“I understand and thank you for the benefit of the doubt.”
“I must ask … how long before you start feeling the repercussions of your mate bond?”
“I truly do not know. We were not raised among our kind, and the bond came as a complete surprise to my brothers. We had no idea it was even possible until it was.”
He follows behind me, but I can tell he is logging every turn on the way. One floor up, directly below the human females, I open a single-occupancy door and motion for him to go in.
“This room should have everything you need. There is a refreshing chamber and a stocked replicator. Your comms will be monitored, as will your every move. You need to remember you are not a guest yet, but I will not keep you locked in here indefinitely; just until I get orders from the captain.”
“Thank you, Destiny, for giving me a chance.”
“Do not make me regret it and keep your fingers to yourself.”
CHAPTER 7
EVO
“Destiny, have you been able to reconnect with Father?”
“Signal has been received. I am simply waiting for his answer, Captain.”
Moments later, father appears on screen. “I am happy to see you, EvO. Were your findings positive, son?”
“Yes, and we made contact with one of the races behind the Veil, the Ruk, in an area they call the Void on a planet named Deapra.
The signals became clearer the moment we broke through that veil, leading us straight to the human females who had thankfully been treated well. From what we were told, the Ruk had escaped a race called the Aynar and are survivors themselves. Have you ever heard of them? I cannot find anything in our database about them, but I think the Aynar are trying to take over this area. I put all the information in my report.”
“I am reading it now, and no, I have not personally heard of them, but I will send some feelers out and see what turns up. It appears I will have to ensure our presence extends to thisarea and that consequences for illegal actions are enforced. The criminal factions that have used this area to hide will no longer be using it as a safe haven.
I see that five of the girls came back with you, but the others chose to stay due to their mate status. The universe had no idea the chaos our little humans were going to cause when it invited them in, and we have not had a boring day since. What are your plans for the stowaway? I will say that when I mentioned his extreme actions to Kira, she did not have the same reaction I did, and it made me think.”
“Let me guess, she thought it was romantic?”
“I do believe that was her wording.”
“Same as my Qwin. Orbital rotations ago, we would have sent him to an early grave, but now we contemplate love.”
“Son, they have us wrapped around their tiny fingers and there is no use fighting it at this point. So, what is your next course of action?”
“I would prefer to know more about their customs, and we need an insider who understands the Void and the secrets it holds, but we know nothing about this male’s character. Just because he says he is mated to one of our humans does not simply make him worthy of her. I would hate to send him to stay with them only for him to become an issue on Ethra. Nevertheless, Destiny is quite impressed with how easily he can infiltrate complex systems such as hers. If trustworthy, he may prove to be a useful resource.”
“Then give him enough rope to hang himself, as Kira would say. See just how far he is willing to go for his human versus his own life.”
“I will talk to him more next rising. As of this darkness, Destiny has assigned him quarters of his own, and I do believe I will join my mate in her lab and see if I can talk her into calling it an early evening. Ginger was slightly upset that we could not contact Ethra directly. Do you have a time frame for that?”
“The asteroid has moved out of Etherium’s airspace, and the planet is starting to warm. We are hoping temperatures will rise quickly, but I would hold off on communications until we are closer. We have no idea the extent of the damage or of any injuries yet.”
“Confirmed Father. Strength and Honor.”
“Walk in the light, my son.”
CHAPTER 8
EDIE
I lay here looking up at the ceiling, lying in a soft bed with thick blankets cradling my body. The room is beautiful with soft lighting, I’m warm and comfortable, and I can’t sleep because of it. After years of sleeping on the ground in a pile of grass, this seems odd. I don’t know if it’s the silence, the smells, or maybe it’s the mild vibrations I feel from time to time. The one thing I’ve learned the hard way is that if it seems too good, just wait ten minutes.
So pretty much, I’m just laying here waiting for something bad to happen. For years I prayed that someone or something would come along. Nothing good ever showed up, so I think after a while, I made peace with what had happened and where I was. I got into a routine and found something to keep my body busy so that my mind couldn’t think about all the yesterdays.
