Chapter 13 #2
A deep, pulsating ache ran down his arm from elbow to fingertips—down his left arm, which he’d lost a year ago in defense of his then-home.
That place had been like this one in many ways, and Drakkal had been mistaken to think it secure.
He didn’t want to consider the possibility of an attack on this building, especially not while Shay was here, but he had to.
That was his job. If he ignored the worst-case scenarios, he couldn’t keep his people safe. He couldn’t keep Shay and her cub safe.
He absently flexed the fingers of his prosthesis and returned his attention to his mate.
Though her movements were occasionally awkward—undoubtedly because of her rounded belly—he could see the muscle memory behind each one, the skill that could only have come from extensive practice.
She moved through the holographic hallway methodically, checking her corners and keeping alert, eliminating threats with speed and precision, often before her simulated foes could react.
And as minutes passed, her shoulders and chest began to heave, her reaction speed gradually slowed, and frustration hardened her expression.
She came to an intersection in the corridor, always a dangerous spot in combat situations, and paused for a second to catch her breath. The delay was a second too long.
Two of the doors directly ahead of her opened, and two featureless enemies stepped into the hallway. Shay raised her gun and fired. The simulated plasma bolts struck the enemy on the left side of the corridor, but the gunman on the right fired before she could take him down.
The gunman’s plasma bolts—a bright green produced by no real blasters—struck Shay in the chest. She flinched, face paling, and staggered back a step.
Drakkal’s heart leapt, and his body reflexively jerked toward the window, claws splayed. He stopped himself before he struck the glass. Tension had that quickly claimed his every muscle, and his thundering heart refused to immediately slow.
Just a simulation. She’s fine. Wasn’t real.
But it had looked real—real enough to push him to action based on instinct alone, real enough to heat his skin and twist his insides.
The holographic corridor flashed red a few times, and an alarm wailed briefly before everything faded away, leaving Shay in the center of a square, ten-by-ten-meter room with black walls and dull white overhead lights.
She shouted something Drakkal couldn’t make out—though the movements of her mouth indicated it had been the terran word for fuck—and bent forward as far as her belly allowed, bracing her auto-blaster across her thighs as she panted.
Droplets of sweat trickled off her nose and chin and fell to the floor.
Though his heart hadn’t slowed, and his chest was still tight, Drakkal’s dipped his gaze to appreciate the way her position pulled the fabric of her pants taut around her thighs and ass.
He didn’t have adequate words to describe her beauty.
And even if it had been a simulation, even if she’d technically lost, seeing her move like that—seeing her fight like that—was fucking hot.
He couldn’t hold himself back for another moment; he stepped to the door and entered the simulation chamber.
Her scent permeated the air within, washing over him in a cloud of sundrinker perfume and sweet, tantalizing sweat, undoubtedly fraught with her irresistible pheromones. His cock, already erect and confined, swelled impossibly—and painfully—further.
Shay jerked her head up at the noise. As soon as her eyes fell upon him, her startled expression gave way to a grin. She straightened, letting the blaster fall to hang by its shoulder strap at her side, and raised a hand to wipe sweat from her face. “Look what the cat dragged in.”
Drakkal lifted a brow. “Arc already used that one. Doesn’t affect me anymore.”
“Fur real? I thought it was clawver.”
He jabbed a finger at her. “You’re not allowed to talk to Arcanthus from this point forward. Clearly he’s distracting you from your duties.”
Shay laughed. “Man, he wasn’t kitten when he said cat puns make you fur-ious.” When Drakkal just glared at her, she waved her hand, laughing harder. “Okay, okay! I’ll stop.”
Drakkal tilted his head back, drew in a deep breath, and released it in a sigh. “If the Consortium knew about such puns, they wouldn’t have invited terrans to Arthos. Maybe they would’ve gone so far as to quarantine your species on Earth.”
She snickered. “You like it. Admit it.”
He smirked. “All right, I can admit it. I’m feline a little better about it now that you’re involved.”
Shay burst into another round of laughter. “Good one.”
Drakkal’s amusement faded slowly, leaving only…
What was it he felt for her? Attraction, lust, and desire—all slightly different nuances of the same thing—but there was much more to it.
Admiration and respect, certainly. For the rest, it seemed too early to tell; the feelings were too new to identify.
He swept his eyes over her body again, drinking in her curves and her petite but enticing form.
Even her stomach, swollen by her growing cub, somehow made her body lusher, adding an undefinable yet undeniable appeal.
But it was the perspiration on her skin and soaking her clothing that stood out the most in that moment.
It was the result of Shay pushing herself hard despite her situation, had been the result of her seeking out her limit and defiantly shoving against it.
Pride flooded his heart, and he accepted it even if it wasn’t technically his to claim—because she’d not yet chosen him.
“You did well,” he said.
She crinkled her nose, and her lip drew back in distaste as she approached him; the omnidirectional floor was locked in place now, having been deactivated along with the simulation. “I’m rusty as fuck and out of shape.”
Drakkal took that as an opportunity to study her body again—any excuse was good enough. “I enjoy your shape.”
Her cheeks, already pink, darkened further. She glanced at him briefly. There was appreciation and shyness in her gaze—and a glimmer of interest.
“That sim you were running is designed for a squad,” he said. “Not many people could’ve made it that far alone.”
When she reached Drakkal, Shay stepped around him and squatted down to retrieve a bottle of water and a towel from the floor beside the door. “Why do you have training programs for squads in here?”
As she stood up, she opened the bottle and took a long, deep drink.
Drakkal turned toward her and leaned a shoulder against the doorframe.
“This place used to be the headquarters of a security company. Up until a few decades ago, the Eternal Guard used to contract out security in sectors like this, basically making private companies the peacekeepers. People liked that even less than they liked the real peacekeepers. They decommissioned all these stations and left behind anything that would’ve been too much trouble to haul out—like these simulation chambers. ”
“And how did you guys end up with this place?
“Arcanthus hacked the Eternal Guard systems and found it in their records. It hasn’t been used in thirty-five years, so he updated the records to reflect that it had been sold off fifteen years ago and transferred ownership to a shell company.”
Shay grinned. “So, you guys are running a criminal operation out of a stolen former police station?”
Though Drakkal had never heard the term police, the way she’d used it made it easy enough to decipher what it meant. He couldn’t help but grin in response. “I thought that was funny, too.”
She took another drink from her bottle and raked her eyes over Drakkal. “So, where have you been, stranger?”
“Working. Turns out I might’ve let things stack up for a few weeks while hunting for a certain terran.”
She lowered the bottle, tucking it between her arm and her ribs, and raised the towel to wipe her face and chest. “Ah, well. And here I was wondering if my big, ferocious protector was abandoning me.”
Drakkal released a low, rumbling purr. “Call me your big, ferocious protector again, kiraia. I like the sound of it.”
She chuckled and locked her eyes with his. “I thought you might.”
Pushing off the door frame, Drakkal closed the distance between himself and Shay. He took in a slow breath, relishing her scent. “Kraasz ka’val, you were so close this whole time, but I’ve missed you.”
To his surprise and satisfaction, she didn’t move away when he trailed the pad of a finger along her forearm.
“I will never abandon you, Shay.”
Something in her eyes shuttered, and one corner of her mouth lifted in a humorless smirk. “See, that’s a promise you can’t keep. No one can.”
Once again, she stepped around him, this time to move through the open door. There’d been a somber note in her voice, as though her playfulness had been chased away by bitterness.
Drakkal turned and followed her into the corridor. “You don’t believe me?”
“Everyone leaves”—she glanced at him over her shoulder—“whether they want to or not. It’s not always up to you.”
His brow furrowed, and he fought to ignore the nagging, dreadful pang in his chest that cropped up at the thought of losing her—or of being forced away from her. “That’s not abandonment, Shay. Abandoning someone…betraying someone…that’s always a choice.”
She looked away from him, but not before he caught the regret and hurt in her eyes. “I know.”
He reached forward with his right hand, took hold of her upper arm, and halted her. “Look at me, Shay.”
She tugged on her arm, and for a moment, she seemed about to pull away and keep walking. But she didn’t wrench herself out of his grasp—she turned toward him, eyes ablaze with challenge, and asked, “What?”
“I want you to look me in the eyes and hear me,” he growled, leaning down to put his face on level with hers. “I will never abandon you. So long as there is life in my body, I will fight to be at your side. I swear it on my blood.”