by Renee Rose
Lamira’s focus had gone soft, the way it did when she reached for information beyond her normal means. “Yes. She will love being pregnant the next time. And it will be soon.”
His nostrils flared. Not his Bayla. Not by another male. He wanted to jump on a spacecraft and follow her to the training pod immediately. Kill any male—Zandian or human—who even thought about breeding with her.
But that wasn’t right. He’d failed to consider her feelings and chosen her fate for her once with disastrous results. This time, she deserved to choose her own path. And she’d chosen to leave him.
As much as it pained him, he must honor her wishes and let her go.
Even though it would probably kill him.
Chapter Eleven
“Is this too tight?” Bayla wrapped a gauze bandage around the wrist of Tal, Cambry’s brother, a young human male who made up part of the human army Prince Zander was training to take back his planet. He’d cut himself sparring with another human in their daily fighting practice.
In the two weeks since she’d arrived on the training pod, she’d tended to at least thirty such surface wounds in the medical unit, which also doubled as her chamber.
“No, it’s perfect.” He flexed his wrist to make sure it still bent with the bandage. Handsome and built of lean muscle, Tal was about the same age as Bayla. From his seated position on the cot, he gazed up at her with seeming attraction.
Funny how she had absolutely zero interest.
For the first time in her life, she was free to choose a mate of her own. On a pod with more a hundred humans, the pickings weren’t all bad, either. But, despite the fertility drugs still in her system, she found no excitement in being near human males. Nor even the larger, purple-skinned Zandians, as stunning as the warriors were.
None of them were Daneth, the capable doctor who had locked a riot of emotion beneath a cool, clinical surface. Whose lust for her was so great, he lost all control.
Only when she remembered the way he’d taken her—so roughly and yet so tenderly, with so much urgent intensity—did she experience arousal.
Stars, would she ever find another male like that? The idea sickened her. She didn’t want another male. She wanted to be back at the palatial pod, helping Daneth. Serving him. She wanted to be his breeder. To bear his beautiful young. To suckle them, raise them, and help the Zandian species live on with interspecies mixing.
If she were honest, she’d admit she hated it on the training pod. It was clean and well-kept, but a metallic, functional environment. It had none of the luxury and opulence of the palatial pod. The food was horrible. She slept on a cot in the cramped medical unit, which was no worse than what she’d had on the fertility farm, but between Daneth’s sleepdisk and her cage’s pad, she’d been spoiled.
She missed the colors and the amplified light of the palatial pod. She missed Chef Barr and the food.
But, mostly, she missed the sense of belonging. With Daneth, she’d held a power. She knew how to arouse her male, how to satisfy him. She’d enjoyed his desire. His need.
Here, she didn’t feel helpless—not the way she always had on the fertility farm. But she definitely wasn’t needed or powerful, either. She’d been assigned chores and duties, mostly in the medical unit, but it all seemed rather meaningless.
She tucked the loose ends of the bandage into the wrap. “That should do it. Try not to break the wound open. Give it a few days to knit closed.”
Tal stood and smiled down at her. “Why don’t I see you in the sparring ring? Don’t you want to learn to fight?”
She shuddered. “No. Fighting isn’t for me. I’ll leave that to the stronger females, like your sister.”
“What is for you?” His voice had softened, and he reached for her.
She stepped quickly back, stumbling against a metal table. “I-I don’t know. Nursing, I guess.” The emptiness in her stomach twisted into a knot. Nursing was all she had now. But it wasn’t where she belonged. Again, her hand drifted to her belly, as if in memory of the babies she’d grown there.
Was breeding truly her calling?
A wave of nausea passed through her. She’d been queasy off and on for the past week. The nutrition packs on the pod probably didn’t agree with her stomach.
But another thought hit her, causing her to sway on her feet.
Tal caught her elbow. “Are you all right? You look pale.”
She sat down on the cot. “Yes. Yes, I’m all right. Just ready for the next meal, that’s all.”
“Well, come on. I’ll walk you to the mess hall.”
She shook her head. “No, you go on ahead. I need to finish something here.”
He studied her for a moment then nodded. “Want me to bring you a nutrition pack here?”
She stood to prove she was fine. “No, I’ll be right behind you. See you in a bit!” The moment he left, she threw open the cabinets, searching through the supplies. She’d seen a blood test kit somewhere. Or was it a urine test? Yes! She pulled out the urine test. She didn’t know how to read, but they’d used these at the fertility farm. All she had to do was pee on a pad and watch the colors. Pink indicated a female baby. Blue a male. If it remained gray, she wasn’t pregnant.
Her heart tapped a sharp staccato as she shoved the test in her pocket and headed to the washroom. There weren’t many on the pod, and they often had lines of people waiting to use them, but those waiting after her would have to be patient.
Unbelievably, the washroom was empty. Everyone must in the mess hall for dinner. She activated the door, which swished open. Fingers trembling, she unwrapped the test. Yes, it was the same as she’d been given on the fertility farm. She could do this.
She peed on the stick and waited, forcing all conjecture out of her mind. No need to think until she knew for sure.
A long minute passed.
Then another.
She squeezed her eyes closed and forced her mind to stop churning. Either she was, or she wasn’t. She was or she wasn’t.
She was. With a boy.
She disconnected the results from the pee stick, disposing of the stick, and charged out of the washroom, a sheen of tears moistening her eyes.
Daneth’s baby. The thought nearly brought her to her knees with joy. But as she jogged down the corridor, reality sank in.
Where was she running? To call Daneth?
What did she think he would do? He thought his genes unsuitable for a young. Would he want her to abort? Surely not. He’d probably send for her, to keep her under his medical care.
But that thought didn’t cheer her, either.
She didn’t want to be back in Daneth’s lab if he didn’t want her. It would be too painful. No, better to not tell him, or anyone, yet. She returned to the medical unit—little more than a tiny room with two cots and two cabinets full of supplies—and tucked the test results under the pillow on her cot.
~.~
Lundric rechecked the strap on Cambry’s helmet for the fourth time. They stood inside the hatch of the battleship, ready for their reconnaissance mission.
She stopped his hand, closing her smaller fingers over his large ones. “It’s on,” she murmured.
His lips tightened. “I don’t want you along.”
“We’ve talked about this five hundred times. You agreed. Rok approved it. Prince Zander approved it. I’m your partner. We go together.”
A muscle in his jaw tightened visibly. She reached up to touch his handsome face, the incredible male who, for some unknown reason, had decided she belonged to him. “I’m a warrior. Like you. That’s what you love about me. Now, let’s go get what we need.”
He stamped his lips over hers, giving her a hard kiss. She hoped it was a promise of what he’d do to her when they returned. Her mate was never gentle, but she adored his passion and rough lovemaking.
“Let’s do it.” He sat in the pilot’s chair and fastened his harness.
She slid in beside him, buckling hers.
“R
econ One clear for takeoff,” Rok said over the comms unit.
“All surveillance equipment activated and ready. Cloaking activated. Taking off,” Lundric spoke.
They flew in silence as he turboboost them straight toward Zandia. Long minutes ticked by, yet, when Lundric broke through to the atmosphere for Zandia, it seemed far sooner than she’d expected. He entered alongside several larger airships, using them as cover, though they had their cloaking up.
She drew in a breath at the sight. The planet had been decimated. Mining operations were apparent everywhere. Earth overturned into mountains of tailings, huge pits pockmarked the surface. Huge vehicles streamed like insects, moving dirt.
She saw no sign of a population. It seemed the Finn had not taken Zandia as a place to live— Clearly, it served as a resource to rape.
She glanced over at Lundric. His skin had turned pale, mouth tightened. “It’s sickening, isn’t it?”
“Horrible.” His voice sounded hollow.
“Rok, are you getting this?”
“We’re getting it.” Rok sounded equally grim. “Where is the capital? Can you swing around?”
Lundric changed the course of the ship, zooming around the arc of the planet for a different view. There, Cambry saw only the rubble of a destroyed city.
“It looks the same as the day I left,” Rok said. “They didn’t rebuild or clean up a thing.”
“Where do you think they live? I mean there have to be workers on the planet, right?”
“Look,” Lundric said, pointing at movement near the rubble. He expanded the image they were looking at.
Beings were camped everywhere in the rubble. In the twenty solar cycles since they took over, the Finn hadn’t rebuilt, they’d simply occupied the space like vagrants, setting up lean-tos, tents, and other temporary housing amongst the rubble.
Cambry enlarged the image more, wanting to see the Finn up close. “Ugh.” They were troll-like creatures with fat, round heads and mouths full of sharp, ugly teeth. They appeared to be the same size as humans, if not shorter, but stout and bulged with muscles.
“Turn on X-ray sensors,” Rok instructed.
Lundric did, and they saw a network of hollow tunnels beneath the earth. No beings appeared to be in them.
“Those were ours. That’s how I escaped,” Rok said. “It looks like they aren’t using them. That could be our way in.”
“Let’s check out the other end.” Lundric maneuvered the ship around the opposite curve of the planet.
Some of the tightness in Cambry’s chest released. The terrain had been untouched on this side. Trees, bushes, and other green foliage grew. The land jutted and arced into natural mountains and hills, and water stood in lakes.
“Thank the true Zandian star,” Lundric breathed.
Rok chuckled, his own relief evident in the quick release of his breath. “It’s still there. That’s great news.”
“Yeah, for a moment there, I was wondering if this planet was worth fighting to get back,” Cambry said.
“It certainly is.” Rok’s voice vibrated with pride.
Cambry spotted movement from the top of their viewing area. “Lundric, we have company.”
Lundric dropped sharply and circled around. “Cloaking still activated.”
“You have enough data. Get out of there,” Rok barked.
“Copy that. Exiting Zandian atmosphere.”
He circled around to go back to the line of air traffic where they’d entered, but an explosion rocked their ship.
Cambry’s body flung against her restraints as the ship flipped and dropped into a spin.
“Controlling spin,” Lundric reported tersely.
Incredibly, he pulled them out of it and shot away from the planet, breaking through the atmosphere into space.
“Cloaking damaged. Turbospeed inactive. One engine down.”
“Stay in the air. Backup is en route to assist.”
More shots were fired. Their pursuer had followed them outside Zandia’s atmosphere.
“We’re still under fire. Repeat, we’re under fire.”
“Return fire. Assistance is not far.”
Cambry unbuckled and ran for the weaponry at the top of the craft. The last time they were under attack, she hadn’t known how to use the weaponry, but she’d had more training since then. She buckled in and gripped the trigger on the laser guns. “Ready to fire.”
Lundric dropped and flipped the ship, bringing her directly in front of their assailant. The blood rushed to her head, but her harness held her in place as they hung upside down. She let loose with all the firepower she had, striking the ship repeatedly.
Lundric yelled something, but she couldn’t hear over the laser discharge.
The Finn’s ship blew up, dropping out of view.
Lundric flipped their airship right side up, and her stomach roiled.
“Two more incoming,” Lundric shouted.
Again, her mate managed to swing around to line her up to shoot. She missed one, but shot down the other, but they took a major hit to one wing. The ship wobbled.
“Hang on, I’ve got you!” Her brother’s voice shouted through their comms unit.
Thank the stars! Tal magnetized their ship and shot into turbospeed, sweeping them away from their enemies.
Smoke filled the ship. Oh stars.
“Lundric?” she screamed.
He coughed. “I’m...all right. Stay where you are.”
“Are we on fire?”
“I’m...putting it out.”
She heard the spray of the fire extinguisher, and white powder filled the air, along with the black smoke. She couldn’t see a thing. Couldn’t breathe.
“Lundric?”
Her vision began to fade. No. Hell no. She couldn’t pass out now. Lundric needed her help.
She unbuckled from her harness, but they must be upside down, because she fell onto her head, and the haze of smoke and powder faded to black.
~.~
Daneth gripped his medical case and strode briskly onto the training pod. Zander, himself, had flown them there the moment they’d received word of serious injuries. Lundric and Cambry had been shot down while on their reconnaissance mission, but their burning ship had been extracted by another ship.
“Where are the injured?” he barked. He hadn’t been on the pod before and didn’t want to waste precious time wandering around.
“I’ll take you to the medical unit, Master Daneth,” a guard nearby offered, already starting down the corridor in front of him.
He followed, leaving Zander to a briefing with Rok. The “medical unit” was nothing more than a closet-sized room, jammed with two narrow cots and cabinet of supplies.
Bayla. Even though he’d known he’d see her, the sight of his beautiful human nearly brought him to his knees. Whatever resolve he’d had to let her go evaporated when he saw her. Every cell in his body screamed for him to claim her, mark her as his, mate her. Yes, breed her. He wanted her in the most basic, primal way. As a male needs a female. As a lover gives his heart.
She stood leaning over Cambry, who lay unconscious on one cot, soot covering her face and clothing. Lundric sat on the cot beside her, dodging Lily’s attempts to clean the gashes on his head and face.
“Don’t worry about me,” he growled. “She’s the one who needs help.”
“Everyone clear out,” he ordered.
Bayla and Lily moved toward the door but didn’t leave, clearly wanting to be of help. “You, too, if you’re refusing treatment,” he said to Lundric.
“I’m not leaving her,” Lundric thundered.
Cambry whimpered.
“Your shouting won’t help her head wound. This area is too small for me to function adequately. Stand in the corridor unless I ask you for something.”
This time, all three of them exited, giving him enough room to set his case down and pull out the necessary monitoring equipment. He scanned Cambry for injuries. Multiple contusions, abrasions, and bur
ns. The only serious injury was a blow to the head. He shot her with an analgesic and anti-inflammatory agent. When he pulled her eyelids back and checked her pupils, she whimpered again, which he took as a good sign. She wasn’t too deeply unconscious if sounds and touch bothered her.
“Captain Lundric,” he summoned her mate.
“Yes?” Lundric charged back into the small space.
“I will scan your injuries now.”
“What about Cambry?” Lundric demanded.
“I have administered a painkiller and something to bring down the swelling. I expect her to wake soon. Now, sit down.”
Lundric scowled but sat, staring only at his mate as Daneth performed a quick scan. He also had multiple contusions, abrasions, and burns.
“Bayla.” His tone altered when he spoke her name, and he was certain everyone in the room would stop and stare. He hadn’t been able to touch her yet, or speak to her, but his voice caressed the sweet syllables of her name like a lover.
“Yes, Master?” Her voice was sweeter and more musical than he’d remembered.
My darling. Please come here so I can hold you. If only. “You and Lily may continue with the cleaning and dressing of the wounds. Prior to bandaging, please use this solution to cleanse and this one to prevent infection. I also have a topical pain-relief spray that should be effective on the burns. You’ll need to take more care with Cambry’s wounds, as humans do not heal at the same rate as Zandians.”
His sweet human moved in swiftly, following his instructions with attention and care.
He wanted to stop her. To sweep her into his arms and apologize. To tell her what she meant to him. But the timing was all wrong. The patients required attention first.
Soon, though. Soon, he would attempt to win back the heart of the only being who’d ever seen beyond his walls.
“Let me hold her,” Lundric demanded, trying to reach past Bayla to pick up his mate.
“Don’t move her,” Daneth snapped. “Cambry needs rest and quiet. You have given her neither. If you wish to be a comfort to your mate, sit beside her and hold her hand. Speak to her softly and ask her to wake up. All else is a detriment.”
