Sex wasn’t the issue. The problem was that the connection Menace and the others had with their females seemed to be more than lust. Judging by the matching markings that appeared on each couple, they were committed to each other. Possibly for the long term. At first, that had felt like a good thing, but the more he thought about it, the more questions and doubts crept in.
Would she want to change his home? His habits? He’d seen enough vids and media to understand that humans were physically weaker than many of the other races and were generally considered inferior in most aspects. What would he do with a companion who would need constant support and protection? He didn’t have an answer to that question. Until he did, he intended to be cautious.
He looked up as Vengeance snarled in frustration. “Faster.”
Of course, his brother was in a hurry. He was reckless and never thought before he acted, even knowing it wouldn’t make a difference. Havoc tried to remind him of the warning they’d already received. His own doubts aside, Menace’s new mate had made her concerns clear. “Remember what the female said. We need to be gentle with these humans.”
Vengeance bared his teeth as he glanced back atHavoc. “If there are any left by the time we reach them. We’re moving too slowly.”
Risk joined the conversation clearly frustrated. “Would you like to lead for a while, Venge? You can set whatever pace you like. If you’re away from Havoc, maybe the two of you will stop arguing.”
“I’m not arguing,” Vengeance stated.
Havoc didn’t bother to correct him. They’d been throwing verbal barbs at each other for the past three hours. Havoc kept trying to make Vengeance slow down and think for once while his brother stayed fixated on finding the females with no consideration for what would come after.
Havoc expected Vengeance to make another grumpy comment, but Risk stopped and spun around to face them, his expression somewhere between exasperation and amusement. “You are both arguing. One of you wants to rush in. The other wants to make elaborate plans and consider every possible scenario. You’re wrong.”
Havoc pulled up and stared at his brother in surprise. Risk rarely lost his temper. He was one of the calmest in the clan. Well, no, Havoc revised that thought. Not so much calm as controlled. It was a rare trait among the fa’rel and one of the many reasons they’d never become the dedicated, single-minded shock troops the verexi wanted. They couldn’t tolerate each other’s presence for longer than a few hours. That was the real reason theywere irritating each other right now. They’d been together for too long.
Havoc was about to point that out when Vengeance spoke up again. “We can’t both be wrong.”
“Yeah, you can.” Risk thumped a fist to his bare chest. “Myplan is the right one.”
Another plan? Vengeance shot them both a disgruntled look.
Havoc was curious. Risk had a plan? What was it? Had he thought of something Havoc had overlooked? That didn’t seem likely, but even he made the occasional mistake. None of his brothers would argue that he was the most well-read. He devoured books of all kinds. They were his escape during their time in captivity, and he’d continued to read even after the crash. Bysshe had given him one of the few electronic tablets they had so that he always had a supply of digital books and manuals to enjoy.
Havoc paused and reviewed everything they knew. The verexi had spent considerable money and time setting up a defense system around this planet. They knew that much because they’d managed to overhear snippets of radio traffic between ships in orbit. The system was meant to keep everyone else away while the verexi sought to exterminate the last evidence of their failed experiments.
Two days ago, that system successfully crippled a human-owned and operated ship, which had fallen into the atmosphere and crashed. During the descent, severalescape pods ejected. The females inside those pods were the first ones to be found. No one knew the status of the main vessel or whether anyone else had survived. That’s all they knew. Everything he and Vengeance had argued about was the best way to approach any survivors.
If Bysshe had been with them, he’d have sided with Havoc. The android was an honorary member of their clan and the closest thing they had to a parent. He’d been purchased by the verexi and set to work managing the fa’rel. He’d been their keeper and mentor, so of course the verexi had intended for him to die at the same time as their creations. Only they’d survived that attempt as well as all the ones that followed.
He still didn’t understand what Risk thought he knew that the others didn’t. “And what’s your plan?”
“Nice of you to finally ask,” Risk said. There was no missing the note of rebuke in his voice. Havoc ran through the past hour’s conversation and realized that neither he nor Vengeance had ever asked his opinion.
Havoc lowered his head and kept his eyes fixed on the ground for several seconds. None of them were good at apologizing, but this was something they’d learned to do as a sign of contrition.
He raised his head as Risk broke the silence. “We have no idea how any of this mating crap works. We’ve neverseena female before today. Assuming there are any survivors, don’t you think we should get to know them before we decide we want to spend forever with one?”
Ah. Risk was focused on the females, not the larger issues.
Before Havoc could speak, Risk pointed at Vengeance and continued, “You want to charge in and claim one, but what if she doesn’t like you? What if you don’t like her?”
Vengeance shrugged. “You think that could happen?”
Havoc looked between them and then scowled as he accepted Risk’s point was valid. “When did you become the logical one?”
Risk scoffed, and the tension in the air eased. “Right after the two of you saw Menace’s female and lost your fucking minds.”
Havoc resented the implication. Vengeance was the one who was obsessed, not him. Then again, he had been intrigued… at first. He decided to admit that much.
“But she was so beautiful,” Havoc said, recalling the moment they’d first seen her.
Vengeance turned and shoved him hard enough that he had to take several steps to regain his balance. “Hope is pretty. My mate will bebeautiful,” he declared. “I will claim the best of them for myself.”
Risk’s temper flared again. “That’s not what Hope said. She told us to be gentle with the females. Remember?”
