Page 30 of Murgul
After delivering that pithy statement, she spins on her heels and stalks off, my gaze falling to the delicious curve of her arse as she departs the cargo bay.
“Vrog!”
Snapping my head up, I leer in response, unashamed at being caught ogling her delectable body. To my surprise, she rolls her eyes before sauntering through the door that leads to the interior of the Zenith.
Is it me, or did she add extra swagger to her stride?
GWENDOLYN
Confusion and anger are swirling around inside me as I make my way back to our quarters, carrying my new… pet?
The little creature is no bigger than a six-week-old Labrador—an uncanny blend of horse and bipedal reptile. Its front limbs are three-toed, claw-tipped, and folded close to its torso liketiny, menacing hands. The head is horse-like, but a double row of fangs protrudes past scaly lips from a jaw that hinges farther up the skull than any equine I’ve seen. A shaggy mane runs from between pointed ears down its neck to bony withers, leading to a short back and curving into equine hindquarters. Its tail is horse-like, and its hind feet are shaggy and three-toed, each ending in a sharp talon.
Ignoring the putrid odor wafting off its feeble body, I cuddle it closer, smiling when it makes a tiny warble before it sighs and relaxes into my chest. It’s hard to tell what color it is due to the layers of filth coating its emaciated body.
“Poor little thing, you’ve had a rough time of it, haven’t you?”
Sympathy fills me when it cuddles closer as if it understands what I’m saying. Entering our shared quarters, I don’t stop until I reach the bathroom, ignoring the hulking being wearing my mate’s face.
Thankful to have something to do with my hands, I tenderly ease the little beasty into the sink as I contemplate my current situation. Cutting my eyes over at Vrog where he looms in the doorway, I’m shocked to see a plate filled with raw meat held in his huge hands. He must have sprinted to the dining hall and back.
When he sees what I am looking at, an almost sheepish expression flits across his visage, gone in less than a second before he blusters:
“It is starving. Even I am not so callous as to deny a famished being sustenance.”
Well, I can honestly say that my flabbers are most assuredly gasted for the second, maybe even the third, time tonight. Sighing in resignation, I turn to face the sink, surreptitiously looking at him in the mirror. Just because weneedto talkdoesn’t mean Iwantto. Murgul and I have gained a level of trust during our conversations, a trust that is teetering on the edge of breaking because hiding an alter-ego or whatever the hell Vrog is, isn’t something you’d easily forget to mention.
Gesturing at the wobbly animal in my sink, I ask. “Will any of these soaps harm it?”
Ice blue eyes filled with a wild inner light glance down at the various bottles lining my small vanity, before snapping back up to regard me in a steady, predatory manner.
“None of those will harm the theroquine.”
Nodding my understanding, I activate the sink, testing the temperature to ensure it’s not too hot or too cold, and begin washing the interesting little creature. A tiny smile pulls at my lips as I watch its amber eyes close in appreciation when the warm water sluices over it, slowly washing away the grime from its hide.
Glancing up in the mirror, I make eye contact with Vrog, refusing to be afraid of him.
“Start talking.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
VROG
I amloath to admit to such a thing, but I believe I am out of my depth at the moment. I have never been one fortalking… about anything. I am more of a kill first, ask questions later being (except I have never asked any questions before, I have just murdered all that irked me), but if my mate wants to talk, then talk I will.
“Perhaps I should start at the beginning?”
Her derisive snort makes me grin.
“Ah, that was rather redundant of me, was it not? I will make this as concise as possible. You know that my vessel, Murgul, and his brothers were captives of the frackin’ Aynar, yes?”
At her decisive nod, I continue.
“Well, when Murgul was born, the Aynar were no longer attempting to hide what they were doing to the Rukuhks on Viri 9. That is why his physical body is so much different from his older siblings. His genome was meddled with the most, and as a result of that genetic tampering, I was ‘born’ so to speak, but did not gain any level of sentience until Murgul was captured later by the Velgriddix. I will not give you any details of what transpired during that time, as it is not fit for your ears, but just know that I exist because of his suffering.”
Gwendolyn’s hands pause for a tic in her cleaning of the small creature in the sink, contemplating what I have just relayed to her. “So… what exactlyareyou, and why does Murgul’s body look like it does right now?”
What a clever female my precious one is.