“Can we get a view behind us?” Brook asked. She wanted to see where she’d been kept.
The station was massive, made of a dark material that didn’t reflect the light from the stars around it. Instead, it was almost like a shadow in space. Several ships moved around it, looking toy-sized compared to the gigantic station.
All of a sudden lights began to flash around the station. Bright red lights.
“They’ve raised an alarm of some kind.” Brook’s heart jumped into her throat.
“It could be something else,” Drake said.
Ontarii frowned. “Or it could be that they’ve found our cells empty. That doesn’t change anything yet. Let’s make tracks.”
“Course laid in.” Drake glanced at the major.
“Let’s go.” Ontarii made a few taps on his display and Brook felt the craft put on a burst of speed. The crew of three spent a tense hour watching all displays and scans for any sign of the enemy coming after them.
They reached the moon that Drake had input as their original destination, and no one had come after them.
“Let’s hope it’s safe to put in our actual course,” Ontarii said, punching in the coordinates to his home planet. “We’ve got about four hours until we reach Zanthar.”
It was almost anticlimactic, their escape, in hindsight. Brook was still a bundle of nerves, sure that at any moment they would be intercepted. She shot a look at her companions.
Drake’s face was closed, too hard to read.
Ontarii’s expression was another story. There was so much there, she wasn’t sure she could untangle all of his feelings.
I wish his skin was back to normal, she thought.At least then I’d have a clue about his moods.
The thought made her feel guilty. Ontarii was still undergoing the frenzy, his skin still midnight black, and she was at least partially to blame. She shouldn’t be so insensitive, even in her own thoughts.
“I think if they were coming after us, they would have already done it.” Drake’s gruff voice broke the spell she was in.
The Minister of Defense turned to Ontarii, giving him a serious look. “We have a few hours before we reach home. That will give you the time you need to do what you need to do.”
“What do you mean?” Ontarii asked, his voice high-pitched.
He’s nervous. But why?
“You know what I mean, and you’re right. It is none of my damn business, but I’m making it as such. Take your mate into the back and do what you need to do.”
Ontarii’s face went from puzzled to furious in the space of a second. “Like I said before… That’s none of your damn business!”
“It is my bloody business,” Drake roared, and Brook was taken aback. She’d yet to see such emotion from the minister. “You can’t serve me efficiently if you’re under the frenzy’s effects. Now take that girl in the back and mate her. By the time we get to Zanthar, I want to see you green-skinned and ready to work.”
“You can’t order me to mate this woman. Who I take is my own choice.”
“The hell I can’t! You will mate her, and you will recover yourself. We need men like you in the coming days. And apparently, you’ve got a contact in the Hareema rebellion. They pulled you out for a reason. Whatever that reason is, whatever you know, we need to know. So get in there and fuck that human.”
“Hey!” Brook shouted. “You can’t order him to fuck me! Only I can choose who I sleep with, thank you very much.”
Drake eyed her. “Of course. Although I’m thinking you wouldn’t mind another piece of this one here. And don’t act like you haven’t already had a piece. You had to do something to touch off the frenzy.”
Brook blushed. “I cannot even believe we are having this conversation.”
“Believe it, Earthling.”
Ontarii growled, his fists curling into tight balls at his side. He moved closer to Drake, moments away from doing violence to his superior officer.
Drake turned to her. “If he won’t listen to reason, maybe you will. I need him. Hell, I need you too. We have a problem that needs to be dealt with. Do the responsible thing and deal with it. Now.”
