Chapter 7 #2
Ak’kel had needed to look that word up. It simply didn’t translate.
Courtship wasn’t needed in a mated species.
Not until they’d become space faring apparently.
Now he needed to cut flowers and buy chocolates for her.
Assuming he could trust the information he’d gathered.
Though from what he’d read, flowers held meaning, a red rose was a symbol of love while a yellow carnation could mean rejection.
It seemed so much more complicated than matehood. He felt a touch of sympathy for the human males who had to navigate this courtship. Then there were the many words humans had for courtship, dating, flirting, fiancés, seduction, etc.
The communications console crackled to life.
"The junkyard is hailing us." One of the men announced.
"Tell them to expect us to board. Any resistance will be met with aggression." Ak’kel felt no need to sugar coat it. He'd rather tell them up front of his intentions and let them decide how they wanted to proceed.
It only took them a few minutes to send back a response.
"We have a green light to proceed."
Ak’kel snorted lightly, with a roll of his eyes.
"Like we needed it." He growled under his breath.
Sometimes it irritated him to let people think they were the ones to decide their fate.
There was no decision here. There was only ever one choice.
... the one he chose for them. But whatever made them happy and compliant.
It was all that really mattered in the end.
"Take us in and prepare to dock with them. Then find the junk yard boss and bring him to me."
The man inclined his head and swiftly strode off the bridge, his footsteps echoing on the metal floor. Ak’kel smiled. He could taste victory. The game of chase was coming to a close.
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"I won't tell you." Derek spat, blood spraying from his split lips, and splattering across the toes of Ak'kel's boots. The majority of it missed the mark and splattered onto the metal floor with a sickening squelch.
Ak’kel glanced down at the bloody mess, and his lips pulled back in a silent snarl.
His sharp eyes zipped back up to the human male seated before him.
The Derek’s eyes flashed with defiance despite his battered face.
If Ak’kel wasn’t so eager to find his mate, he might find this human male’s resistance to telling him anything impressive.
Without a word, Ak’kel’s hand whipped out with a lethal precision, and his fist slammed into human male’s face. The impact snapped the Derek's head back violently, blood gushing immediately from his nose, little red droplets flying across the wall behind him.
The male sagged, his chin landing on his chest as he groaned in pain. Then Derek raised his head, his eyes narrowing with renewed defiance as he met Ak’kel’s eyes. Blood trickled down his face from his nose, and then he bared his bloody teeth at Ak’kel.
"Where has she gone?" Ak’kel demanded again, voice low and dangerous, a clear threat.
"What makes you think I'd know anything?" Derek ground out before spitting another bloody glob of spit onto the floor. “Do you honestly think I’d betray her?”
Ak’kel’s eyes darkened as he studied the human with his hands bound behind his back kneeling before him.
Leaning in, his voice cut through the air like a blade, "I saw her logs before she drugged and kicked me off her ship. She’s been here many times.
Likely, you’re a friend, at the very least a trusted acquaintance. "
Derek’s lips curled into a smile, his teeth still coated in his blood. "Sounds like her." The male sounded proud.
Ak'kel growled deep in his throat, not enjoying the pride the other male had in his mate. Without any hesitation, Ak’kel slammed his fist into Derek’s face again, the sickening crack of bone echoing through the room.
Derek groaned when his head snapped back again. Then he gasped as he righted himself and sucked in a shaky breath before turning to once again glare at Ak’kel. "Fuck you." His eyes looked swollen from the beating, his cheek puffy on one side.
Ak'kel grinned, a cold feral expression. "You can end this,” he murmured, almost coaxing, “by just telling me where she’s going next. Think," Ak’kel reasoned, "with the time I've wasted here, she's probably well on her way to a completely different stop."
Ak’kel watched as the other man clenched his jaw. He saw the wheels spinning behind Derek’s eyes, weighing his options and the truth in Ak’kel’s words.
After a few tense moments, Derek heaved a sigh, his shoulders sagging, and let his head hang until his chin rested on his chest. "More than likely there are two spots she'd head to after visiting me.
One would be a space port where she could get more supplies, and one would be a gas giant that might hide her ship from anyone passing by. "
"Which would she be more likely to visit?" Ak’kel asked as one of his men, who stood within the room, re-laid the information to their bridge crew. They’d be quick on finding the nearest space port and red giant.
"The space station, The Orion." Derek muttered in defeat.
"And the name of the gas giant?" Ak’kel felt certain he knew of which Derek spoke of, but he wanted to be sure. If Sara wasn’t at the space station, he needed to know exactly which red giant he referred to so they could find her.
"X-03934." Derek whispered.
"Thank you for the information." Ak'kel nodded, a slow faint smile turning the corners of his mouth. He turned smoothly on a booted heel and ordered, "Kill him."
"Wait!" Derek cried out, his voice cracking. "You said if I give you this information you'd release me!"
Ak’kel paused at the door, and glanced back at the man still on his knees.
"I believe I said you could end it all by giving me the information I sought.” He informed Derek coldly.
“And my man here, is about to do just that.
" He gestured briefly to the other Vrak’rir male standing within the room.
Then he turned and left the room as Derek hurled insults his way.
The door slid closed with a soft whoosh.
"You've got the coordinates for the space port?" Ak’kel used his com to contact the bridge.
"Got them." Drax responded from the bridge. "We will head to the space port while another of your ships heads to the gas giant. This way we can get more space covered faster."
"Good." Ak’kel smiled. His second in command was efficient and reliable, the best man he could have ever hired. "Keep me updated on our progress. I want to be the first to know when we arrive."
He headed straight to his room. Once he arrived, he closed his eyes and sighed. His mate had been on the forefront of his mind. Which didn’t surprise him one bit. As a Vrak’rir, mates were life. Without knowing she was safe, he would never be able to rest completely.
Right as Ak’kel grabbed a flumdrop from a bowl on a table and popped a sweet, tangy bite into his mouth his comm buzzed sharply.
"What is it?" Ak’kel asked with a sharp snap to his voice. There was no possible way they’d arrived.
"Sir," his second-in-command replied quickly, his voice always respectful, "I know you want to chase down your mate, but we just received some intel on Haldon and his mate. Figured you might wish to know."
Ak’kel’s jaw clenched at the mention of his rival, his treat completely forgotten. The sweet taste of his bite of flumdrop bittering on his tongue as frustration simmered inside him. "What is the situation?" So much for losing himself in thoughts of his mate.
"Seems Haldon and his mate have worked out their issues. They've taken back an outpost you claimed while he was imprisoned, and now they're headed over to a planet you took from him."
As much as he'd love to put Haldon back in his place and settle a score, but he couldn't deny his instinct to get his mate back. He needed her. Now. He’d heard all about Haldon resisting his mate, but Ak’kel wasn’t the same.
They might have a lot of similarities, but for Ak’kel, his mate would always come first.
When he finally spoke, his voice was low and fierce. “We can deal with Haldon in a later. First, we seek out my mate. Then we will deal with Haldon.”