Page 5 of Keeping Freya (Warriors of Arracate #3)

T’Rak

A fter my mate released us from prison, we quickly got to work. D’Var is fixing the access panels, and I check fuel levels and do a basic system check. O’Rec gives the ship a thorough security check.

The females have gathered in the control room, so I use one of the computer hubs in the hallway.

I am very impressed by what the females have managed to do in the handful of days since they took over the ship.

The fact that they even managed to take over the ship is impressive as hell; it’s making the bond pulse.

“What do you think they did to the bodies?” D’Var asks through our link.

“What bodies?” O’Rec responds.

“There were Sterno on this ship, they killed them. I do not see them lying around anywhere?” D’Var sends.

“The cellblock reeks,” I chime in.

“They could have just floated the bodies out into space,” O’Rec thinks .

“We should ask the females. If they are still on board, we should dump them before we leave,” D’Var offers.

“Good idea,” I grumble and tune out their conversation. They are way too chipper. I have no desire to speculate on what the females would want. I do not care. I only care about my mate.

A mate. I cannot believe I have found a mate. I never thought I would find my Zarra, but here she is. On a fucking desolate Sternotheri ship.

She fascinates me. Her ivory skin, her luscious curves.

I am dying to explore the softness of her body, to experience what it is like to feel her body under mine.

To touch her breasts, to smell her growing arousal.

I groan, because suddenly I am left with a whole different kind of problem; a very hard cock.

Closing my eyes, I try to will my erection away.

There’s nothing I can do about it now. Not when with a mate that does not want me.

Unfortunately, I immediately picture her, her white hair fanning out on my breath.

With a curse, I grab my cock through my trousers and let my head fall against the wall.

I breathe in and I can almost smell her.

I squeeze my cock, and her scent gets stronger.

I only realize I am not alone when it is far too late.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Fuck, she is standing in the hallway behind me, and I am caught with my cock in my hands like a young boy.

I growl. “Nothing.”

I can feel her coming closer, and I curse myself for not sensing her arrival earlier. She stands next to me now, and I can feel her breath. She gives my shoulder a shove. “I asked you something.” Mistrust rolling off her tone

I turn around and growl. “What?”

“Are you oh…” she begins, but then her gaze follows my arm. “What the actual fuck?” Fire shoots from her eyes .

“It is not what it looks like.” I have no idea how to respond to this woman. Her presence completely unravels me.

“Yeah, right,” she huffs. “Because it for sure looks like you were touching yourself.” She looks me up and down. “You aliens are all the same.”

Her anger lights mine, and I prowl towards her, making her step back until her back hits the other wall. “Do NOT compare me to those fucking Sternotheri.”

She shoves against my chest, her fury is evident and strangely intoxicating.

“I am nothing like those beasts. They have no honor, no conscience, and all they do is destroy. We are Arracate, we are the Warriors. And we are the ones who pick up the pieces.”

I step back and glare at her. She glares back. There is tension between us; the air is crackling with it.

She folds her arms in front of her body, the movement drawing attention to her breasts.

“My eyes are up here,” she snaps.

This infuriating female. “You are determined to only see the worst in every one of my actions, female.”

“Freya,” she says.

“Fr’ya.” Her name is impossible to pronounce. She disapprovingly clicks her tongue.

“Freya, don’t butcher my name.”

I try again, but I get frustrated after a few failed attempts. She glares at me, and I step into her again. “I can just call you ‘mate’.”

“Don’t even fucking think about it,” she huffs, but her pupils are blown and her breath catches. It’s over in a heartbeat, but I know I did not imagine her body reacting to my nearness.

“T’Rak,” I tell her .

“Congratulations,” she says in a weird tone. I do not understand, and she uses the momentum to shove me aside and walk away. Leaving me pining after a mate who clearly does not want me.

I curse myself for losing control, for not knowing what to say or do. I am the captain. I am known for my control and my planning, but to let someone catch me with my dick in my hands in the hallway is unheard of.

There have always been temptations, but I never let them get to me. I knew I had a Zarra somewhere in the Galaxy. Why bother with meaningless connections if the perfect female was waiting for me?

When I stalk around the corner, I pause. Steadying myself with one hand against the wall, I let my head hang, taking a much-needed breath. The smell that is wafting towards me makes me gag. That is one way to get rid of my unruly erection.

“What did they say about the bodies? The smell near the cellblock is appalling; you cannot tell me there are no bodies buried here.”

D’Var’s response is instant. “The one they call Br’tt’ny just told me there is some sort of closet next to the cellblock, they have them stowed in there.”

I scrunch my nose; that explains the disgusting smell. Sternotheri reek when they are alive; dead Sternotheri is a whole other level.

“Meet me there, see if you can find masks,” I tell my crew before I stalk back to the cell block.

D’Var walks in from the other side of the hallway at the same time as I do and makes a face .

“That does indeed smell horrific. Let us hope O’Rec found some masks.”

“Do you know where the air vent is located?” I look around as soon as the words leave my mouth. This ship appears to be an older model. I have not encountered one like this in many years.

“Marra said they are at the back of the ship, between the engines,” O’Rec says as he joins us. He hands out masks, and we firmly put them on before we open the door to the cell block. With our own handprint this time.

Now that I am not distracted by my mate’s presence, I immediately pinpoint the closet where they stashed the bodies. One look at my crew, and I know they have it as well.

The bodies are mostly intact, except for the one missing their hand. I grimace, thinking I need to carry this literal filth, but D’Var gives us a wink and hoists the first body on his shoulders.

“Showtime.”

We work in silence while we bring the bodies towards the airlock.

We need to take two tours and have to wrap the last body in a blanket because it is too heavily damaged.

Looks like someone blasted off the head.

I shake mine as we pile up the bodies. D’Var seals the door before he opens up the airlock.

We stand there in silence as we watch the bodies float.

In that moment, grief hits me hard. I ache for my brother; he was a good male, a fine warrior. He knew what he was getting into, but the way he died was not an honorable death on a battlefield.

When O’Rec met his mate, she was serving the Sternotheri. They sent her with him, hoping she would betray him and expose our race to our enemies. Marra chose O’Rec, which led to their capture, and our entire fleet came out on a rescue mission .

The Sternotheri destroyed their base, killing almost everybody on board, everybody but their High Commander.

He took the coward’s way out; he hid his ship among the debris, making his way out when we turned our backs.

He killed six warriors when he destroyed two of our ships and dozens of his people.

Since that day, there has been a hole in my heart, one that can only be filled by revenge. The High Commander is a monster, and he must be stopped.

O’Rec grasps my shoulder, the touch bringing me back to the present.

“We are needed at the command, the females want to talk about what to do next.”