23. Char
23
CHAR
“Come on, Betty. I know you want this just as much as I do. You want me to breed you.”
He was right. She wanted it so much. Wanted to feel full of him. But the past got in the way.
“We can’t. I can’t. Don’t you understand?”
“No. We’re made for each other. It’s fate.”
She could almost feel the bite mark as he stared at her neck.
N aomi cleared her throat. “This has taken a turn, hasn’t it?”
I covered my eyes dramatically, faking embarrassment. She laughed.
It was amazing. A week after rushing her to the ship, pale and barely breathing, she was sitting up in her bed in the medical bay, looking almost healthy. She had a little ways to go yet, but she was going to be okay.
Still, my nerves were strung tight. This afternoon, there was going to be a reckoning.
“Hey.” She patted my arm. “I can tell something’s bothering you. And it’s not Todd’s sudden new breeding kink.”
“Fuck. Is it too much? I could take it out.”
“Keep it. Everyone’s writing kinky romance now, with knotting and dragons and mothmen. Anything goes. You’ve seen my bookshelf.”
I grinned. “Yep.” But my smile faded quickly. It was another reminder of the magnitude of what we’d done.
“Oh no, I see what you’re doing. You’re worried about me giving up all my stuff because I have to fake my own death, or whatever we’re going to do. You know I’d rather be alive without my books than dead, right?”
“Yes.” I groaned. “I still don’t want you to have to lose all your books, though.” Or be forced to live on an alien planet.
She sighed and shook her head. “I’ve told you already, I’ll do whatever needs to be done. Mathol thinks they can figure out a way to make it work, like witness protection. Spy shit.”
I didn’t miss the way she blushed when she mentioned Mathol. She had a major crush, but I’d explained the whole fated mate thing, so she knew it couldn’t be more. It didn’t help that he was over to see her a lot, taking so much interest in her health. But it was only as her friend.
“It would be great if you could live normally for a while, until the ship can leave.”
I said it with a stab of guilt. I’d given Naomi the impression we’d be going to Vytaris together, but until I knew what would happen to Ryoch if he returned, I wasn’t making any final decisions. He and I really needed to talk. We hadn’t had any time alone for days, only seeing each other in the medical bay.
“Either way,” she said. “I’ll stay hiding on this ship if I have to.”
A deep voice filled the room. “Hopefully that won’t be necessary.” Mathol stood leaning against the doorway, a smile on his face. Naomi startled and blushed a bright red. “Sorry to interrupt.” He looked at me. “You should go to the bar, they’re about to start. Jess is there, but I think she could use your support.”
“Oh.” I stood. “I thought it was a closed meeting.”
Naomi furrowed her brow. “What is it? What meeting?”
Mathol came to her other side. “Gravod’s explaining the new plan to everyone. That some mates might want to leave Earth and go to Vytaris. It’s going to be big news, and I’m not sure how the rest of the crew will take it. He knows my opinion.”
Naomi stiffened. “They’re going to talk about me too, aren’t they?”
He glanced at me before shaking his head. “No. Gravod is keeping your healing quiet for now. He’s still deciding how he wants to handle it.”
And how he wanted to handle Ryoch, since he’d broken some pretty major rules. Mathol didn’t say it, but that was the elephant in the room.
“You’re staying here?” I asked him.
“Yeah. Go. Let us know how it goes.”
“I will.”
I gave Naomi a hug, then sprinted out the door.