“Where are you going?” she asked.
He frowned. “As far from the pirates’ hideout as possible,” he said, like that was clearly the only correct answer.
“I don’t think this is the way back. I didn’t see these flowers on the way in, and I was trying my best to remember the scene.”
Ranek looked at her, confusion plain on his face. “The way back to where?”
Chapter 16
Ranek
It was impossible to ignore the disappointed look on his mate’s face at his question. But the truth was that he really had no idea where “back” was. But now that he’d had a moment to think, he realized that there was no use in stomping into an unknown alien jungle.
The only weapon they had was the one they’d taken from the pirate, and he didn’t have a transport or a comm unit. He had no clue about the dangers of this planet either. And if Maya said that this was not the way “back,” wherever back was, then he believed her.
Why couldn’t he remember a Goddess damned thing?
Ugh! The Goddess wasn’t even the right belief out here, and according to the way his body recoiled at the word, it wasn’t what he believed in anymore either. He shook his head violently like he could jog loose some memories.
“Stop!” Maya’s voice cut through the frustrated roar in his head. “Don’t do that, you’re hurting yourself.”
Soft hands touched his face and he stilled, worried that his fangs would accidentally cut her soft alien skin. Her touch calmed him, and he took several deep breaths, inhaling her scent.
It was only now that he noticed the new perfume that sat heavily in the air. It made his head race.
“Ranek?” Her voice had changed, sounding small and distant.
He looked down at his female. Her eyes were wide and glassy, and she clung to him like he was the only thing holding her up.
“You are unwell,” he said, his eyes cutting to the blue blooms. Where there had been only a few here and there when he started down this path, there were plenty of them now. They were surrounded by the fragrant blooms. “The flowers.”
“I think it’s the flowers too. I don’t feel sick, but I feel…” She made a waving motion with her hands. “I feel high.” She giggled.
“We should leave this area.”
“But it feels so nice! And look, all the plants are dancing.” She wobbled from side to side in his arms. “Wheee!”
The dragus pup, whom he’d almost forgotten about, howled along with herwheee.
“See, Commander Chaos thinks so too. And it’s okay if you don’t remember anything. I still think you’re super sexy.”
Ranek raised a brow, amused. “Even now that you know my past?”
“You had your memories and your past when I met you, and you still treated me and Commander Chaos well. You were escaping from the Dominion. I’d steal and murder to escape from them too. And whatever you were, you must’ve been a hot commodity with the ladies.” She licked her finger, then pressedit to his shoulder before making a hissing sound resembling a sizzle.
Whatever this flower was, it was lowering her inhibitions. A memory returned about a flower that could be used to make a serum to force someone to tell the truth somewhere on the outer planets. He wondered now if he’d accidentally stumbled upon it. But he didn’t know if this substance was harmful in the long run to whatever species his mate was, so it was best to get away.
He was feeling a little giddy himself, though he wasn’t sure if it was only from the flowers, or if it was the high of finding out that he’d found his mate. He didn’t remember much, but he knew that a mate was something he’d wanted, craved, for a very long time.
“I only wish to entice one female, and that is you,” he said honestly, no truth serum needed. “But we should leave. Then we can figure out how to get back to where we came from. I will carry you.”
She laughed and threw herself at him. “Be my guest!”
He lifted her, and before he could adjust them, Maya wrapped her arms and legs around him, pressing them front to front. He groaned.
“This is nice,” she said, burying her face in the crook of his neck.
Fuck. This was going to slow them down, both because he couldn’t run nearly as well in this position and because all the blood in his body was trying to rush to his cock. But he had to push on, not just because of the flowers and their intoxicating effect, but also because the pirates would be looking for them.
