Page 26

Spider, pig, or rabbit?

I walked away from the medbay more irritated than when I’d headed there, which was a fucking feat because I hated going for any reason.

Klars was still upset that I wasn’t gaining weight.

He’d promised, or more like threatened, to appeal to Seth or to take medical action if he didn’t see a marked improvement by my next appointment.

I’d refused the nutritional slurries, and I wasn’t eating much—I had no appetite or interest in food.

But I didn’t want Seth to find out about anything, nor did I want to put Don in a hard position of keeping his promise to me while fighting Klars.

That meant I was going to have to eat more.

My stomach protested the very thought. I did eat some when I was with Don.

He never pressured me, but he would eat and I couldn’t seem to stop myself from picking food off of his plate if to do nothing more than make him smile or to tease him.

It also helped that he was currently determined to try human cuisine.

It was incredibly fun to see him eat different things, half the time attempting to keep his expression bland and not succeeding. Just thinking about it made me smile.

Hands behind my back, I walked down the hallway, which was nearly covered in entirety with vines.

The vines were a deep green, a pale blue, and a basic red.

They all wove together in an explosion of color, aided by the flowers growing on them.

Gardeners were currently pruning them back so they remained on the ceiling and walls and didn’t overtake the spongy floor.

It made sense, in a way, for space vessels to be covered in plants.

They provided oxygen and cleaned the air.

I assumed that none of these plants took much water, but I could be wrong.

I paused in my step to round a gardener who was attacking a particularly thick vine, then continued down the hall with nowhere in mind.

I could always return to my room, but there was a chance that I would simply lie in bed and not move.

Honestly, that was what would happen. I had little urge to do anything, which was so unlike me.

I usually flitted around, busy as hell, never stopping.

Now, I wanted to be alone and lying on the bed, numb.

Seth was busy. He had to speak with the ruling group of the Drakcol Empire, the Cohort.

Caleb was with him. Apparently, Wyn, their friend, and some other drakcol were bringing up concerns of accessibility for the flightless population on the drakcol homeworld.

I had no idea what Teddy was doing, besides fucking his husband—that was basically all they did.

People dashed past me, almost running. I didn’t really think much of it, because drakcol jogged along the halls all the time. They were all obsessed with fitness to an extreme level—maybe even to an unhealthy level. This time, most people who rushed by were wearing uniforms, not workout clothes.

My pulse picked up as sweat slid down my spine. I felt, all of sudden, like all these running people knew something that I did not. I looked over my shoulder, but the drakcol had disappeared from sight. When I faced forward, I had a split second to see something hurtling toward me.

I shrieked when something smacked into my face and wrapped around my head, sending me to the ground. Pure terror knifed through me, cutting off my breath. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t react. Something had gotten me. Memories assaulted me and sent my stomach up my throat.

“Pookie,” Teddy yelled, yanking the thing off me.

I flipped over and puked. What little I’d ingested this morning splattered the blue moss. Trembling, I vomited again, bile burning my nose. A hand touched my back, and I flinched away, crying, “No!”

“Vince,” Teddy whispered. “It’s me.”

“No,” I repeated before puking again. “No.” I shook my head. I couldn’t do this. I was done. I wanted to be done. I needed to move past this. Why the fuck couldn’t I?

“Vince,” a deeper voice said, and I looked up.

Don was in front of me, his hair mussed and his scales shiny like he’d been running. I felt my chin tremble, but I fisted my hands and willed my burning eyes to suck the fuck up. He crouched and cupped my cheek, waiting.

Please , I thought. I didn’t want to lose it here.

Calm descended, and I took a shuddering breath.

My eyes closed, and I instinctively shifted toward Don, needing reassurance from him.

His other arm slowly slid around me, then pulled me until I was nestled against his chest with his hand holding my face.

His warm scent seeped into my lungs, and finally, I was safe.

“I have you,” Don whispered. “I always have you.”

I took another intoxicating inhale and shifted back enough to see Teddy, who was holding a literal monster.

It was white with floppy ears like a rabbit, eyes that went in two different directions, a pig snout, snaggle teeth, and six spider legs that hugged its body, though each one had tiny paws, complete with toe beans, on the end.

It was like a mad scientist had jammed all the spare parts from other experiments together and called it good.

“What the fuck is that?” I asked.

“What the fuck is that ?” Teddy asked, gesturing to Don and me.

“Oh, yeah. Me and Don are friends with benefits.”

Teddy stared at us for a minute, then said, “Okay.”

I grinned. “That’s it?”

He shrugged. “Am I supposed to say something else?”

I laughed, pushing out of Don’s embrace, and stood. I snagged his hand, keeping him close. I wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye. “No. Now answer my question.”

Teddy held out the monster, whose tongue lolled as it snorted. “This is Pookie. We are currently running from Mindy.”

My pulse thrummed. “What? Why? What did he do?”

“It’s a sex thing, I believe,” Don replied, tightening his hold on my hand.

A deep flush spread over Teddy’s cheeks, extending down his neck and up to his ears.

I laughed. “I see. He hunts and gets to keep his prize.”

“Something like that,” Teddy muttered.

“So, Pookie?” I asked, and when it heard its name, it snorted and its legs thrashed. I flinched and pressed closer to Don.

“She won’t hurt you,” Teddy said, squeezing her and making her snort. “She loves everybody and wants to play. She didn’t mean to scare you. Though that’s how she terrified Seth. Caleb finds it funny. He wears her like a hat.”

My eyebrows raised. I didn’t believe I’d ever heard Teddy talk so much in one go.

“She’s not in trouble,” Don said, gesturing to the writhing creature in Teddy’s grasp. “While many have complained about your pet, Bartholomew, I see no merit in taking her from you.”

I snorted. “He means Mindy wouldn’t forgive him, and he’s a doting older brother who loves his younger brothers.”

Don flicked me with his tail, and I grinned at him.

Any tension in Teddy vanished. He set Pookie down, and she bolted toward me.

I crouched down, letting go of Don but silently asking him to hold onto me with his tail, which he did, and held out a hand.

Her little pig snout twitched and her curly tail wagged.

I smiled. She was rather cute when she wasn’t acting like a creature from a horror movie who would suck my brains out.

I petted her head, and her odd eyes closed as she snorted.

“I like her,” I whispered. I hadn’t had a pet in so long. I missed it.

“Me too,” Teddy replied, moving to crouch on her other side. We both petted and stroked Pookie while she accepted every little morsel of affection. “I couldn’t imagine leaving her on that icy planet. Thankfully, we didn’t have to.”

“There you are,” a voice snarled, and I flinched.

Teddy was up in a flash and running away with Pookie at his side. Mindy growled and raced after him.

I swallowed, watching them disappear.

Don grabbed my hand again. “Serlotminden will never harm Bartholomew, and the exercise is good for him. He needs to rebuild his muscles.”

While Don didn’t remark on my own physique, he did run his eyes over me. I crossed my arms and lifted an eyebrow, daring him to comment.

He smiled. “I was thinking about how well you look today.”

Heat slammed my cheeks. I’d picked out this black sundress and fishnet tights hoping he would like them.

With a quirk of his lips, Don stepped closer. His free hand tugged on the hem of my dress. “Do all people wear such clothes?”

“Why?”

“Curiosity. Seth, Caleb, and Bartholomew don’t dress as you do.”

“I’m more femme than most cis guys.”

He blinked.

“Feminine,” I reiterated. “I’m not a woman, nor do I want to be one, and I’m not trans femme, but I like soft things and dressing like this.” I shrugged, not sure how to exactly explain it.

“I like it.”

Once again, heat returned to my face. I pushed him slightly. “If you’re not careful, I’ll let your compliments go to my head.”

Don only moved closer, leaving very little space between us, and not even a tinge of fear plagued me. He was Don; what was there to be afraid of?

He lowered his head, his breath rushing over me as he said, “I think you should let it go straight to your lovely head, Little Warrior.”

“Should I?”

“Indeed.”

I swallowed. “I’m already dripping in ego. I could get worse.”

Lips almost touching my ear, he whispered, “And I’ll still be right here beside you, telling you how lovely I find you.”

Pulse in my throat and dick hardening, I simply pulled Don into a hug in the middle of the damn hallway and hid my burning face from anyone who happened to wander by.