by Octavia Kore
He knows, the voice in his mind whispered. They know.
Chapter 20
Brin
Jun was alive.
His body had filled with relief at the sight of her face. Her skin had a healthy glow to it, and her eyes had been bright and clear. No sign of the pain that had crippled her in his cell remained. Nuzal had done that.
The guards on either side of him growled, shoving him forward when his steps faltered. He could feel Raou’s eyes on his back, burning into his scarred flesh. If he was here, then Jun was safe from him. For now.
The male who had arrived with him, a scientist, Brin assumed by the way he scrolled through the files on his comm, walked ahead of them, barking orders as they passed through a set of doors into a large room. A single reclining chair sat in the middle of it, surrounded by high-tech machines Brin was unfamiliar with. These looked nothing like the medbays on the Grutex ships he had been on. They were keeping secrets.
The lights in the room flickered for only a second, making Brin wonder if it was Nyissa attempting to hack into the system. She needed all the time he could give her. He’d hoped she would be able to find something, anything, but so far, she hadn’t even been able to tell him how long they had been on the ship, or even how much time had passed since their abduction from Earth.
Nyissa rested when he did, so she would have been completely unaware of what was happening during his time in the cryochamber. Perhaps his cooperation would bring her closer to a more helpful source. His AI was resourceful and good at what he’d programmed her to do. He had faith in her.
A rough hand pressed into the middle of his back, knocking him forward. Brin turned his head to see Raou glaring at him, a grin pulling at the newer scars on the side of his face. The male caught him around the throat, and he stumbled backward, trying to stay on his feet as he advanced.
“This time,” Raou growled as Brin’s legs bumped into the lower section of the chair. “This time, I will torture you.”
Brin hit the seat so hard he felt the air leave his lungs. He managed a smile as the guards removed the cuffs before placing the chair’s bonds around his wrists and ankles. A thick strap was secured over his chest and hips as Raou stepped away. Brin watched him converse with the other male, the scientist who didn’t seem to like Nuzal. Their heads were bowed close together, and they spoke in hushed tones as they looked over whatever was on the other male’s comm.
Taking a deep, calming breath, Brin closed his eyes and thought of his little mate. She was alive and waiting for him in that cell and he would do anything to get back to her. Being away from her, not knowing if she was okay, had been the hardest thing he’d ever been through. Brin had been separated from people he loved before, many times, but having a mate was something entirely different. How had he ever presumed he could live without her? All those plans to leave her on Earth, to go on with his life like she had never existed, were laughable now.
His heart would have never allowed it.
“Your heart will get you killed, Ruvator,” Brega had once sneered at him.
Brin peered down his body at the bindings and resisted the urge to laugh. Perhaps she was right about that after all.
Raou looked up from the holoscreen as Brin chuckled, the lid over his missing eye caving into the empty socket as he frowned. “Come, Vodk. Let’s begin.”
“Yes, Vodk, I was wondering when the torture was going to start. It’s rude to keep me waiting.” Brin grinned at the obvious irritation it caused in the warrior. “Do the Grutex regenerate missing parts, or will you always be this ugly?”
Raou rushed him, jumping onto the chair as his tail dug into the outside of his thigh. “I should have just killed you that night. I should have bathed in your lifeblood and taken your female.”
“That’s enough, Raou. You’ll tear him apart before I can even find the information the Kaia seeks.” Vodk nudged the warrior’s shoulder until he climbed down, yanking his tail from Brin’s flesh so hard that his leg jumped on the table. “There are other ways to exact revenge, warrior.”
“What do you have in mind?” Raou asked.
Vodk tapped on the pad to the right of the chair, stepping back as it began to rise and straighten out into something resembling more of a table than a chair.
“What is the one thing the Venium value above all else?”
“Their mates?” Raou frowned. “We already have the female.”
“Besides that.” Vodk huffed in annoyance. “Their offspring. We take away his ability to sire offspring.”
Brin couldn’t have stopped the laugh that burst from his chest even if he’d wanted to. The one thing most Venium hoped for was the one thing he feared. Nothing these males did to him today could be worse than what the people who had brought him into existence had done. They had stripped away the joy he should feel at the idea of having pups with Jun. Taking that ability from him would be a blessing.
“But the Kaia needs the bonding hormone. Is that not the reason I was denied the female?” Raou asked in a hush voice as a forcefield was activated over Brin’s body.
The sweet smell of the sedative filled the chamber, and Brin struggled to stay conscious, not wanting to miss anything important. If they survived this, he wanted to have something to bring back to the council. He closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.
“If we are the only ones with the answers to his questions, who do you think will win the Kaia’s favor? I’ve worked too hard to let Erusha and Nuzal take this away from me. By the end of this, I will hold the power here and the true research can begin.”
Nuzal
He must have slipped up. Somehow, no matter how careful he had been, someone must have noticed the lights, or maybe it had been his increasingly odd behavior. Had it been Erusha? The male knew him better than anyone. If he was acting strange, he’d have been the first to notice.
Nuzal stepped out of the lift and into the chaotic inner section of the ship. Just like the last time he’d found himself up here, Nuzal was struck by how much he appreciated the quiet atmosphere of the lab. His mind raced as he made his way through the rings of warriors. What was Vodk doing to Brin? Would the male go after Jun next?
What would Nuzal do if something happened to them? And if he didn’t return, what would become of them then? He wondered if he would ever see them again.
“Present for confirmation,” one of the warriors said.
Nuzal moved his arm beneath the scanner, trying his best to steady his nerves before walking into the Kaia’s office. Any show of fear would be taken as weakness, and the Kaia wouldn’t tolerate that.
Calm, he told himself. Be calm. Show nothing. Remember your days as a warrior. Remember your strength.
The doors slid open, and he was gestured inside. The Kaia sat behind his desk, and he waved Nuzal forward.
“Someone finally relayed my message, I see,” he growled, his voice laced with obvious agitation.
“My apologies, sir. I came as soon as I was informed.”
The doors behind him opened once more, and he glanced sideways to see Erusha step up beside him.
“Erusha.” The Kaia grinned humorlessly.
“My Kaia.” The male inclined his head. “We’re quite busy in the lab at the moment. Is there a problem regarding the new human female you selected?”
The human in question sat at the Kaia’s feet, her bright blue eyes watching them carefully as she pressed her cheek against their leader’s leg. She had long red hair and skin as pale as the medical chairs they used in the labs. This female was a recent acquisition, one Nuzal remembered checking on after the warriors had brought her on board.
“No, no, I find this one quite satisfactory.” He ran his fingers through the female’s locks, an almost tender look crossing his face as she tipped her face up. “My problem,” he growled, turning back to Erusha, “lies with the questionable loyalty of one of your scientists.”
Nuzal’s xines writhed as the Kaia’s eyes fell on him, but he stayed
silent. To speak out of turn would do him no favors.
“You speak of Nuzal?” Erusha asked with a confused tilt of his head. “He is one of my hardest workers and does what is asked of him without question or complaint.”
“If that is so, then should I assume you were the one who approved the bionics he used on the human?”
Erusha’s jaw ticked, and his superior’s upper set of eyes turned on him, his head canting toward Nuzal. The genuine confusion on his face gave Nuzal pause. Did he truly have no idea? If he hadn’t signed off on the bionics, then who had?
Vodk’s words from cycles ago replayed in his mind. The transplant went well, I assume? He’d wondered at the time how the male had known, but now he suspected he was somehow behind this.
“Yes,” Erusha answered. “I gave Nuzal permission to use the bionics on the human.”
The Kaia opened his mouth, but Nuzal stepped forward, shielding the male with his body before a word left his mouth.
“The human who received the bionics wasn’t just anyone. The bonded female’s body was failing. If we allowed her to die before we found the hormone, we couldn’t be sure what would happen. It’s very possible that the hormones we need for our research would have disappeared, along with any resulting pheromones.”
The larger male was silent for a moment, his hand running over the female’s head as he stared Nuzal down.
“Be that as it may, something so important should have been brought to my attention.”
“The female’s decline was swift, sir. Time was of the essence,” Erusha answered.
“I see.” The Kaia’s eyes remained on Nuzal. “And this fight I was alerted to before you arrived at my office, Nuzal? I was told you were the aggressor.”
“I returned to the cells to find two young warriors assaulting the Venium male. They had already injured him. His role in this research, as you know, is vital,” Nuzal answered.
“I value your knowledge, and I respect your honorable past, Nuzal, but if I am given another reason to question your loyalty, I will personally end this life. Am I clear?”
Nuzal inclined his head. “Yes, sir.”
“And Nuzal, you will begin the female’s awakening. She’s been here far too long without it already. You’re both dismissed.” He waved his hand at them before tugging at the chain connected to the human’s collar. She scurried up as the band tightened around her neck, crawling into the Kaia’s lap.
Nuzal turned away quickly, Erusha on his heels. Neither one of them spoke a word as they made their way back to the lab. It was eerily quiet, and Erusha jerked his head toward his office in a silent command for Nuzal to follow. There were no cameras or recording devices here, but even so, they lowered their voices.
“Who gave you permission to acquire the bionics?” the male asked.
Nuzal shook his head. “The approval came from you.”
“Show me.” A quick search through his messages brought up the interaction. Erusha frowned, his eyes darting over the words before he turned to the holoscreen on his desk. “Who assisted you?”
“Qrien.” Nuzal glanced out into the main space where the younger males worked. “I came in here after to speak with you. Vodk was at his desk and told me you had left, but something he said didn’t seem right. He asked me how the transplant had gone, but there was no way he would have known about it.”
“It seems that someone is trying to sow seeds of dissent within us.” Erusha shook his head. “Who took the male?”
“Vodk. He was with the warrior, Raou.”
“Found out what he’s done. Review the footage from the surgery. I want you personally on this, no one else. Do not speak a word of this, and come back here with whatever you find. They cannot know we suspect them.”
“Yes, sir.”
Nuzal rushed next door to the office he rarely used, running his arm beneath the scanner so it could read his comm. Files and documents containing all of the information from past and present cases appeared on the holoscreen, but he didn’t need those. He moved through the icons until he found the security files.
Everything that happened in the lab and the surgery rooms was sent here. It took a moment to identify the room Vodk had used, but when he pressed play on the footage, Nuzal felt his anger begin to bubble beneath his plates.
Vodk was nothing more than a greedy, overly ambitious fool. After Brin was put under, the male took his samples, handing the vials off to Raou instead of the trained assistants who would normally be present. His hands fisted on the desk as he watched Vodk complete the sterilization procedure. Raou laughed before patting Vodk on the back, as if what they had done was something to celebrate.
Brin would never be able to reproduce.
Nuzal looked through the logs, noting there were no results requested, nor was there any information input concerning the surgery and what had been found. He suspected there would be no trace of the hormone if they were to check now.
He stared at the footage of Raou and Vodk as they worked, and he felt a growl work its way up his chest. Something within him fell into place at that moment, a piece of him that he’d been denying.
He knew three things. The first was that Jun and Brin were his mates, whether they accepted him or not. The second was that he was going to do everything in his power to free them. It wouldn’t right his wrongs, but he couldn’t let them stay here any longer. The third, and most satisfying, was the silent promise that he was going to kill both of these males for daring to lay their hands on what was his.
Chapter 21
Jun
Every time she twisted, Jun felt the incision on her stomach pull uncomfortably. It wasn’t painful at all, but it reminded her that she’d been open and at the mercy of the Grutex—of Nuzal.
The guards had brought Brin back what must have been days ago, but she had no way of knowing for certain. He’d been barely conscious, wrapped in one of the plain gowns like the rest of them, and if she had to guess, she would have said he’d come straight from surgery. Unlike her, they’d allowed Brin no recovery time. She’d tried to fuss over him, checking on his incision, but he assured her he was fine and her worry was misplaced.
He remained quiet for the most part, whispering only to his AI. Jun couldn’t hear what they were saying, but there was something different about Brin. Whatever they had done to him that day had only seemed to spur on his resolve to see them set free.
In the time since they had returned him, Vodk had come for both Jun and Telisa. They’d been put through more testing and scans, and Jun’s arm was still sore from the tissue sample they had taken earlier. The IV they placed in her arm the last time she was in there had transferred a thick purple liquid into her body, and while she wanted to fight, to rip the needle from her skin and tell them all where they could shove it, Jun knew resistance would not be tolerated.
Nuzal had been notably absent during all of it, and she wondered where he had gone. She shouldn’t care what he was doing, but something within her worried over it, telling her things weren’t right. Wherever he was, Jun doubted very much she’d ever see him again.
From what little Brin had relayed to them, Nyissa was making some headway. She had successfully set the cameras on a loop for the last hour while she worked her way in the cell security grid. Brin now has maps of the entire ship at his disposal.
“Master,” the AI spoke, a hint of excitement in her voice, “the cells have been disarmed.”
A second later, the force fields that had kept them inside flickered before the annoying hum of the electricity stopped completely. Jun and Telisa jumped up as Brin sprang forward.
“Now, Shayfia! Come!”
Jun grabbed Telisa’s hand, tugging her to the front of the cell. “Let’s go! We’re getting the hell out of here.”
Even knowing there was nothing keeping them in, Jun still stuck her hand out cautiously, feeling for any resistance.
Brin reached inside, grabbing her wrist. “Now! We don’t have much time.”
“What about the others?” Jun asked, twisting to look at the stunned faces of the humans in the cells across from them.
“So many of us running through the halls is bound to draw attention.”
“We can’t leave them behind!” Telisa hissed, eyes narrowing on Brin. “Who will rescue them?”
Brin hesitated a second before swiping a finger over his inner arm, disarming the forcefields along the entire length of the corridor.
“We need to arm ourselves,” she reminded Brin as the other humans began pouring out of the cells. “Stay close and as quiet as possible.” She told those around her. They nodded, passing the message to those nearest to them.
Brin and Jun moved to the head of the group and as one, they made their way down the hall, their bare feet making hardly any noise. They reached the armory, and Jun was surprised to find it unguarded. Brin passed them through the door to her, and she began handing them out, instructing the others to pass them to anyone who was capable of wielding one.
“Don’t hold back,” he told the group. “They would sooner kill you than capture you. They showed you no mercy, afford them the same treatment.” He handed Jun one of the weapons, smiling when she rubbed her hand over the barrel in appreciation. “I’m not sure if that look terrifies or excites me,” he told her as his fushori pulsed softly.
Jun shook her head, pressing her lips to his chest since she couldn’t reach his mouth. “Be careful, Glowworm. You keep this up and I might accidentally fall in love with you.”
Brin frowned as he stared down at her, stepping backward toward a set of doors Nyissa had indicated would lead them toward the exit for this section. “You say that as if you weren’t already.”
Without warning, the doors burst open and mauve arms snaked around Brin’s neck, long claws digging into the skin on his chest. The people behind her scurried back in fear, already forgetting the weapons they held in their hands as weeks and months of abuse came rushing back. Jun raised her gun, but Brin fought his attacker, preventing her from getting a clear shot.
