And I just chewed her ass out because, what, her comments hit a sore spot? Then I turned into a slavering beast and tore a dozen prisoners limb from limb. The stench of blood and death fills the air.
Way to go, asshole. That’sreallygoing to help.
I’ll do whatever it takes. Lay my feelings on the line, and all that bullshit, once we’re home and safe. I don’t know how or why it happened, but we’re soulmates. Her actions tell me she feels it too.
Chapter Nineteen
Zeb
The countdown begins for coming out of hyperdrive.
Three minutes…
I scrub my gritty eyes. My body has taken a beating. I’ve been slowly losing muscle mass and returning tome,reusing the cellular matter to repair. Thankfully I managed to find a whole suit and boots that were close enough to my size. The pile of body parts will cause enough questions. Explaining how I came to be naked is an added burden I don’t need.
Two minutes…
I need to eat.
To drink.
But I’m more worried about Esme after everything she went through for me. Just her being exposed to the hellish environment sets my beastly hackles rising.Don’t think about that.Then there’s whatever bullshit she went through before I found her, me fucking her in a cloned body, and the rest of the events leading to me taking control of the ship.
Fuck!
One minute…
I can’t be an alpha forever, not even an Empire version of one. It’s something I already understand. Not the right fit, and it never will be. I need to be me, the real me, for once: for her, but can she accept that?
As for my feral beast. I don’t know what the fuck that was beyond I understand he will be there if I ever need him again. So many what-ifs are rushing around my tired mind, and I can’t get ahead on any of them.
The room stretches out around me into a stream of lights as we exit warp speed.
It snaps back.
There, directly ahead, filling the viewer’s wall is the planet of Chimera, a huge space station port to the left and dozens of vessels, large and small, filling the area between.
To my left, Esme rouses. But I can’t look at her, not now. I slam my hand against the broadcast plate, emitting my signature. And not a moment too soon, as two battle frigates and a cruiser warp into the space directly in front of us, filling the viewer.
The command station notifies me that the other ship is hailing me.
I open the channel, give them my secondary code, and wait.
And fucking wait.
A tiny hand slips into mine. That simple touch undoes me.Trust.I tighten my fingers over hers. That touch, so simple, brings an unexpected sting to my eyes that I blink away.
“Pilot in command, identify yourself,” a familiar voice says.
“Commander Thorne, reporting.”
“The status of the ship and its occupants?” Ethan asks.
“My prisoners. Sort of. The ship has been put on lockdown. Didn’t want to open it up until I had some support.”
A low chuckle follows. “You just captured an entire Uncorrupted ship and its crew single-handed?”
“Not exactly alone,” I admit, glancing down at Esme to find her staring up at me in shock.
