Page 7 of Keeping Freya (Warriors of Arracate #3)

T’Rak

T hat infuriating female has the nerve to make demands, to withhold me from my revenge.

She seemed the perfect mate for me. I was already planning on visiting her on Novarron and courting her, even though I would probably make a fool out of myself.

I am not good with words, like O’Rec, or smooth like D’Var.

I have nothing to use to win her over. My scarred face usually only repels females.

I grumble, shaking my head. She hurt me with her words and careless way of using the information about the High Commander’s whereabouts to get her way. Does she not know I would have moved the Galaxies to get her what she wants? What she needs?

My mouth sets in a stern line, betrayal cutting deep, and I feel the bond in my chest ache. Fate has dealt me a wry hand, leaving me on a ship with an unwilling mate. One who has the illusion that we will work together to get to our destination, wherever that may be, because she refuses to tell me.

Growling, I jump up, unrest making me pace the Command Center. I should be thrilled at the opportunity to spend some time with my mate in close proximity. This will force us to work together and enhance the bond. But hurt and betrayal make me angry, and I feel the intense need to punch something.

The ship’s night mode kicks in, and I double-check the autopilot. The course is set, sensors are activated, and the alerts are rerouted to my wrist com. If we encounter even the smallest meteor, I will immediately know.

I take one longing look at the door my mate just disappeared through before I shrug it off and stalk out of the room.

I make my way towards the belly of the ship.

Other Sternotheri ships we encountered had their cell blocks here, but this one only has a small cell block and a big open room underneath.

Training mats are scattered in one corner, and another one has targets lined up next to each other.

However, my attention is drawn to the far corner, where big bags hang from the ceiling.

A feral grin splits my face. This is what I was looking for.

Time seems to fade into the background as I work away all my anger and hurt on the bag.

I alternate between bags, pretending they are all enemies that must be fought.

Punch after punch, kick after kick, my braid swishes behind me, my tail centering me when I turn and twist. Sweat forms on my brow, but I do not notice anything.

I am lost in the movements, lost in my Warrior Calm.

When exhaustion finally takes over, I cling to one of the bags.

My anger is mostly gone, exposing the lingering hurt and grief.

I miss my brother. We did not talk to each other daily, but we were very close.

We would make sure that we met on the Ring frequently, always sharing stories.

I was so proud of him the day he became a captain and got his crew. And now he is gone.

My mate should be the one I could turn to in such a moment, but she is not the mate I need right now.

Before anger retakes hold, I reach for my Calm and walk away.

The empty captains chair is still waiting for me when I get back to command. The ship is still in night mode, so I guess Fr’ya is still sleeping.

The course I have planned will take us to Tekrov in five days, so I have five days alone with her. If I were a better male, I would use that time to make her warm up to me and see if I can make her stay.

If only I were a better male…

I must have fallen asleep at some point during the night because I wake up to the sound of sliding doors, alertness instantly kicking in.

She does not speak, so neither do I. I do not turn to look at her, but I feel her eyes burning on my back. She passes through and rummages in one of the cabinets. Bringing a steamy mug of tea with her when she settles down in the second captain’s chair.

“You can go rest now. I’ve got this.” Her voice is laced with contempt

I snort and grumble. No way she has ‘got this’. “No need, female, I will stay.”

She raises her eyebrows. “You need sleep.”

I give her another grunt in response. “I slept.”

She huffs, and I smile. She is cute when she is angry .

“So, what is this then? Some sort of macho-guy thing? Think I can’t pilot this ship?”

I turn toward her. “No, I do not think you can pilot the ship. How long have you been a captain of a spaceship?”

She glares at me. Fuck, I have said the wrong thing, but now that I have put my foot in my mouth, I cannot seem to stop.

“I will pilot the ship and take us safely to our destination. The ship is on autopilot, and scanners will alert me instantly if anything occurs. I can rest when I need it, but that is not right now.”

“So, you are just going to sit here?” Indignation seeps through her hostile tone.

“Yes.” It is not necessary for me to stay here, in this chair, with the course and the autopilot. I just do not trust her yet.

She looks at me through pinched eyes, obviously not happy with me right now. After a death-glare, she slowly rises and leaves.

Because I cannot resist myself, I look at her retreating form.

Her hair is long and wavy, flowing loosely on her back.

Her round, tail-less backside makes my mouth water.

She is gorgeous. I chastise myself. If the way L’Ren and Marra were treated is any indication of how human females are seen across the Galaxy, she has been through enough.

She does not need me ogling her backside, gorgeous as it may be.

The bond does not care, and it pulses, ordering me to follow her, but I let her go.

She is not for me, with her desire to return to Earth and to leave everything here behind. I grit my teeth, thinking about her home planet and my promise to find it and take her back to it.

I do not know where the planet is located. I have never heard of Earth, and our initial searches came up empty. I do not think she will find her life the same as when she left it. Time has passed, and being this far away from your planet really bends the concept of time.

But I always keep my promises. We Arracate have honor engraved in our bones. A promise is not taken lightly, even though this one will probably kill me.

Time passes, and my scans show a nearby meteor belt. Just when I want to make additional scans to help us with the navigation, Fr’ya comes stomping into the room. Obviously, still very angry.

“You can’t do this to me,” she snaps. “I’m a grown woman, I have taken control of this ship and got rid of the old crew. I am not some clueless, helpless damsel. So if I say I will take a shift piloting this thing, I will take a shift so you can sleep.”

I huff, her anger both amusing and irritating me. “No.”

“No?!” She is fuming right now. “No isn’t good enough, mister. Give me one good reason why you can’t rest up while I take care of the ship.”

“You do not know how to pilot it.”

She shrugs. “I know enough, besides the ship’s on autopilot. There’s nothing I have to do, but wake you when something’s wrong!”

She is right, of course, but I will not cave, yet. I can reroute the signals to my wrist com, and nothing will ever happen when I sleep, but what if something does happen to her on my watch? I will never forgive myself. Maybe tomorrow, once we are back in open space.

I could tell her that, but all I do is grunt and growl before I turn my attention to the window in front of the chairs. I cannot really deal with communicating with her right now.

Fr’ya is not having it, though; she stomps over and stands directly in front of me.

“You are the worst! You stubborn, impossible MAN. You think it’s better if you don’t sleep, than if you trust me to take care of you? Well, if something happens because you decide I’m not worthy of learning anything on this ship, or putting your trust in me. Well, that’s on YOU.”

She jabs her finger at my chest before she turns around furiously and walks away. My tail shoots out, and I grab her wrist, pulling her back to me.

I growl. “Do not walk away from me. We are here together, thanks to you. You could have been safe on Novarron, waiting for me to come and find your Earth for you. But you had to be stubborn and come along. Are you so careless about life that you want to endanger yourself like this?”

“You endanger me by not showing me how to pilot this ship,” she huffs. Her cheeks are burning red, and fire sparks in her eyes. “There is nothing for me on Novarron but women who want to play lovey-dovey with aliens. I have had my share, thank you very much.”

“There is nothing for you on Tekrov. NOTHING. I made you a promise, and I will always keep my promises. Now, if I find it hard to trust you after that stunt you pulled is hard for you to believe, too bad.”

“You are mad at me? For not trusting you?” Her eyes widen, and she shakes her head. “I have not been able to trust any fucking Alien since I woke up in this freaking Galaxy, so no. I will not trust you, because I don’t know you. And if that makes you mad, well… Suck it up, Buttercup.”

I stare at the fuming female. “Butter-Cup?” I repeat, and I cock my head in confusion.

Exasperation shows on her face, but our fight is being interrupted by an alert on my wrist com.

We turn around in unison, and a red light starts blinking at the control panel.

Fr’Ya pales before taking a step closer to me.

“That is an incoming transmission,” she whispers.