GARK
“Are you sure you want to come?”
Aletta was standing next to him as they waited for the ramp to lower. They had arrived on Irith’s Moons again that morning, Aletta muttering something about groundhogs, which had made no sense to Gark. He’d asked her what a small mammal had to do with a space station, and she’d bent over laughing.
He’d decided there were some things he just didn’t need to know about human culture.
While they waited for a berth, Aletta had run through all she remembered about the bar where A’Kar had taken her. Thanks to the security footage, they had a good idea of where it was, and after a lot of arguing, they decided to just walk up to the door and knock. Aletta remembered the code word A’Kar had used, so it seemed like the easiest way to gain entry.
Getting out might prove more difficult.
“Try and stop me.” She fiddled with the zipper on her jacket as if she needed something to do with her hands.
She was back in her own clothes, after Gark had laundered them for her while she slept. Some ships had replicators, but the technology was expensive, and The Lady hadn’t needed it beforenow. He wished he had purchased one when he had the chance, so he could make Aletta some better-fitting clothes.
“Promise me you’ll stay back with Vox if I ask you to.”
The ramp lowered with a muffled boom from the rubber stoppers on the underside.
Aletta shot him a glance, but didn’t answer. Instead, she strode determinedly down the ramp and into the hangar. Gark followed, sighing and shaking his head. What did he expect? Compliance?
He huffed a laugh. Never, not from his Aletta.
But she hasn’t agreed to be yours yet.
No. She hadn’t.
Because he hadn’t told her the truth. If he told her, and she rejected him, how would he survive? He remembered his father’s stories about what happened to rejected mates. He’d laughed, dismissing them as myths, but now he wondered if there was an element of truth in them. Would he go insane if she rejected him? Lose his ability to reason and turn feral?
He shook his head. They were stories, that’s all. None of it was real.
You thought there was no chance of finding your mate, either.
He pursed his lips and strode after her, quickly catching up. He didn’t have time to think about this right now.
Gark quickly caught up with Aletta, and Vox paced beside him. They slowed their pace to match that of her shorter steps, the three of them making an odd-looking group.
Jarden and Arik were on the captive ship, still orbiting the station, until Gark gave them the all-clear to dock and offload their prisoners. He didn’t want to let any of the Alliance left in the bar know they were coming.
The station was at its familiar level of busy, but they quickly made their way to the corridor where Aletta had winked out of sight on the security feed.
She pointed down a corridor. “It’s down there, then another turn, and it’s in a dingy-looking alley.”
She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “Right. Let’s do this.” She held out her hands to Gark, who wrapped a length of cord around her wrists.
“Remember, pull this way, and it will come undone,” he said, showing her how to undo the knot with a flick of her wrists. “Ready?”
She nodded, biting her lip. “Yep.”
“I’ll go ahead and knock. I’ll give the code, and then we’ll all enter.” Vox repeated the plan, and they all nodded.
“I’ll pretend to be terrified and see if I can find the woman I saw when I was here before.”
It was Gark’s turn. “I don’t like this plan.”
Aletta snorted. “Look, it’s the best way to get them to let us in.”
He scowled. “But to offer you up as bait after?—”
