Freed by the Wolf

by Elin Wyn

  My nails bit into the palms of my hands. “I’m already home.” Or I would be, as soon as Ronan found me. He’d find me. He had to.

  As usual, my father ignored me. “Your mother and I have put it out that you’ve been on an intensive multi-year internship. A number of your suitors are still waiting, even if your level of drive over these years is unseemly.”

  “Send them away,” I forced a laugh. ““You’d made it clear I shouldn’t return when I left school. Maybe you should have told them the same thing.”

  His mouth pursed. “It’s one thing for you to have an interest, an education. Another entirely for you to go out to the slums, actually work with the dregs of the empire.” Mother’s fingers patted the edge of his sleeve, but he brushed her off. “It’s time for this foolishness to end.”

  Slums? Loree, the rest of my patients on Orem, dregs? The hot spark of anger drove my tongue. “The council is supposed to be working for the people out here, isn’t it? The council isn’t just to represent the citizens of the Hub to the Emperor.”

  “You’ve been cosseted, sheltered your entire life. You have no idea how depraved those people are.”

  Bitter words sprang to my tongue, but I swallowed them. One thing I’d learned over the last few weeks. Focus on what I could do. And that was always more than I expected.

  “There’s no point to this, you know.”

  “I couldn’t agree more.” He sat back, the smug look I’d always hated branded on his face.

  The credit spikes glittered in their padded slots. I pulled one from the case without looking at the position, and held the sharp point to my wrist.

  “Tell him to stop the flitter.”

  He snorted. “You won’t do anything.”

  Digging in, I twisted the spike until blood welled around the tip. “You have no idea what I can do, what I’ve done.”

  A crease formed between his eyebrows as he scowled. “Stop this foolishness.”

  “There’s nothing foolish left in me anymore.” I dragged the tip down the vein, ignoring the sharp ache. “Tell him to stop.”

  I slid off the seat onto the floor as the flitter skidded to a stop, the credit spike flying from my hand. The crunch of metal drowned whatever bile my father had been about to spit at me and the screen split, ending the transmission.

  A row of holes ruptured the top of the flitter and, with a wrench, Ronan tore the roof away, his face contorted in rage, the sleeves of his shirt hanging in tatters from his bulging shoulders.

  I reached for him and buried my head in his chest as he lifted me away from the wreckage.

  “Why do I smell your blood?” he growled, arm tightening around my waist.

  “I couldn’t figure out how else to make them stop, I didn’t have anything else to bargain with.”

  “We’re going to talk about that. And a few other things.”

  The scent of urine filled the air as Ronan pulled the driver up by the throat, his legs kicking uselessly.

  “It’s not his fault, he didn’t hurt me.”

  Ronan didn’t waver.

  “I don’t think my father gave him a choice.”

  “There’s always a choice.” Snarling, he tossed the driver to the deck, scooped me up and stalked away.

  “Wait!” I struggled to get down, but he was having none of it. “The credits!”

  “Don’t care.”

  “We’ll need them, I think we need to buy a new ship.”

  Muttering, he went back for the case.

  It wasn’t much, just a battered cargo ship built long before I was born.

  But we couldn’t be picky. We’d needed someone who’d sell for cash, and in a hurry.

  “If my father could convince someone to kidnap me from Thantorn, I wouldn’t put it past him to stick a tracker on our ship.”

  Ronan grunted, punched the jump coordinates in.

  “Besides, I didn’t think you liked the old ship.”

  We cleared the station, and, with a soft whirr, hit jump space.

  Still, he said nothing, just worked the controls, jaw tight.

  Screw this.

  “Bunny?” I tilted my head, put on my most vapid look. “I left my new dress back at the hotel. Can we go back and get it?”

  He stared at me, then dropped his head in his hands. “What were you thinking?”

  “I thought we’d be able to get down, get the bug planted, and, since we seem to be about to go to war, the credits wouldn’t hurt.”

  He leaned back, eyes narrowed. “Where the hell did you get four million credits from, anyway?”

  “My grandmother.” I tucked my legs up under me. “I’ve always thought her money was why my father married my mother. Void knows it wasn’t for love. But Grandmother couldn’t stand him or his political ambitions, and left it all to me.”

  “He’s on the Imperial council?”

  “Yeah,” I sighed. “Clawed his way to the top, and was profoundly disappointed that I didn’t want to help him make alliances.”

  At the low rumble of Ronan’s displeasure, I reached across to his chair, wove my fingers into his. “After I graduated med school, I withdrew enough to disappear, and never contacted them again.”

  “He must have had an alert out for you on all stations to have an agent in place so fast.”

  I giggled. “We were pretty occupied last night. They had a little time to work.”

  “True.”

  His back relaxed, and so did I. We were alright, and that was all I cared about. My parents, my past, none of that mattered any more.

  “Why don’t you get some sleep, since I kept you up so late?” He stretched out in the captain’s seat. “I’ll wake you when we get there.”

  Since there was nothing else to do, it seemed like a fine idea.

  I closed my eyes and drifted off.

  “Just quit with the fucking ‘Bunny,’ alright?”

  I never thought returning to the Star would feel like coming home, but the faces of our friends when we came out of the new ship into the docking bay made all the difference.

  “What happened to the Legacy?” Aeden wondered.

  “Couldn’t get the stink out.” I followed Ronan across the floor. “Any problems with our guests?”

  “Nope. Conner and Eris found a place to dump them.”

  “That ice planet?”

  Aeden snorted. “They considered it, but found an Imperial cruiser nearing one of the old Cilurnum stations. Nixie pulled enough data from their old ship that should convict the lot of them three times over.”

  We all headed up to the bridge, where Eris and the rest of the crew waited.

  “Did it work?” I blurted out, and she grinned.

  “Nixie got the codes about an hour before you got back. We’ve been waiting to go in.”

  Ronan glared at my bandaged wrist, but didn’t say anything. The men formed a protective arc around us before he called out. “Hey, AI, can you hear me?”

  I poked his back and hissed, “Nixie.”

  “Fine. Nixie, you there?”

  “Hi! Thanks for sending me their data. They have all sorts of interesting things locked in Thantorn. Did you know-”

  Ronan’s fingers twitched, but he kept his voice admirably calm. “Nixie, can you open the bridge door now?”

  “Oh, sure! Here you go.”

  And, silently, the doors slid apart, air rushing in past us with a whoosh.

  The bridge had been expansive, control chairs for a dozen crew members were scattered at their stations.

  But only one was occupied.

  On a slight dais, still in command of her ship, Captain Whorton waited.

  Her body had shriveled with time, but her strong features were clear under the close cropped dark hair. Her arms lay almost at ease on the rests of her chair.

  We fanned out through the room, Hakon and Eris checking the controls, while the rest of us waited, and wondered.

  “Control of the jump drive restored,” Hakon said softl
y.

  “Eris, I’ve found a series of audio messages in the files, locked to this location. Should I play the final one?”

  Ronan nodded at Connor’s questioning glance.

  “This is Captain Amano Whorton. The bastards took my ship, but I’ll not give them control, not if I can help it. To anyone who finds this, I’m assuming you’re with the company, since you have my code. This is my official testimony: General Melchior and his men took this ship, killed the civilian passengers, and have started converting it to their own use. I’ve done my best to block them from as many systems as possible, but I fear I’ve underestimated the extent of their sabotage.”

  A rattling cough interrupted the recording. “Sorry about that. I also underestimated how long I’d be under siege here. Ran out of water a few days back. I don’t think I’m getting out of this. I failed the passengers and crew under my care. There’s nothing I can do about that. But to whoever is listening to this, get the murdering bastard. I’ve attached my military credentials to this recording, it should stand up in an Imperial court.” Another cough, weaker this time. “And that’s about it. Good luck. Make him pay.”

  “You did well, Captain,” Ronan murmured. “We’ll do just that.”

  The Wolves stood in silence, and I wondered what we’d be able to do. Melchior might have been behind the attack, but he’d be long dead, as well. But someone had been carrying on his work, and that someone would bear the brunt of the Pack’s anger.

  “Um, Eris?” Nixie’s bright chatter shook me from my thoughts.

  “Not now, Nixie, okay?”

  “Really, I think you want this.”

  Connor glared at Eris, but she just shrugged. “What did you find?”

  “I’ve been scanning for all mentions of wolves or the word Daedalus that seem out of place since we left Skarth. This…” for once the AI seemed at a loss for words. “This is out of place. It’s a post on a forum, no signature.”

  A strange woman’s voice echoed through the bridge, low and haunting

  “Time bringeth swift to end,”

  Ronan’s hand tightened in mine, and every one of his brothers jolted as if shocked.

  “The rout men keep.”

  One by one, the men recited the words along with the recording.

  “Death’s wolf is nigh to rend these silly sheep.”

  The voice faded, but the men looked around, an odd gleam of hope in their eyes.

  “It’s from an ancient poet-”

  “Rumi,” Ronan interrupted. “We know. Doc thought it was funny.”

  “There’s an image attached to the message, and an anonymous comm address for replies.”

  “Let’s see what the image is first.” Ronan tensed, and I braced for yet another horror.

  On the main screen of the bridge, an image resolved of two men standing side by side and grinning. Nothing more.

  “That’s Dav and Killian,” Xander shouted, and slapped Ronan’s back. “They’re alive!”

  I wasn’t listening, my attention focused on the small park they stood in.

  “I know where that is,” I said, voice shaking.

  Ronan glanced down. “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know if it’s wrong or not, but I’d swear, that’s the little park outside my old clinic.” I looked around at the pack. “They’re on Orem.”

  Epilogue: Ronan

  I stood on the bridge of our still nameless ship, watching the Star as it flickered, preparing to make its final jump into the sun. A fitting funeral pyre for the captain, my brothers, and the rest of the Hunters’ victims.

  Conner and Eris had left with the captive slavers, with Geir, Hakon, and Lorcan along to help with the transfer. Nixie had something planned to get Norman and his crew onto the Imperial ship, and, honestly, I didn’t want to know.

  We’d wait for them in orbit around Orem, but, for now, there was nothing to do but watch the past burn.

  In the corner of my eye, I caught movement.

  “You can’t let it be just about vengeance.” Erich said. “Not anymore.”

  He was right, as usual.

  “Now it’s about justice,” I answered him, watching him fade, letting him go. “And answers for all of us.”

  Nadira came behind me, wrapped her arm around my waist. “Talking to Erich?”

  I shook my head, turned away from the Star, from the nightmare.

  “Just saying goodbye.” I kissed her hair, breathing in the clean, sweet smell of her. “And preparing for war.”

  The End… for now

  Book five, Craved by the Wolf is available for preorder now!

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  About the Author

  I love old movies – To Catch a Thief, Notorious, All About Eve — and anything with Katherine Hepburn in it. Clever, elegant people doing clever, elegant things.

  I’m a hopeless romantic.

  And I love science fiction and the promise of space.

  So it makes perfect sense to me to try to merge all of those loves into a new science fiction world, where dashing heroes and lovely ladies have adventures, get into trouble, and find their true love in the stars!

  ……………….

  The Empire’s Fringe – Science Fiction Romance

  The Empire’s Fringe Bundle

  All of the below stories, at a special price! http://emmagalebooks.com/home/

  Staked

  In the slums of space station Cilurnum 8, fiercely independent Anisha Cheng must decide how far she’s willing to trust Kieran Matthias, the one man who she’s ever allowed to break her heart. If she can’t, she risks losing the Sapphire Star, her late father’s bar and the only home she knows, to a crime syndicate in three days. But as Anisha and Kieran try to work together, the plans of the syndicate may break them apart forever.

  Jewel of Empire

  On the spaceliner Dynomius, reformed cat burglar Audrey Pilgram has three weeks to prove her innocence of a series of copycat crimes, or all the sins of her past will be laid at her door. But her quest to uncover the culprit is complicated when she sees the next target - tall, handsome Phillip Lapsys. Can she stop the theft of the jewel before he steals her heart?

  Raven’s Heart

  Jayna wasn’t looking for trouble. Her plan was to keep her head down, save her money, and get back into to med school. But when she overhears the plans for a bio-terrorism attack that could wipe out the population of her station, her world is turned upside down. Raven’s Heart is a steamy science fiction romance complete novella with a happy ending, containing nebula hot scenes of passion.

  Stolen

  An alien artifact. Archaeologist Eliya Cafeal has spent her life in pursuit of this find - and nothing is going to get in her way. Certainly not a rogue and a scoundrel, even if he makes her blood catch fire. Captain Ruvon Taxal likes his life. Few close friends, a spot of petty smuggling or charter trips as needed. No restrictions, and nothing to tie him down. And if his newest passenger, a feisty archaeologist with storm grey eyes, has gotten under his skin, well, he'll learn to live without her when she leaves. But everything is changed when Eliya is stolen.

  Claimed

  In the remote mountains of a frontier planet, tinke
rer and part-time inventor Paige Roth has her hands full protecting her claim against the goons of MagnorCo. With the help of her robots, she's doing pretty well, but the last thing she expects to fall into one of her traps is a handsome stranger trying to hike through the mountains for reasons of his own. He's handsome enough to make her forget where she put her toolkit, but can she trust him?

  Also by Elin Wyn

  The Empire’s Fringe – Science Fiction Romance

  The Empire’s Fringe Bundle

  All of the below stories, at a special price! http://emmagalebooks.com/home/

  Staked

  In the slums of space station Cilurnum 8, fiercely independent Anisha Cheng must decide how far she’s willing to trust Kieran Matthias, the one man who she’s ever allowed to break her heart. If she can’t, she risks losing the Sapphire Star, her late father’s bar and the only home she knows, to a crime syndicate in three days. But as Anisha and Kieran try to work together, the plans of the syndicate may break them apart forever.

  Jewel of Empire

  On the spaceliner Dynomius, reformed cat burglar Audrey Pilgram has three weeks to prove her innocence of a series of copycat crimes, or all the sins of her past will be laid at her door. But her quest to uncover the culprit is complicated when she sees the next target - tall, handsome Phillip Lapsys. Can she stop the theft of the jewel before he steals her heart?

  Raven’s Heart

  Jayna wasn’t looking for trouble. Her plan was to keep her head down, save her money, and get back into to med school. But when she overhears the plans for a bio-terrorism attack that could wipe out the population of her station, her world is turned upside down. Raven’s Heart is a steamy science fiction romance complete novella with a happy ending, containing nebula hot scenes of passion.

  Stolen

  An alien artifact. Archaeologist Eliya Cafeal has spent her life in pursuit of this find - and nothing is going to get in her way. Certainly not a rogue and a scoundrel, even if he makes her blood catch fire. Captain Ruvon Taxal likes his life. Few close friends, a spot of petty smuggling or charter trips as needed. No restrictions, and nothing to tie him down. And if his newest passenger, a feisty archaeologist with storm grey eyes, has gotten under his skin, well, he'll learn to live without her when she leaves. But everything is changed when Eliya is stolen.