Chapter 7 Julie
The cooki perched on the edge of the table, the stolen piece of meat dangling from its tiny paws, looking like it had just pulled off the greatest heist in cooki history.
Yes, I knew that it was technically pronounced kukee, but like many of the humans living with the Kadrixan warriors, I preferred to call them cookis. It was cuter and fit them better.
“We’re going to have to name it now, you know,” Kat said, nodding at the little thief. “Since it’s now our mission’s official mascot.”
She leaned back in her chair, sipping her drink, thoroughly amused and entertained by its antics. Charlene sat next to her, looking just as amused.
The adorable little creature tilted its head, those big, round eyes locking onto me with an innocence that was entirely fake. Its oversized ears twitched, and its fluffy tail curled behind it like a question mark.
“That’s not going to work with me. You’re not getting any more of my food.” I hovered my arms protectively over the remainder of my meal as Kat and Chris looked on. Their food remained unmolested.
“Aren’t cookis supposed to be consummate hunters?” Charlene asked.
Ellaston had a few that lived in their buildings, but the majority preferred living in the stronghold inside the mountains, which was their natural habitat.
“Technically, yeah. They’re supposed to hunt down any pests and eat our food waste to keep the place clean, but a few have decided that stealing our food or begging for handouts is better,” I explained.
“We’re not supposed to feed them too much to avoid exactly that.
” I glared at the little creature. “You’re supposed to wait until we are finished. ”
I’d planned on leaving more than enough for it, but it had been so hungry, and I felt so bad for it, that I’d given it a piece straight from my platter.
That had been a mistake. And now it was coming right up and helping itself to my food.
It had already managed to touch most of my lunch with its greedy little paws in an attempt to choose between the fried tatertot stem and the meat.
“Are you even sure you want the rest of that?” Chris asked. “Who knows where its paws have been?”
Charlene nodded.
“Grtirr said he found it in his tool kit,” Kat said.
Chris frowned. “Not his medkit?”
I shrugged. “He’s got a hovercraft he’s working on in the lower deck. I was exploring the ship and saw it earlier.”
I stabbed a fried tatertot stem with my finger tongs. Now that the Kadrixans had made the utensils smaller for our hands, I really liked using them. It was like being able to eat everything with your fingers but still keep them clean.
The cooki took this instance to dart forward at my platter. I tried to protect my food by snatching its furry body up off my plate, but not before it grabbed another piece of the tatertot stem.
Ugh! There were two other platters here, and the little bugger was only stealing from mine.
The critter held the food to its mouth, trying to stuff as much of it as possible into its mouth. It was utterly adorable the way it held food in its little paws like they were hands.
“Why my food?” I asked.
“You’re the weakest link,” Chris teased.
“You’re also the only one with fried tatertot stem,” Charlene said. She and Chris had gone for something sweet. And Kat only ate the meat skewers.
“Hey, you’re right.” I held the little troublemaker up away from my plate, even as it continued to nom on its prize. “Tatertots, huh? You know what they say, you are what you eat. I hereby dub thee, Tatertot.”
“Oooh, Tatertot is a cute name!” Kat clapped her hands together. “Perfect. It suits him.”
“Step one done. We named it. Now we have to figure out if it’s a boy or a girl.”
“And a way to keep it out of trouble for the rest of the trip,” Chris added.
I’d always wanted one of these little fluffballs.
Penelope’s cooki, Hardtack, was adorable.
But I’d never managed to convince one of the ones living in the stronghold to stay with me.
I couldn’t believe this one managed to sneak on the ship.
They’d done a whole bunch of sweeps and scans to make sure none were on board before we boarded.
“Greedy little thing,” I mumbled, watching as Tatertot devoured the last of its prize. It licked its paws clean before turning those big eyes on me, as if to say, Was that it?
I sighed. “That was the last of them. You ate them all.”
Tatertot didn’t look the least bit sorry.
It scrambled up my arm and sat on my shoulder, wiping its tatertot-grease-covered little paws on my hair.
“Ewww! Stop it.” But I was too smitten by the little cutie to evict it from its spot on my shoulder. “I see why Penelope lets Hardtack get away with so much. They’re too freaking cute.”
I chugged the rest of my water, leaving a tiny swig at the bottom. I turned my cup to the side and offered it to the cooki. It wasn’t interested.
It had its eyes on something else. I heard a click right by my ear, followed by a sharp tugging of my hair. And then Tatertot was off, running away with my hair clip.
“Hey!” I scrambled to my feet, chasing after it. “That’s mine!”
The cooki darted between tables, its tiny paws skidding on the metal floor. I lunged, nearly grabbing its tail before it twisted away, clip still clutched in its jaws. It shot toward the door, and I followed, determined to reclaim my hairpiece.
The door slid open. My heart leaped into my throat as my eyes landed on him.
I skidded to a halt just in time to avoid crashing into the three Kadrixan warriors even as they stepped through.
The last thing I wanted was to collide with Grtirr of all people.
If I did, he’d probably see it as proof that I was too uncoordinated for this mission.
I windmilled my arms, trying to stop my momentum, but my socked feet betrayed me.
My balance wavered, and I pitched forward.
A strong hand shot out, catching me before I face-planted onto the deck.
The moment Grtirr’s fingers wrapped around my arm, a jolt of heat raced through me, sharp and undeniable.
My breath caught in my throat. His touch was electric, sending a shiver down my spine, and for a second, the world narrowed to just the two of us.
His golden eyes locked onto mine, wide with something I couldn’t name. Surprise? Recognition? Dread? All three? Whatever it was, it mirrored the way my pulse spiked, the way my skin tingled where he held me.
I swallowed hard, my cheeks heating up, but I forced myself to ignore him and search for the little furry thief instead. It was trying to duck through the door, but one of the other warriors caught Tatertot.
“The cooki stole my hair clip.”
I reached out, and Trsak tossed the clip he’d wrestled away from Tatertot into my hands.
“Thank you!”
I was clipping it back into my hair when I realized the entire room had gone completely quiet, their attention on me.
Well, not just me. Me and Grtirr.
The big broody alien warrior’s expression was unreadable, but his tail twitched, the tip curling just slightly. But it was his position that had my heart pounding out of my chest. He was on his knees, one hand still touching my thigh.
Right then, I knew. I just knew, like it was there in black and white.
I was his mate. But that was impossible, right?
He’d touched me so many times before. I felt it then, his pheromones sinking into my skin right through the thin Vokiren-woven fabric of the leggings.
The air was thick with it. Made just for me.
Outside of the rut, Kadrixan males could only produce these pheromones for their mates.
It was undeniable proof. As if his kneeling there, still as a statue, hadn’t been enough.
Not all Kadrixan warriors find their mates through love at first touch, but many did, sinking to their knees in front of their mates.
It was the reason why we often shook the hands of Kadrixan warriors when meeting them for the first time.
It wasn’t really like a human-style handshake, but more like a way to determine if they were the right one.
Of course, this wasn’t the only way; sometimes bonds formed after spending time, like a rut, together. But I hadn’t spent any time with Grtirr. I’d been avoiding him just as much as he’d been avoiding me.
“Julie.”
His voice was low and rough, sending a jolt of heat through me to pool at my belly. I felt out of control, unsteady, like the entire galaxy had shifted around me.
“No.” I backed away, breaking the contact between us. “No. That’s impossible.”
I met his eyes and saw the truth immediately. I was his mate. And he had known.
No. This couldn’t be. I couldn’t be his mate! Grtirr, the bossy, infuriating, overbearing medic who’d spent years acting like I was a child needing to be coddled, could not possibly be my mate.
I did what any coward would do. I ran.