Page 43

Zyair

Heat pulsed through me.

At first, I thought it was merely the latest chemical effects from the aphrodisiac.

But it was not due to Brentoq.

Because this was not lust. This was euphoria.

Even as the manticore venom scorched a path through my veins, my mind had been filled with the writhing of bodies.

My brother . And my mate .

I closed my eyes and let them transport me beyond this metal room and the ship captained by a gaseous manticore.

Jaz’s presence filled my senses, and I imagined her sweet scent, the feel of her soft, yet strong body.

The arms wrapped around her possessed lean muscles I knew almost as well as my own.

Rhodes.

The missing component arrived a heartbeat later. Xandros, fainter, but part of it all.

Part of four . It could only mean one thing—they had both bonded with her.

Our mate .

I had to work to stifle the pulse of hope that shot through me.

It did nothing to alleviate my situation, but it meant that my brothers would fulfill a bond that I had craved with everything I was, or had been.

That they might become fathers, and do their part to save both our clan, and our people, meant the cosmos to me.

Jaz…

The memory of her touch did more to fire my blood than the three doses of aphrodisiac that Brentoq had shot me full of.

“Finally. I was beginning to think you were immune.”

A sour stench swept away Jaz’s sweetness. My eyes snapped open to see the distinctive, slit-nostriled face of the revolting manticore.

I pushed my mate and my brothers out of my mind.

I glanced to where Senaik still hung. Part of me wished they would deposit him out the nearest airlock.

I was getting tired of sending him mental hate messages.

Talking was hopeless, he never responded.

He only moaned softly, hanging there with his cock semi-hard.

He was nearly done, appetizer or no.

Brentoq’s stench effectively doused my arousal. She noticed, and her eyes narrowed as her venom-tipped tail wove closer to me. “Seems a fourth dose is in order.”

I snorted derisively. “I will never respond to you.”

Her unibrow dropped. “In the end, your friend gave us what we wanted. He was so tasty. And he will die with a smile on his face.”

Even with everything Senaik had done, her comments angered me. I had to correct her. “Senaik was never my friend. Although I wish him a good death.”

I glanced again over to the other Drake. Even though Brentoq had rejoined us, he seemed incapable of doing more than moan. I did not think his demise was far off, now. One more feeding. Maybe.

I could only hope that my end would be as swift. I had my doubts about that, too.

Brentoq reached out to caress my wing above its binding, and I barely suppressed a shudder. She leaned close, and I winced as her rank breath ghosted across my skin.

“The longer you hold out, the sweeter you will taste. I have sent word to my hive sisters on Givnia. They will meet us at Xalcim—and then we will feast.” Her forked tongue ran across my jaw, and in that instant, she sank her stinger into my thigh.

I embraced the pain of the stab, as well as the burn of the venom entering my body. Anything was better than the lust that followed. It took everything I had to fight it.

She chuckled coarsely into my ear, her tongue trailing over my skin before she pulled away to gesture to the males that had followed her in. “You can take that Drake”—she pointed to Senaik—“and when you are finished with him, dump him out the airlock.”

Brentoq enveloped me in her ripe stench with more flatulence before she walked out of the room. I watched the males eagerly detach Senaik’s form from the restraints and drag him away. He was far enough gone that he did not rouse when they did so.

When the doors closed after them, I received a pulse of something—a message, of sorts. In images, rather than words.

Images of the Stardrifter approaching a planet that I recognized.

Givnia.

Shaftz. They were coming after me.

Concentrating to make my opinions on that known, I conveyed images of the ship slipstreaming back to Earth. There was nothing they could do for me.

I sent another image of our mate standing between Rhodes and Xandros. The meaning was clear. Protect Jaz.

Then, suddenly, she was there. A warm presence in my mind. The image changed to include me standing behind her.

No. My denial was overridden by three very strong impressions that showed I was delusional if I thought they were going to run and leave me like this.

I gritted my teeth, shoving them all away. They would die trying to save me. So long as I remained alive, they would be at risk .

My thoughts froze.

There were some things I might have control over…

All I had to do, was stop fighting.