Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Zeb
The countdown begins for coming out of hyperdrive.
Three minutes…
I scrub my gritty eyes. My body has taken a beating.
I’ve been slowly losing muscle mass and returning to me, reusing the cellular matter to repair.
Thankfully I managed to find a whole suit and boots that were close enough to my size.
The pile of body parts will cause enough questions.
Explaining how I came to be naked is an added burden I don’t need.
Two minutes…
I need to eat.
To drink.
But I’m more worried about Esme after everything she went through for me.
Just her being exposed to the hellish environment sets my beastly hackles rising.
Don’t think about that. Then there’s whatever bullshit she went through before I found her, me fucking her in a cloned body, and the rest of the events leading to me taking control of the ship.
Fuck!
One minute…
I can’t be an alpha forever, not even an Empire version of one. It’s something I already understand. Not the right fit, and it never will be. I need to be me, the real me, for once: for her, but can she accept that?
As for my feral beast. I don’t know what the fuck that was beyond I understand he will be there if I ever need him again. So many what-ifs are rushing around my tired mind, and I can’t get ahead on any of them.
The room stretches out around me into a stream of lights as we exit warp speed.
It snaps back.
There, directly ahead, filling the viewer’s wall is the planet of Chimera, a huge space station port to the left and dozens of vessels, large and small, filling the area between.
To my left, Esme rouses. But I can’t look at her, not now. I slam my hand against the broadcast plate, emitting my signature. And not a moment too soon, as two battle frigates and a cruiser warp into the space directly in front of us, filling the viewer.
The command station notifies me that the other ship is hailing me.
I open the channel, give them my secondary code, and wait.
And fucking wait.
A tiny hand slips into mine. That simple touch undoes me. Trust. I tighten my fingers over hers. That touch, so simple, brings an unexpected sting to my eyes that I blink away.
“Pilot in command, identify yourself,” a familiar voice says.
“Commander Thorne, reporting.”
“The status of the ship and its occupants?” Ethan asks.
“My prisoners. Sort of. The ship has been put on lockdown. Didn’t want to open it up until I had some support.”
A low chuckle follows. “You just captured an entire Uncorrupted ship and its crew single-handed?”
“Not exactly alone,” I admit, glancing down at Esme to find her staring up at me in shock.
It’s only now I remember that I’ve changed back to me, the real, human me, that this voice is also me.
I’m a man she has never seen before.
She hasn’t pushed me away. That’s something, right?
Another low chuckle. “Well, that’s one for the history books. Hang tight, Commander. We’re mobilizing a team to board.”
Esme
I’m in shock. Which is impressive when I consider how many other shocks I’ve experienced during the last twenty-four hours.
He’s a commander.
Like an actual commander…
Who can turn into a beast.
Does the government know?
“Is this the real you?” I blurt. I probably look a little starry-eyed. But really, who could blame me? He looks somewhat like the alpha I first met, only a more refined version. There is a distinctly regal aspect to his bearing, and he is so handsome that he almost looks unreal.
His eyes though, gray with flashes of red, belong to his wolven beast.
He looks away, swipes a hand down his face like he’s testing it. “Um… I guess so,” he mutters.
His eyes are shifty, like he’s afraid to look at me. He must get a lot of women going swoony over him. Probably doesn’t want me to get all clingy now this is over… almost over.
I jump as the screech of metal against metal cuts through the blaring alarm—I’m still amazed I fell asleep…
Blacked out then fell asleep, I amend. Nope, not making eye contact with the gruesome scene on the other side of the room.
The memories of it happening are plenty enough fodder for my nightmares.
A loud thunk and a boom follows—they have breached the ship.
The alarm suddenly cuts. The lighting in the room goes out, bringing a surge of panic before emergency lighting flickers on. My ears continue to ring—my tension rockets.
“It’s alright,” he says, squeezing his fingers over mine.
We wait. I stare at the patch of floor before me, which is miraculously clear of blood.
After what feels like an eternity, but is probably only five minutes, the elevator doors spring open and soldiers in tactical gear, armed with weapons, surge into the room.
“Commander Thorne!” A soldier approaches, snapping out a salute as he and his team surge into the room. “Good to see you, sir.”
“Clear!” another soldier calls. “Looks like a weapons malfunction.”
No, they are all in pieces… It’s too much. My legs cut out.
He’s right there catching me before I hit the ground, sweeping me into his arms. And so help me, I cling to him like it might be the last time I do.
It probably is a little voice inside me cautions.
“We’ve got healers on the support vessel,” the soldier says. “We can take her directly there.”
“I’ve got her,” Zeb snaps. “As you were, captain.”
He carries me all the way out, past a line of prisoners in shackles, onto the support ship and into the medical room where a healer is on hand. I barely see any of it. I can feel him slipping away even as he’s still touching me.
The healer leans in, and his lips close over mine. Light—bright and pure—explodes behind my eyes. I kiss him back, lost in the euphoria as the rush of his healing cuts me loose of all the pain and worry.
He lifts his head and clears his throat, before dashing off… probably to a real emergency, I surmise.
A low growl penetrates my daze, and I blink, finding Zeb staring after the healer, his jaw locked and his face like thunder.
I bite my lip, and a giggle bubbles up. Fine, I’m a little high on whatever that healer was packing.
He turns back to me, huffs out a breath and shakes his head, his rage easing.
“Commander Thorne, Governor Brach is requesting a briefing, sir,” a soldier calls from the open doorway.
“I’ll be right out,” Zeb says, never taking his eyes from mine.
Damn, you’re so pretty.
He grunts and looks away, almost bashful.
Opps, did I say that out loud?
“Yes.”
“Yes?!”
“Sir! Governor Brach—”
“Yes, I heard you the first time,” he cuts the soldier off. Eyes on mine, he mouths, mine, and then he turns and leaves.
I stare after him. The healer bustles back in to check on me. By the time I’m escorted off the ship and into the familiar omega community on Chimera, I’m convinced I imagined it all.