Making sure to keep his movements slow, he opened his arms, inviting her to clutch or cling to him.
“Do you need a hug?” she asked, her face melting into something sympathetic.
“I forbid you from touching him!” the lead Ugarian said.
Helmen. That was the Ugarian’s name, and she was the captain of the vessel. How dare she employ a small, fragile human? Not only that, but then let her leave the ship with no protection on a Hulg-controlled station!
His outrage made him flash fangs at Helmen and let out a low, ticking growl. All the Ugarians made startled sounds and backed up.
“Hey, stop that!” Amina admonished, taking another step. “Helmen’s only worried about me. Don’t threaten her.”
“Don’t antagonize the Talin,” another Ugarian whispered. “Now isn’t a good time to prove how tough you are!”
It was hard, but he kept himself from snarling at the Ugarian.
“I think he’s confused and upset over losing his pet,” Amina said to the Ugarian even as she gave Myrum another soft smile. “Your cabin is right over there. Let’s go in there and see if we can find Ruby. I’m sure she didn’t go far; she really likes you.”
He lifted his arms again. He needed to hold her, both to keep her safe and to feel her solid warmth against his body.
“I’m going to hug you, but don’t do anything sudden,” she warned him.
Taking a last step, she moved between his open arms and tentatively put her smaller limbs around his neck.
Letting out a long breath, he wrapped his arms loosely around her body and sounded a comforting rumble. His eyes closed of their own accord, and the pounding panic receded. It was almost as if his brain clicked back online. The hallway wasn’t closing in on him anymore and there was plenty of oxygen for him to breathe in.
“Amina,” he whispered, pulling her scent deeply into his lungs.
“I’m sorry,” she said, then he felt a slight sting in the narrow strip of exposed skin at his neck.
“Wh…what…” He couldn’t make his tongue work. This time it was for an entirely different reason.
He made sure to collapse backward so he wouldn’t accidentally crush the human in his arms as he passed out.
Amina
Myrum’s limp body fell back, taking her with him. She ended up sprawled across his chest, her hair coming loose from her top bun and obscuring everything.
“Dang it,” she muttered, wiggling free of his relaxed arms and sliding off his body. She gathered it back up and looked down at the unconscious Talin. Feeling horribly guilty, she put a hand on his chest and rubbed a small circle.
“I’m so sorry,” Amina said. “I won't leave you, I promise. You’re safe. No one’s going to hurt you.”
Everyone rushed to her, full of questions.
“I didn’t think you were going to do that!”
“Are you hurt?”
“Should we lock him in somewhere?”
“Amina?” It was Helmen’s soft, single-word question that pulled her attention away from Myrum.
She looked up to meet Helmen’s eyes. “I used my lancer,” she said. “He wasn’t going to hurt me, but I was scared he’d hurt one of you.”
After an accident that crushed the first finger of her left hand a few years ago, she’d asked them to put the refillable injector in her finger when they’d rebuilt the tip. It was a modified device the med team dubbed a lancer.
This wasn’t the first time she’d used it, but it was the only time she felt bad about it.
As she’d expected, he’d folded almost immediately. The drug she kept it filled with was potent and could take down just about anything. Assuming she could get close enough and find a spot it could penetrate. She’d been lucky Talins had that strip of exposed skin at their neck.
