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Aramon and his twin brother arrived first, but for once,the loud Asrai’s mate was not tucked under his arm. He was still chatting a mile aminute, then falling silent as he listened to whatever Solear communicated to him telepathically. At the hatch, Aramon did pause to stare, and I felt heat crawl up the back of my neck as embarrassment filled me. I had overdone it—seriously overdone it. Everyone would notice how out of the ordinary this breakfast spread was.

The pilot whistled loudly as he perused what was there. “Whoa, Brace, you really outdid yourself. What’s the occasion? We’re not done harrying Jalima’s ships yet.” He reached for a pile of sausage-stuffed bread rolls, and I had to fight the urge to slap his hand away. I didn’t want anyone to touch the food untilshe’dtaken her pick.

When the loudmouth reachednextfor the chocolate cakes she’d enjoyed so much last night, I slapped his fingers away with a wooden spoon. “Not those!” I snarled. “Humans only.” There, that was better than declaring everything off-limits to everyone except my gravid female.

Aramon didn’t miss a beat. “And I have a human mate—I'm getting them for her!” He was a liar, and he was full of shit. When I growled, he laughed, undeterred, but he didn’t reach for the cakes again. It had made Solear extremely anxious. I could see how he fidgeted on his feet, his sharp teeth bared, and a silent growl vibrating in his chest. If any male aboard this ship understood my battle with rage, it was that one. But I knew we’d never be able to talk about it.

That one time, several weeks ago, when I had left the ship, it had been with him—to help my friend Elyssa save her mate, Tasseloris. It had been a very uneasy alliance, but I also knew it was the only one that would have worked. I could trust that Solear had zero interest in getting close to me—and no compunction about fighting with deadly force if I lost control.

More crew members were beginning to arrive, and that only made the damaged, silent Asrai male more tense. If he could, I was certain he’d prefer hiding in the dark behind my hatch with me. But there was only space for one of us inside my galley. Then Tass showed up with Elyssa, and his cheerful greeting of Solear—before he so much as acknowledged anyone else—settled the male. That was a new development to which everyone was still getting used, but there was no denying that Tass had somehow managed to make friends with the silent, often violent Asrai male.

I did not leave my galley or my quarters, ever. So I could only surmise this from what I’d seen in the mess hall. But it seemed to me that Solear was getting calmer, less anxious, now that he had not just Aramon in his inner circle, but Evie, Aramon’s mate, and Tasseloris as well. I was still pondering that, a good distraction from the males snatching food from my counter, when she showed up.

She was accompanied by Mandy and Harper, the first two humanswhohad joined theVarakartoomand matedwithmales aboard the ship. Her hair gleamed under the bright lights in the mess hall this morning, hangingneatlyover her shoulders in two long braids. She was radiant and smiling—just like last night.

When they came to the hatch, I couldn’t help myself. I hurried to pile a plate with the choicest selection of human-preferred foods and offered it to her. I knew it was too much, that she couldn’t possibly eat allof it—and I was certain she was about to laugh in my face. But she took the plate, smiling widely, and our fingers briefly touched. Hers were shockingly small and soft against the rough pad of my finger.

“Thank you. I’ve learned your name is Brace. I’m Ruby,” she said. She was looking at the gap beneath the hatch, where I’d hurriedly withdrawn my hands before I did something even crazier than the madness that had consumed me since our last encounter. Like open the hatch and leap over the counter so I could haul her intomy arms, or reach out and touch her fingers again, or… what if I brushed my mouth to hers in one of those mouth matings—kisses—the humans were so fond of?

Her smile began to falter, and my brain ached as I tried to figure out what was wrong. Had she hurt herself? Was the plate too heavy?Was she struck with nausea? That had happened to Mandyinthe first few months of her pregnancy. A growl rumbled from my chest in discontent, but I wasn’t sure what to do other than stand there and wait. Last night, I’d sworn to stay away, feed her, nothing more. It ached, but that’s what I’d do.

“Come on, Ruby. It’s nice of you to try, but Brace doesn’t talk to anyone, don’t take it personally.” Elyssa winked at my hatch as she said it, but I knew that she did hurt each time I failed to respond to her questions. Talk to her like I used to when we knew each other as kids. My eyes skated over Ruby’s face, wonderingif that’s why she’d stoppedsmiling, because I hadn’t answered her. But she hadn’t asked a question… What had she expected from me? Unlike with Elyssa, I did want to respond to Ruby if she wanted to talk. That was harmless, through the hatch, wasn’t it?

Now it was too late. The females were turning away from my counter,and mercenaries were rushing to take their place and feast on what was left. I could hear Harper exclaim over the pile of food I’d given Ruby, andIfelt heat crawl up my spine and fill my belly when my female responded defensively: that she liked it. That it pleased her. Ah,stars… I’d pleased her, and knowing that, it was like she owned me.

I ignored everyone raiding the massive piles of food and sidled all the way to the corner where I could eavesdrop on my Ruby as she talked with the other females. It was wrong, I knew that, but damn it, thiswasmy galley. They spoke of how her crew was still being interrogated. My mate was demanding she be let go, back to her ship, so she could be on her way and make her delivery in time. Mandy was telling her no, but not because she wasn’t free to go, but because it wasn’t safe. How could it not be safe? I swore I’d find out.

I hated to see her go, but once the mess hall began to empty and the food had been demolished at astonishing rates, she did leave. I cleaned up in silence, steaming overwhat options I had—what she needed.Then I grabbed my cloak and covered myself from the top of my head all the way to my toes. I never walked the hallways during the day, and eventhough I wascovered so nobody could truly see me, Istillfelt exposed. Entering the bridge? I didn’t think I’d ever been there, but that’s where Asmoded was, and it was him I needed to speakto.

“Brace?” Aramon exclaimed in surprise, the first to see me. A dozen eyes swung my way, and my fur bristled, my pelt twitching along my spine in unease. Jaxin was implacable, his dark Rummicaron eyes peering at me over his large maw. He was possibly the only one not staring at me in surprise—and that was because he couldn’t feel surprise.

Ignoring all the stares, I locked eyes with Asmoded,seated in thecaptain’s chair. “We need to talk,” I said firmly. A little too firmly, my voice sounded like a snarl, bouncingloudly offthe walls. Several of my crewmates winced, and one Elhorian male raised his hands to cover his sensitive ears. Solear began growling back at me immediately, shifting into a feral crouch that made it obvious he would leap over the navigator’s seat to get at me if I threatened himfurther. Ah, stars. This was exactly why I never left my galley.

Pulling in a deep breath didn’t help, but,thankfully, the captain was willing to put me out of my misery. “Indeed, why don’t we go to the ready room?” He rose sinuously from his seat,standing tall between me and the rattled Solear. Instantly, the Asrai male snapped out of his growl, plunking back intohis seat and turning his back on me. Asmoded began gliding across the bridge then, snapping orders as he went, and,left and right, males ducked their heads and went back to work.

Once the ready room door closed behind me, some of the tension left my body,and I lowered my shoulders. Asmoded hardly looked intimidated by my presence;he even sat down at the large meeting table, making himselfseemeven smaller next to my eight-foot-tall, towering form. “What is it you came here to discuss, Brace?”he drawled, the tip of his long tail lazily flicking through the air. “We’re not at an ice planet or moon yet. What more could you possibly have to say?”

That sounded cold, a little cruel, but I knew how he meant it. I’d never stormed from my galley and onto the bridge before, so,obviously, something had shaken me from my rigid routine. From the sharp glint in his golden eyes, I was pretty sure he already knew what had my fur all ruffled. My stomach went cold, the always-present hollow feeling there growing stronger, filling me with the pain of hunger. “The pregnant female, why is it not safe for her to return to her ship?” I demanded.

“Ah,” Asmoded said, a smile curling his lips that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Sit down, Brace.” His tail flicked to one of the larger chairs at the end of the table. Since it was still quite a distance from the captain, I felt safe enough to shuffle over and sit down. If I lost control, there was a whole table between us that would give his fast reflexes ample time to get out of my way. I hoped.

“Yes, Captain RubyGonzález. Quite the conundrum she’s brought us,” Asmoded agreed. “Unlike the other ships we’ve attacked, we can’t return her to her ship alone. She would be dead in space without her crew. And given the parentage of her unborn child… she’d be in grave danger. I’m afraid we’ll have to keep her.”

Keep her? Yes! My instincts vehemently agreed with that statement; keeping my mate here, in my domain,was the ultimate temptation. But this was about her safety, and keeping her with me wasn’t safe. Worse, keeping her trapped would make me as bad as Jalima. I knew all too well how awful it was to be trapped against your will—to be forced to do things you did not wish to do, with no choice in the matter. “No,” I growled, my fists slamming down on the table. Instantly, I winced, hating that I’d slipped like that—and then I slipped up even more: “I’ll keep her company while you sort out Jalima.”

Asmoded tilted his head, his black and green hair sliding over his shoulder with a whisper. He was smiling again, and big as I was—the ultimate predator—I was the one who felt like prey at that moment. “Leave theVarakartoom, leave your galley? To protect one lonely human?”

It was the word lonely that triggered me, and later I’d realize that he’d used that word on purpose. My loudly snarled “yes” sealed the deal, and once said, I knew he’d make me keep my word. I wouldn’t want him to do anything else. I was going with Ruby back to her ship, and somehow I was going to have to control my rage while I was alone with her. To keep her safe, I’d do anything. The look in Asmoded’s eyes told me he knew that better than I did, but that didn’t make me feel better. How could I possibly trust myself?

Chapter 5

Ruby

All the food looked good, all of it. Inhaling deeply, I savored the rich scents, savory and sweet mingling into a heady combination. And yet…my mindkept returning tothe moment I’d taken the plate from Brace, the Hoxiam chef who—given his species—was possibly the most dangerous creature aboard the entire mercenary vessel. He’d made me a plate, no one else, and our fingers had touched during the transfer. I couldn’t get it out of my head, no matter how hard I tried.

Those fingers had felt warm, rough, so much bigger than mine. The strength he had was obvious, evenjust fromseeing—feeling—his hand. It made me feel safe. Not that I had felt particularly unsafe aboard theVarakartoom,if I were being honest. After the initial round of intimidation, they had been...nice. I’d never met another human out here, and to talk with several of them, hear of their experiences, that was amazing. Harper and Mandy had talked to me about the human sanctuary on Ker, and now it felt like I had another option. If I could get there, my baby would be with both his people; a safe place to grow up.

“Are you going to be able to eat all that?” Elyssa said teasingly from where she sat on my left. Her plate had only three things on it, granted, one of them was a rich chocolate lava cake, but compared to mine, she might as wellhave beeneating a tiny salad. Heat crawled up my cheeks because I had seen that piled-high plate Brace was offering and absolutely desired to eat every single bite. Somehow, he’d managed to put foods on there that appealed especially to my senses right now. My favorites. But how could he possibly know any of that?