Page 19

Well, that’s interesting.

I sat beside Seth in the near-empty cafeteria as he spoke to the other humans about their options.

I hadn’t wanted to leave my room this morning after learning what I had from Don yesterday.

All of my slight hope at staying with my friends had come crashing down, leaving nothing but rubble.

I’d curled up into a ball on my bed and refused to move.

My mind had been utterly numb. That had been the entirety of my plan: never leave my bed unless Don was close by to calm me down.

Seth had ruined that rather morose and dramatic plan when he invited me to participate in this “Team Human” meeting.

I hadn’t been able to refuse him, and I’d tried in every way feasible, short of actually telling him to fuck off.

Of course, if I’d managed to beg off, Teddy would’ve probably shown up, as long as he wasn’t mad at me still. So I’d left my room.

Sure, I should connect with the other humans here.

Camden and Pierce had both been in brothels like me; they would understand my issues.

Roman seemed nice, as did some of the others.

I mean, Brad was a surly dick, but I could ignore him or prod him into snapping, depending on my mood.

And yet… I didn’t want to do any of that.

I wanted to be in my room, lying on my bed and pretending to not exist.

Seth vibrated with nerves, drawing me out of my bleak thoughts, and I held his hand to calm him, ignoring the initial flash of disgust from the skin to skin contact.

Seth gripped my fingers in his sweaty grasp, but I couldn’t pay any attention to him or his words.

My mind zipped straight back to what I’d learned from Don.

Most likely, my memories would remain intact if I stayed.

And even if I went to Earth, I would have the same physical reactions and no idea why.

Of course, having been missing for two-plus years would make me guess about what happened, but I wouldn’t remember.

Camden, Brad, and Pierce, the newest members of Team Human, paid rapt attention to Seth.

Caleb was also answering questions, but most of the humans moved away from him.

In soul, he was human. In body, not so much.

Also, he was fucking huge. It was taking a moment for everyone to get used to the drakcol proportions.

Teddy didn’t speak, as he was brand new too, but he paid attention.

A few drakcol wandered by our table, but they gave us a wide berth, respecting our privacy.

Seth handled the questions about citizenship, school opportunities, and work fairly well despite the fact he’d had very little time to prepare, but his words drifted in one ear and out the other.

I didn’t want to be here. I wanted to be anywhere else but here.

Alone preferably. In bed. Squishy pillow pressed against me.

The door whooshed open, and Don walked in, talking to another officer.

A grin spread over my face at his sudden appearance, and my gaze ran over him.

He looked good in his dark blue uniform with its high collar.

I caught sight of several gold pips on his neck that probably meant something.

The gold made my eyes flick to his earrings.

He didn’t wear as much jewelry as his brothers, but what he had on was lovely.

I liked the rings that pierced the tips of his ears—the green stones winking in the light—and the long chains in his lobes that nearly brushed his broad shoulders.

I sent him a greeting in my mind. He glanced in my direction in acknowledgment, but he didn’t do anything more.

Ah, fuck no. That wouldn’t do.

Smirking, I thought about when I’d tweaked his tail last night. Don had helped me sleep again, but his tail kept edging closer and closer to me on the bed, so I snagged it, making him jump near to the ceiling.

He stumbled over his words, the tail in question wriggling, and glared at me, which made me smirk harder. Don’t like that, Donny? I teased, burning with the urge to poke and prod him into reaction.

Don shook his head as his lips quirked.

My pulse spiked, and I warmed at the sight of that small, little, tiny quirk. I loved it. So much. I wanted to be the one to pull it from him for… well, for the rest of my damn life. It was so satisfying.

He turned toward me, eyes widening. He’d obviously heard me, but I didn’t care. Don was more than welcome to creep on my thoughts, and it wasn’t like I was trying very hard to hide them.

“Captain,” the drakcol said multiple times before Don shifted toward him to finish the conversation.

I leaned toward Seth. “I’ll be right back. Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” he said, waving me off as he continued to answer questions that I hadn’t heard.

I rushed over to Don, who glared at me, but I knew he didn’t mean it. Of course he didn’t mean it. He liked seeing me. Why wouldn’t he like seeing me? Besides, I looked rather fine today. I was wearing my usual crop top and oversized hoodie, but I had a short skirt on, leaving my legs bare.

At said thought of my legs, Don glanced down and his tail moved even faster.

I smirked.

“You distracted me,” he said gravely, like I’d committed some horrid crime rather than a simple teasing.

I scoffed. “My prerogative.” He shook his head, but I continued, “Why are you here? It’s too early for your lunch.”

Don crossed his arms as a slight smile tugged on his lips. “You know my schedule?”

Did I notice him coming and going? Sure. Was that memorizing his schedule like an obsessive stalker? No. Don always had lunch at the same time. It wasn’t hard.

He moved closer, leaning toward me. “You’re annoyed.”

“At you? No. At everything you told me? Yeah, pretty much.” His response wasn’t great, but I got it.

It wasn’t his fault, but yeah, I was pissed off.

At everyone. At everything. Fuck, I was even mad at Teddy for walking out of my room and not giving me a second.

I was mad at Seth for marrying that fucker Kal.

I was mad at Kal for being alive. I mean, the list went on and on.

I was pissed at everyone, except Don. He was too nice. It would be like being mad at a puppy.

“You told Bartholomew about Earth.” His voice had turned grave.

“Yeah,” I said, even though it wasn’t a question. Don hadn’t moved away, but his expression was closed, as if he was fearing my reaction, which was stupid. None of this was his problem or fault. I poked him in the chest, and he jolted. “You didn’t tell me why you’re here, Donny.”

“You were distracting me.”

“How?” I was across the ship. If I was distracting him among everyone that was closer to him, then how did he work or function for that matter?

“You were upset, though oddly… vacant. I couldn’t catch more besides the turmoil in your thoughts, but it was enough I decided an early lunch was in order.”

“I shouldn’t have bothered you.” Fuck, was this going to be a daytime issue too?

“No,” Don said forcefully. “There’s no issue, Little Warrior.” He glanced toward where Seth was. “Did you want to rejoin Seth and the human huddle?”

I laughed at the term, which made him smile. “No, I would rather stay with you.”

“I would like that.”

We moved toward a table in the corner, near the long window that framed one wall—which I refused to look at—and took a seat on the round stools. Every seat or stool was backless. It drove me bonkers. I couldn’t get comfortable. Drakcol had to have abs of steel or something.

Don chuckled. “They are backless because of our wings. When we relax, we often let our wings out.”

“Why aren’t they always out?”

“Besides the inconvenience of space and tight corridors, we consider it an aggressive act. Back when we were warring clans, we would spread our wings to make ourselves larger. Also, the talons are sharp enough to cut through our scales. They are weapons, our freedom to fly, and in some cases, shields for those we love.”

“Hmm. Interesting. When did you stop in-fighting? Or are you like Earth and have many nations?”

“We are unified,” he said, taking a bite of a bright red berry. “We unified under a single empress after the Crystal elected her. The legend says she was a great warrior who had the gift of light and life.”

Don had talked about the Crystal, though I’d been half-asleep, but I didn’t really get it.

“I can explain in more detail,” he said.

I grinned. God, it was convenient having him hear my thoughts. I got why people didn’t like it, but at the same time, I didn’t mind. He couldn’t help it, and he didn’t go around spouting people’s secrets.

Don placed his hand on the table next to me, not touching but close. I spanned the distance and grabbed his hand without thought, enjoying the feel of his warm scales against my skin.

I froze, tension making my muscles creak with strain.

Don paused as well.

I enjoyed the feel of his hand in mine. I liked the feel of him .

That hadn’t happened since… I refused to take that thought any further.

Instead, I interlaced our fingers. Don’s were so much thicker and longer than mine, not to mention tipped with those deadly-looking claws.

I wasn’t afraid, though. He wouldn’t hurt me.

I pressed my palm flat to his and smiled softly at our two hands. His was so large next to mine, and his scales were so dark next to my deathly pale skin. I liked it. Our hands looked good together. And hell, he was warm. I swore I was always cold now, and he was so hot.

“So the Crystal?” I asked, restarting the conversation.

He cleared his throat and began eating again as he spoke, but his hand remained in mine. “As far as we can determine, it’s an entity or thought. It came from space long ago before we were a space-faring culture. A religion was built around it. It identifies our soul types and finds soulmates.”

“Soul types? Right, I remember. Scientist, fighter, and something or other.”