Chapter Sixteen #3
“Okay, let’s go over the plan again. When we dock, we each take a pack.
Each contains guns, supplies, and bombs.
We know there’s going to be a squad of Drazani guards.
That’s hard to deal with at the best of times, and the warrior Kartog.
But they’ve never met us before,” Margot said.
“If you’re in trouble and need backup, just call us on our comms.” Margot pointed at her ear.
While Margot moved the packs to the back of the ship, Jhosa said to Thane, “Any problems?”
“No, nothing at all,” Thane said.
Jhosa looked carefully at the telemetry, and Margot asked, “What do you think, Jhosa? Are we going to make it?”
“We’ll be there tomorrow. Within at least thirty minutes of Cardo.”
“Then we’re straight off the strip and headed to the penthouse. If the Map Keeper’s movements change, we’ll be relying on Ziggy.”
“Excuse me, Cardo?” the Drazani pilot said.
“Yes?” Cardo said sharply.
“I noticed a ship’s signature, and it’s been following for the last few hours.”
“Show me.”
The pilot moved his hands over the programmable matter controls. “You see this ship and its trajectory?”
“Why did you not see this earlier?” Cardo asked.
“Because we were taking a different route through a high traffic area of space. It took time to see if it was directly following us.”
“The rebellion. You should have told me,” Cardo said.
He was angry and panicked. He’d been given one chance to make good on his promise to Davor. His life would depend on it.
Cardo slammed down his hand on the control screen. The pilot stood to square up to him face to face.
The captain of the Drazani moved over to them and pushed Cardo back. “Sit,” he said to his pilot.
Then he turned back to Cardo and grabbed him by the collar.
“Might I remind you, Cardo,” he spat, “that you are just a bounty hunter who’s been given an exceptional gift, a gift by our gods, of a squadron of Drazani.
You should think yourself very lucky indeed to have a second chance, because you might have been dead already.
Now remember, I am the captain of this ship, and if anyone is to reprimand my soldiers, it will be me.
I have complete control of this ship and authority from our god Davor to eliminate you if you become hazardous to this mission.
Now go and sit down quietly while we fly.
This ship is fast, and we will get to our destination well before any rebel ship.
That’s all the time we need to grab our target Map Keeper. Now sit down.”
Then the captain pushed him away. Cardo felt such anger he could scream. Vampires weren’t used to being talked to like that. They were the top dogs most of the time.
But when Abnobians were involved, you had no choice but to do what they said. They were too powerful. So he sat back and simmered.
Brogan and Camber laughed as Camber rolled the giant spinning table, and it landed on Camber’s colour. It was much like the roulette tables Brogan knew on Earth, except for some rule changes and different colours.
“I won! I won again,” Camber said.
“You have the Midas touch.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that everything you touch turns to gold,” Brogan said.
“I don’t know about that.” Camber laughed.
Brogan put her arm around Camber’s waist and was standing slightly behind her, protecting her from anyone, even someone bumping into her. Now she knew what her brother and her parents were talking about when they discussed mating.
It gave your wolf a special purpose, an exciting job. It was the purpose that felt more important than anything, and that was to protect your mate and your family.
Brogan was both scanning the area and paying attention to Camber, enjoying her excitement and her smiles.
This was what I was born to do, Brogan thought.
The staff member pushed over Camber’s credit chips. “What do you think I should do, Wolfy? Play it all in or check it out?”
“Ziggy gave us these credits for free. Why not end the evening all in?” Brogan said.
“Yeah, you’re right. Put it all in.” Camber pushed all her chips in, and the others watching gave her a round of applause.
They’d won quite a pile since they’d started gambling. It was pure luck, as they had no idea of the rules. And Camber’s strategy seemed all about colour. Last time she went blue.
“All on yellow, please,” Camber said.
Camber did a mini hop on both feet and clapped her hands together rapidly. Brogan just loved her smiles. Things were totally different than when she was first chasing Camber. Camber had been so closed off, not willing to give an ounce away of what was going on inside her head.
Camber’s bet was quite a draw to onlookers, so Brogan moved right behind her back so whatever came at Camber, came at her first. Camber pulled Brogan’s other hand around her waist.
Brogan groaned inside. Camber’s neck was presented to her, and Brogan had the urge to lick, kiss, and bite it. Camber then pushed her buttocks into Brogan’s sex, and it only made Brogan want her all the more.
In her mind’s eye, Brogan saw herself slide her hands up her waist, ribs, and finally her breasts.
Stop thinking like that.
Brogan inhaled Camber’s scent, and it wasn’t just her perfume. Her wolf’s nose detected past that to the many layers beneath. In Camber she scented lush green grass and forest. It felt like the sun had just come out, and there was the hopefulness of summer to come.
It made Brogan so excited. She wanted to run with Camber, even though Camber couldn’t run. Still, she’d take Camber on her back and then run until Brogan’s energy had all gone.
Someone nudged her, and her lovely dream slipped away.
“The ball’s rolling, Brogan,” Camber said excitedly.
The ball rolled around the board. The board took up half the table, not like the ones on Earth that were much smaller. The ball bumped and bounced as it went right around the board again and went right into the yellow slot, then just at the last second bounced over into blue.
“Blue wins. Blue is the winner,” the caller announced.
Camber sighed as the caller started to pull in all of her credits. “Oh well. It’s fun when it’s not your credits you are losing.”
“You’re right. What would you like to do? Watch some other games, or have you had enough?”
“When we came out of the restaurant, we passed a little cocktail bar that people were dancing in. Why don’t we have one dance and then go upstairs,” Camber said. “After all, we’ve still got to move from here tomorrow, but I don’t want this night to end so quickly.”
“I can’t dance.”
“Neither can I, but let’s just watch the other couples. It can’t be that hard.”
“If you want.”
In her heart Brogan would never turn down a request from Camber. They walked hand in hand, out of the gambling room, past the restaurant, and to the cocktail bar.
The lighting was low, the glass chandeliers on the ceiling glinting under the light. People were sitting quietly, at least compared to the gambling room, having private conversations and many different colours of cocktails.
The security people waved them in, while others waiting had their bodies and bags scanned. Ziggy obviously had made it known to staff that they were to be treated like VIPs.
“Would you like to get a drink or—?” Brogan asked.
“No. I just want a dance with you, Wolfy.”
It was truly amazing for Brogan to walk into rooms full of what from her perspective were aliens. But here, Brogan was the alien.
They walked over to the dance floor and saw some people making a particular pattern of moves, but extremely slowly, kind of like ballroom dancing.
Others simply had their hands around their partner, moving slowly to the music. Brogan thought, I can cope with that.
Brogan lifted Camber’s hands and wrapped them around her neck, and she put her hands around Camber’s waist.
“Is this okay?” Brogan asked.
“Yes.”
Camber’s excitement was gone. Now she had focused her eyes on Brogan’s, and they moved side to side. The dark lighting made them feel like they were all on their own.
“You have beautiful eyes,” Camber told Brogan.
“Me?” Brogan said with surprise. “They are just eyes.”
“They are not. They are this kind of blue, ocean, and then don’t think I don’t notice that when you become excited, when your wolf becomes excited, your eyes turn this penetrating amber-gold colour.”
Brogan’s heart thudded, and she pulled Camber closer. “I see you’ve been watching me. Working me out.”
“Of course. It’s what I’ve trained myself to do. You might think you’re the predator, but I’ve learned through my years of running to take note of the small things. You weigh them up and decide if someone has good intentions or bad,” Camber said.
“So, you’ve had other wolves wanting you?”
“No, I don’t mean that. I just mean that people have tried this approach with me, like what you’ve tried since you met me.
You aren’t trying, sorry. What I’m struggling to say is the Abnobians have tried everything.
They’ve sent one or two people undercover that were supposed to get into my heart, make me vulnerable by falling in love with them, and them take me to their bed.
But I could see deception in their eyes. ”
Brogan moved her head closer to Camber. “And have I had deception in my eyes? In fact, look into my eyes now.”
Camber cupped Brogan’s face with her hands and whispered, “No. I see gorgeous blue eyes with amber spreading around them, meaning you want to kill me or kiss me,” Camber said.
“What do you think?” Brogan whispered.
She trailed her fingers down Brogan’s cheek and pressed her lips against hers. Their kiss was soft and slow, like Camber was stepping tentatively over a mental barrier that she had put up all her life.
Camber pulled back, and Brogan seemed to feel her nervousness. “Let’s go upstairs.”
She took Camber’s hand, and she followed.