!” Jessa beamed, looking entirely too happy as she closed the distance and held out the device that resembled a tube about the size of a bulky pen, attached to a small metal box with a touch pad at the base. “Just push a finger into the hole at the end, Vera. It’s fast.”
Roth released her. Vera turned to face the doctor, eyeing the weird-looking device. There was indeed a hole at the end of the extended tube. She lifted her hand and inserted her index finger into the tip.
A needle quickly jabbed her, but then an icy-cold blast hit her skin, soothing the sting. Vera pulled her finger back, studying it. She didn’t see any blood, or even a prick where the needle had gone, though her fingertip did tingle a little.
Jessa backed up, her entire focus on the bottom part of the device. “Just a few minutes. I programmed it to run the test five times to be certain before it gives me the results.”
Roth pulled Vera’s back against his chest, wrapping his arm around her waist to hug her tight. She clung to his wrist with both hands.
Her heart pounded. She wanted kids. Especially with Roth. The possibility also scared her a little too. She had originally planned to be in her mid-forties before she was able to retire from New Worlds, financially stable enough to support a family. But between what had happened on Biter and meeting Roth, all that mattered was living life as happily as she could.
A small smile curved Jessa’s mouth as she lifted her chin. Her gaze darted between Roth and Vera. “We’ve got another Veslor baby—or possibly babies—on the way! The tests are positive. You’re going to be parents!” The woman suddenly released one side of the device and pumped her fist in the air. “Yes!”
Then, as if that wasn’t enough of a shock for Vera, Jessa suddenly stepped closer, her strange-looking different-colored eyes fixing on her. “Please pick me to deliver your baby, or babies, if there’s more than one! You don’t want a bad-tempered, glowering Veslor standing between your thighs while you give birth.”
Vera didn’t get a chance to respond. Roth spun her in his arms and gently hugged her. Tears filled her eyes. They were going to be parents. That wonderful rumble he made started deep in his chest, where her face was pressed against him, and she smiled.
Mission: Planet Biter (Veslor Mates Book 4) Page 18
