Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Maxsim
Ican feel the tension running through both the warlock and the kraken.
The cyborg has really stepped over the line.
On Iceen, trying to kill off your competition is common practice for females, but I know this is not the case elsewhere.
I cannot believe he was hiding here in our quarters underneath our noses and I had no idea.
I eye Natalia suspiciously out of the corner of my eye.
There is no way he should have been able to get in here without some kind of assistance, and I would not put it past her to be the one who helped purely out of spite, because that’s just who she is.
Once the others leave, I will demand answers from her.
I can’t wait to leave Earth and make our way back to Iceen.
I am done with this vile bitch. I will be making it known that neither my family clan nor Echo’s will support her family as our leading matriarch. It is time for a change in leadership.
The sound of a scuffle reaches my ears, and I can tell by the way the other two stiffen that they can hear it too.
Before long, Trace, Sim, and Fuse drag out a man wrapped head to toe in thick furs.
The only feature I can make out is a tuft of metallic green hair sticking out from underneath a hat that is lodged firmly on his head.
He’s struggling and yelling obscenities at them, but the three of them have a good grip on the cyborg with their teeth.
They deposit him unceremoniously face down at our feet, hissing at Josa before backing away and returning to the entrance of their cave. The three cats decided to share a den, since they are better protected from Natalia’s wrath and manipulation as a group, and I fully supported their choice.
Xavier rolls the man over with a heavy foot. The encroacher tries to clamber back to his feet, but the kraken shoots out a couple of tentacles and pins him to the ground. Another one shoots out and peels the cap and scarf off the man, exposing the telltale shimmery skin of a cyborg.
“Josa,” Caspian sneers, and his unveiled hatred of the cyborg is palpable in the air as his tentacles flex a little tighter in response. “Look at you, hiding like a mitavin like you have something to be afraid of.”
The warlock doesn’t say anything, just stares down at the defiant creature with his arms crossed.
“I’m not scared. You can’t do anything to me.”
“Why?” Caspian asks, genuinely interested, and Josa looks confused, his brows pinching together as he tries to follow the kraken’s train of thought.
“Why what?”
“Why don’t you think we can do anything to you?” Caspian clarifies.
“I’ve done nothing to deserve punishment,” he snivels, and Caspian starts to chuckle.
Looking over at Natalia, I watch her face.
She has a sneer on her face, her claws are extended, and her fur is bristled, but I can smell the fear wafting off of her.
She knows her involvement in all of this will not go unpunished.
In fact, she may have just accidentally secured a way for me to keep Echo permanently safe.
I turn back to look down at the cyborg. His own fear is also visible.
His skin trembles slightly, and I can see a drop of sweat roll down his temple.
I can’t believe he’s been here under our noses the whole time.
“You and I and all of the kitties know that’s not true.”
I growl under my breath at the kraken calling us kitties, and he just smirks at me before he continues to bait the cyborg.
“You were supposed to have left the circus on the transport that dropped our new performers off nights ago. Imagine our surprise when we saw you on the security footage.”
The cyborg blanches at this and mutters, “The Skarrian twins said we wouldn’t appear on the footage.”
I see Caspian and Xavier exchange glances.
“Well, that’s one thing solved. We will need to deal with that at another time,” Caspian comments to the still silent warlock.
He turns back to the cyborg without waiting for a reply.
“They lied. They distorted your voices—it didn’t even do that once you separated—but the camera still picked up your images.
We know you released Saxon from his sedated state, and boy, did you fuck up.
” The kraken takes a dramatic pause, letting each of his words sink into the cyborg’s mind, and each word that’s spoken causes fear to transform his features.
“What you didn’t know is that Lila is Xavier’s intimate. ”
My gaze shifts over to the warlock, trying to gauge his reaction to Caspian being so forthcoming about his relationship with Lila, but all I see is mist. Nothing is visible to differentiate any features of his body.
A strangled cough has me looking back at Josa.
The cyborg’s shimmery skin tone loses his glimmer and turns almost muddy, like it’s tarnished, and he starts shaking his head. “No, oh no. Nobody said anything about that. Those fucking warlock girls set me up. Fucking bitches.”
“Well, actually, they didn’t know either, but you were still hoping that Saxon would kill Lila—Lila Adams, the Adams brothers’ granddaughter, and my mate—so it doesn’t matter if you didn’t know about the warlock, you knew about me.
” Caspian has lost all pretense of humor and is now vibrating with fury.
His eyes flash to his beast’s before returning to normal.
“So before I kill you, Xavier is just going to root around in your brain and see what other shitty things you’ve done without anyone knowing. ”
“No, please no, please don’t.” He starts to scream and holds his hands against his head like they can protect his mind from the warlock.
The cyborg actually seems more scared of Xavier than the threat of death from the kraken, and I find that very interesting.
What else does this cyborg not want anyone knowing?
I hear Echo whimper slightly above us and step forward. His distress is sour to me and makes me very unhappy, and there’s nothing I won’t do to keep my mate happy.
“While I appreciate that you are protecting your mate, I must also protect mine, and Echo is a sensitive soul. Would it be possible for you to remove this yalani dung from our den and continue your interrogation elsewhere?”
“Of course. I apologize for the intrusion, Maxsim, and please give your mate my apologies for upsetting him.” The warlock waves a hand, and the cyborg is instantly secured with light ropes.
Caspian peels back his tentacles, and the cyborg lifts into the air.
The warlock waves his hand again, and he starts moving toward the door, followed by Caspian and the wrapped up cyborg. Caspian turns and waves at me.
“Thank you for helping us find this useless creature, and again, we apologize for trespassing in your space.” He stops suddenly, and I can see him fighting internally with his beast. He finally grits his teeth and shouts, “Fine!” then he sighs and runs a frustrated hand through his blue hair before continuing.
“We would love it if you and your mate could join me and mine for dinner one night. It is a shame we haven’t gotten to know you better, and we would like to rectify the situation. ”
He doesn’t seem a hundred percent sure, but he is being polite. The last thing I should do is outwardly reject his offer. “I will talk to my mate and let you know. Thank you for the invite.”
He smiles and nods, seemingly okay with my noncommittal response, and hurries after the warlock and their prisoner who have already left our den.
The door hasn’t even slid closed before Natalia is screaming and launching bolts of lightning at me, but they are easy to absorb.
Her power is no match for mine. “How could you do that? I am the matriarch. I am in charge of this streak, and you will not get in my way. Wait until I tell my mother what has occurred. You will be lucky if she lets you live.”
I stand with my arms crossed, waiting for her to physically attack me.
If she raises a hand to me, I won’t take it.
I chuckle at the thought of her running to her mother.
A strong female lightning cat wouldn’t need someone else to put me in my place, she would be able to do it herself, but I haven’t found many who could best me.
My own mother, sure, but I’ve never given her any reason to.
My chuckles seem to make her even madder.
Trace, Sim, and Fuse retreat into their cave, smart enough to get out of the line of fire.
Although they are alphas, Natalia’s viciousness knows no end, and they have learned it’s easier to avoid than engage.
They plan on keeping their heads down and staying out of her way until she finally leaves the ship.
Nothing good comes from drawing her attention.
It’s taken all of my cunning to stop her from attacking Echo.
The alpha command works temporarily, but it soon wears off.
I’m not sure how she manages to circumvent it, but as soon as she does, she’s attacking him again.
He basically confines himself to our den with the forcefield on so she can’t enter—a prisoner in his own home.
The physical attacks were exhausting, and being on high alert twenty-four seven is no way to live.
I couldn’t believe she had the audacity to do it during a performance.
I’m just surprised the Adams brothers haven’t demanded to see us about it yet.
I thought for sure we would all be kicked off the show.
The Adams brothers don’t tolerate any infighting or bad behavior from their employees.
Natalia continues to rant as I walk away. “Don’t you turn your back on me, Maxsim. I will have your respect,” she demands, so I whirl on her.