Feral Flaw Read online

  Goro slowly nodded where he crouched in the twigs and leaves.

  He just let me rant instead of rising to control my reaction. Was he observing me? Using that god-damned power voice on me that he used on everyone else?

  "I believe you." He waited.

  For what? He could put me to the test. Take my virginity. But maybe the secret baby changed things between them. He had to be thinking he risked his life in handing over his blood to me during the were-assassin marriage ritual. However, showing him that Voldon hadn't mated with me was the only to prove my innocence. Would he even want me with the elevated risk of being enslaved if Voldon got one drop of his blood essence? "I can prove it to you. But-"

  "Yes." He nodded again. "You can. But I believe you, and there is no reason for you to feel you entered into a bargain such as were-assassin marriage for any purpose other than to mate with the male you love and fight for what you deem right. We will not discuss that option anymore."

  Was this more avoidance or the reaction of a man who feared losing his freedom of thought? At the risk of being seen embracing by the crew or not, he was going to prove he still cared. I threw my arms around his shoulders and planted my lips against his warm mouth. The warmest, softest, gentlest lips I'd ever kissed.

  He hesitated, all stiff-lipped.

  Come on. Kiss me. I tried to thrust my tongue between his lips.

  He backed off, pushing me to arms' length.

  What was he thinking? God to read his mind. Talk about a luxury some of us sentient beings were kept from using. Not to mention, my body burned for him for years the way he confessed his did for mine. And now he won't kiss me? So, maybe I don't want to mate with him anymore either. This whole it's-my-baby crap finally pushed the last straw. I stared at his stoic mask.

  "We should try to sit and recall what happened. Attempt to backtrack and recount the few times you were around him. We can solve this mystery, Darla."

  "Just say it. You don't want to kiss me anymore."

  A tiny little twinge tickled the godforsaken need to cry deep inside me.

  Powerlessness. Why bother me now? I gulped the disturbing sensation into oblivion and studied what was once the man I thought I would happily marry.

  But everything was a game in this world of psychic warfare. And here sat the only man I dared trust throwing dice with. But could I crap shoot any longer? He was too neat. Too tidy. Everything was too organized with his polished exterior and his hypnotic voice. Crazy Darla had a better chance of surviving this war. Alone. Even if she was lost in deep space.

  "Darla," he scanned the surrounding woods. "We need to take care. What if Voldon's spies are here?"

  I'm dead if he's decided I'm guilty. How do I get Crazy Darla to save my ass?

  "Please, Darla. Sit and think. We have plenty of time before the starship arrives."

  Yes. Plenty of time for a captive to decide if escape was even possible.

  * * * *

  Goro struggled with publicly hugging his charge and tying her up since touching her was risky. And she needed to just take some time to think things through, he decided. Although, every cell in my body awoke with the essence of one of her cells against mine. Skin to skin contact never helped when a warrior gazed at the woman who sent all the blood rushing to his loin. Touching her was just sex to a were-assassin, whether we consummated our relationship or not. And since mating didn't seem to be the best solution to appease her honor at the moment, I damned sure know what thoughts danced to the beat of a war drum in her mind. Sex and betrayal. That's all I would think about.

  Life had to be torture when the one person she thought her friend just came off a royal bastard. Not to mention, anyone could be watching. Observing our interaction. Especially since Hinxos could have spread the word about the baby. Maintaining Darla's fake social persona was essential to saving her. For now, she would just have to stew. "You can try to sleep or join me hunting. Hunting will help you vent some anger."

  "I'm sleepy." She blinked.

  Almost provocatively.

  Sleep meant being alone. Without me. Certainly another silent slap in her face. But sleep also equated to invaluable time where she could think this catastrophe out to realize this was just another part of the game. That she had nothing to fear. That I stand beside her. "I won't abandon you, Darla. You have my word. Today has been hard on all of us." I rose until I calmly looked down at the angry furrows slashing her brow. "Sleep. Take what Destiny has denied me."

  Her round ass crawled into her pod fighter.

  Amazing ass.

  My body went rock hard.

  Just crawl into a pod and rest. Shut out the chaos for a few minutes. Forget about how tightly the leather pulled across her backside. Sleep. Just get some blessed sleep.

  Ship or not, a commander never had that kind of luxury. Especially with his love-sworn mate afoot. Donning the cloak of responsibility may warm a soul but rarely quenches a leader's hunger. I needed to remain alert in case Hinxos didn't come through with his promise.

  But had the satisfying light feeding my snarling inner beast just burned out in Darla's eyes?

  No. It couldn't have.

  Everyone in the fleet knew about the child by now. There was no hiding the news from anyone. Any more pods reaching Vek would carry crew members who had received the same news. There was no way to circumvent the issue.

  How had today gone so terribly awry? Voldon's new tactic completely trashed my future with Darla. Time to try to make amends. I climbed up to her open cockpit and found her staring up at the violet sky.

  She's ignoring me. "I know how difficult today has been for you. I feel Destiny has forsaken me as well."

  Her inquisitive gaze slid to mine.

  At least I no longer had to look at the curves of her enchanting body. "But I can't walk away knowing I've failed anyone. Especially you. I will reveal Voldon's lie and prove you are as important to me as The Cause. Just give me enough time to do so."

  Her questioning mask melted into curiosity. "Would you believe that if you were in my shoes?"

  She no longer believed in me. "I never lie to you. You and I always work together. In the way of mates." I'd lose my mind if I operated alone in this insane war of mind control.

  "So we're mated now?" She sighed loudly. "Lying in a spacecraft I know little about, so far from home with a man who promised he loved me but turned on me today, chased by a mad man who claims to have lifted one of my eggs and grown a child from it, and lying around waiting for the same psycho to harvest more of my eggs or worse, I hate to tell you but I've already lost my last wit." She shot me a forced smile, rolled her head to one side, and closed her eyes.

  Her brown hair pooled around the sides of her head.

  Holding her the way I should have. I should have done more for her. Since I led those thoughts astray, I'd better find something else to do and allow sleep to work its magic on the heart of my heart. Or I just might pull her out of that pod fighter and force her to mate with me. But rape wasn't noble. Time to think of a way to make amends.

  * * * *

  The sky deepened in hue only to darken above Darla's window in the small view space she had of the world staring up from her pod fighter. How had my life in a new world where a psychic earth girl finally fits in suddenly been turned on end, she wondered. Because there's nobody else who can help me with this upheaval. Goro is my only friend. If he can even be called that anymore.

  Dare I believe him?

  Everything always circled back to Goro. And now he left me here to contemplate life. Whether that's life with children in a happy marriage or life locked in a containment cell awaiting termination for being a traitor, who knew? Maybe I'm supposed to dwell on both. Or the life where supposedly a child with my genetic material is running around the universe, certainly terrorizing innocent people with its father, the bastard of all bastards. Why stay and play along with Goro? Why wait for Voldon to capture me? Why bother with anybody in this freaking nightmare? How c
ould I possibly owe allegiance to anyone? I'm better off running for my life. "Computer?"

  "Please state your password," the mechanical voice commanded.

  "Giggle Bunny." Like I could ever truly escape in an extraterrestrial pod fighter with a code word supplied by Goro. It was worth an old-fashioned try.

  "Welcome, Darla."

  "Take me to earth."

  The cockpit's hatch silently snapped out the purple sky. The pod fighter vibrated quietly. And the floor suddenly rammed up into my back.

  Airborne. Sweet mother of mercy. I've never been flying alone.

  My gut flopped against the sensation.

  What do I do to go home?

  "Darla, Commander Goro is attempting to open a line of communication with you."

  "I don't feel like talking right now. Just get me to earth as fast as you can." Hopefully, this dash for freedom wasn't a waste. "Where is Goro?"

  "His pod fighter is about to lift off."

  "I'm not surprised. How far away are we?"

  "Forty-four seconds."

  How long was that in racing pod fighters? "Don't let him catch us."

  The pod fighter surged forward.

  Why did oh shit come to mind? "Computer, can he catch us?"

  "He can't fly any faster than we can. And we're already in space. He must blast clear of the atmosphere to match our speed."

  But when the speed was matched, how much time stood between us? "So, I will always have forty-four seconds to beat him to earth?"

  "Yes, unless one of you alters your speed."

  In a world where every second mattered in saving your hide, forty-four began to sound like a huge number. Seconds or hours. A lifeline to existence. I'll take them all.

  "A large spacecraft is bearing down upon us from the starboard side," the computer blared.

  What? The universe would be playing a wicked joke on me if it was Voldon. "I don't know who or what that is, but get me to earth."

  "Understood."

  Okay, time to go home. A few magic words would work wonders now. If only I could think of a couple.

  "Darla, the spacecraft is locking onto the ship."

  What ? "How can they do that? I'm in an undetectable pod fighter."

  The ship jolted.

  The toes of my boots hit metal where they were tucked into the darkness of the cockpit. Space seemed to shift, drawing me backward.

  "Any type of vessel traveling through an atmosphere creates a heat signature an observer can detect."

  The ship's movement backward became smooth and clean.

  "What's happening, computer?"

  "The spacecraft is pulling us aboard."

  Shit. Maybe a little prayer was in order? "I want to go to earth. Blast out of this, or something."

  "That is impossible."

  Maybe I jumped the gun with Goro today. Crazy Darla's tactics might not be the best for all situations.

  Chapter Five

  "Commander Goro, a spacecraft is taking Darla's pod fighter aboard."

  Gods curse a tick-sucking Mawshwuc, Goro swore. What else could happen? I almost jumped into a sitting position. "View screen, now."

  The radar screen jiggled into a picture of star-studded deep space with a not-so-serene picture of a pod fighter being drawn by a purple energy beam aboard a large round disc.

  Darla's computer wouldn't be able to counteract the power of the beam. Typical opportunistic scavengers. And she hadn't seen any of this coming. "It's Crellon?"

  "Yes, commander. We can't disrupt the retraction beam."

  Darla was being taken hostage by bounty hunters. What could one man in a pod fighter do? Survive and follow. If they didn't use her sexually then trade her in for Voldon's reward, she'd be fortunate to become a token illegal exotic alien of some wealthy free thinker who could hide his slave in ways where nobody would ever be able to locate her. Or worse.

  Forget sleeping well tonight. Somebody had to save her. And I'm the only person who cares. But to save her meant to shirk duty. To shirk duty meant to lose Darla. Losing her was not an option. Three years of declining her offers had been pure torture. Now, to lose what Destiny dangled in front of a man's nose resonated tragic.

  The Crellon spacecraft's docking bay hatch opened like a huge brilliant mouth in deep dark space.

  But what of my command? I can't just disappear without leaving the survivors a plan of action. "Do we have time to return to the crew on Vek and follow Darla?"

  "No, commander. You'll never relocate the Crellon ship once it hits a wormhole relay."

  Damn, Voldon and my stupidity for not dragging Darla into the woods and claiming her blood as mine. Giving her what she always begged for would have remedied her anger and proven to her that my faith in her was solid.

  Then no one could have insisted she was anything but my were-mate.

  Nobody would dare accuse her of lying with Voldon to produce this child he claimed to have.

  I should have taken her heart and soul when she extended the offer. "Keep on that Crellon ship's trail."

  All but the tip of the nose of Darla's pod fighter was completely lit inside the docking bay.

  She was almost taken.

  From me.

  To turn back to The Cause meant to abandon her. "Open a secured encrypted line to send a brief message to navigator Hinxo's escape pod. He's reconfigured his safety beacon and can sense messages from a broader range. Tell him I've gone to save Darla from bounty hunters. The crew is to await the rescue team and depart with or without me."

  The descending Crellon hatch shut out the last vestige of life from the bounty ship.

  But Darla wasn't gone. Just captive.

  Not good when aboard a Crellon ship.

  Crellon crews may seem sex-crazed, but Darla had a better chance of surviving with bounty hunters than she did on The Seeker without a guardian commander. She was a hot commodity to Voldon as well as wealthy free thinkers who often broke law to satisfy their unconventional ideas. And surely Voldon would be pissed if these Crellon animals had their way with Darla. Unless she was a sex spy.

  No. Not Darla.

  And after all, the Crellons had each other. As the earth saying went, time was of the essence. My very essence. And Darla's.

  Time to save her. "Follow the Crellon saucer."

  The radar screen flashed back on the view screen.

  Any second the stationary blip of the bounty ship would be gone. And if I falter in the chase, finding Darla could take months. Legend or not, The Cause wouldn't appreciate my abandoning my post. But Darla had nobody else.

  I fell in love with her.

  I brought her into space.

  I owe it to her to try to rescue her whether or not she holds me in her heart. After that, I'll deal with where her allegiance lies. At least I will have tried to learn the truth for myself.

  * * * *

  Darla's pod fighter slowed to a stop as if the creeping backward motion had pulled her to some unknown force's destination. "Computer, where am I?" she asked.

  "On a Crellon bounty ship."

  Bounty isn't a word that a girl Voldon's paying top dollar for wants to hear. "How can I escape?"

  "I will be grounded until the retraction beam is dissolved. However, only you and Goro are cleared to open my hatch. You are safe here until you can't stand lying down or have other biological issues."

  Oh, yes. Let's sit around and have a friendly chitchat with the computer while my ass is on the line. I'm trapped in a freaking can inside a bigger can surrounded by aliens. What in the Hell am I supposed to do? Come on, Crazy Darla. Think of something. "How do I get out of here?"

  "I cannot answer that question. Your biostats are off the charts, Darla. Remain calm."

  And how does a person deal with all these foreign things when she can't even see what's going on outside her can inside the bigger can full of extraterrestrials? "How long can my ship be detained?"

  "They can't hold a pod fighter in stasis and hyper-jump to
a wormhole relay. If there's a second to escape, I will."

  "What's stasis?"

  "The retraction beam must be terminated so they can travel through the wormhole."

  To ask why meant I'd be left even more confused. You know, one second seems incredibly minute compared to forty-four. Since there's no other option, one second would have to do. "So we wait?"

  The cockpit's pitch black darkness smeared with the pod's orange lights.

  "What's happening, computer?"

  "The bounty hunters hyper-jumped."

  That much was obvious in the way the smeared darkness vibrated in silent insanity. I'm going to die. I tried to find something to hold onto but couldn't move my rattling arms.

  My teeth felt like they were going to be shaken loose.

  Pod fighters were undetectable. Right? What about flying under the radar? Something was seriously wrong here. "How did the bounty hunters find me again? This fighter is supposed to fly under the radar."

  "Ships flare while flying through a planet's atmosphere. If someone is observing, they detect the heat signature. It would not be unusual for a bounty hunter stalking refugees to lie in wait off planets claimed to harbor the refugees they search for. And Crellons traffic humanoids."

  Slavery?

  So much for staying hidden.

  What about Goro? Without him, I have no protection. Well, I used to have protection before Voldon announced the secret baby.

  The rattling world stilled.

  Holy shit.

  "Two male Crellons are circling the ship outside in the docking bay," the computer stated.

  Not good. Didn't males always want more from females? "What about that retraction beam?"

  "It's dissolved."

  Well, what was the computer waiting on? "Shouldn't we catch one of my seconds out of here?"

  "Unfortunately, I have no weapons to blast through the walls of this space craft. We'll have to wait until a Crellon opens the hatch."

  Uh, universe, the computer never mentioned anything about needing to blast out of the spacecraft. What else did it fail to disclose? "Tell me everything about these Crellons, computer. I need to know what to expect."