Chapter 10
Every warship Ak’kel owned was now hunting down the engine signature of the space pirate ship that’d attacked Sara’s.
He felt certain if they didn’t have her, then they knew where she was.
He’d even pulled the ships guarding his space stations and planets.
Let Haldon take them over as the reigning mob boss. Ak’kel would take them back in time.
The most important thing to him, was getting his mate back.
If she only understood how much he valued her. Unfortunately for him, he had no good way of show a non-mated species the depth a Vrak’rir felt for their mate. What they wouldn’t do for their mate.
“How far out if the ship?” Ak’kel asked as he paced across the bridge, his hands held together behind his back, trying to keep himself collected so he didn’t start wrecking his ship with his bare hands to get out his frustration.
“Less than an hour.” Drax replied quickly, knowing how close Ak’kel was to losing his cool.
“Good.” Ak’kel growled. “I will be with the men getting geared up and ready. Be sure to disable their engines, and then we will surround and board their ship.”
As he entered the lift that would take him down, he felt the energy of the upcoming fight flood his veins. He knew his black eyes must be glowing with his inner fire. Anyone who got in his way would face his wrath.
The lift stopped, the doors opened, and Ak’kel quickly made his way through the level until he reached the armory.
Many of his men were already inside putting on armor to help deflect plasma shots and checking their pistols.
He walked over to his locker, pulled out his black armor pieces and began strapping them to his body.
Next, he strapped on his plasma pistols and knives.
Once they were done, Ak’kel led the way over to the hatch that Drax would attach to the pirate ship. Their ship shuddered, and he spread his feet, allowing himself to move with the ship so he didn’t get tossed around.
Felt like the pirate ship was firing back at them, but in a few moments, the ship steadied and then Ak’kel and his men heard the hatch in front of them connect with the pirate ship.
Pulling on of his plasma pistols free, Ak’kel readied himself as one of his men stepped forward and pressed a button. The door opened, and Ak’kel stormed in, his gun at the ready, but they found the corridor empty. If the pirates were smart, they would have gathered in a defensive position.
Red lights lit the corridor, casting the metal walls in an eerie light. Ak’kel’s eyes took no time in adjusting to the low levels of light as he made his way into the pirate ship, his men behind and beside him.
“Have we downloaded the schematics of this ship?”
“We have.” A man confirmed.
“Where are the most likely places they’d hold someone?” Ak’kel asked as they rounded a corner. It was uncomfortably quiet inside the ship.
“Two doors down is the medical bay.” The same man informed him. “That could be a potential spot since she may have been hit by a plasma shot.”
Ak’kel didn’t need to hear more, moving like a well-oiled machine, they quickly made their way through the corridor. Stationing themselves around the medical bay door, they listened and then burst in, guns drawn and at the ready.
“Empty!” One of the men called out. The one-room medical bay yielded no results for them.
“Where is the next area on the ship they might keep a prisoner?” Ak’kel barked, his blood rushing in his ears as the thought of his mate in harm’s way sent him over the edge of sanity.
“The next best area, would be here,” the man beside him pointed to a room on a lit up map on his wrist device.
“Lead the way.” Ak’kel waved the man forward, who quickly took up the leading.
The group of heavily armed Vrak’rir followed, quickly and quietly making their way through the ship until they reached the next room.
“The crew must be sheltering somewhere.” Someone else muttered under their breath. “Cowards.”
“We will flush them out soon enough.” Ak’kel growled, “First, we find my mate and then we will blow this ship to dust.”
Staging outside the door, they found the room locked from the inside. Ak’kel smiled. Either they were hiding something, like his mate, or there were crew in there hoping the Vrak’rir wouldn’t blow the door down.
Unfortunately, for them they’d brought a few explosives with them. Ak’kel took five of his explosives off his belt and placed them at each corner of the door and then one in the middle of the door.
“Take cover.” Ak’kel instructed his men as he backed up.
This might cause some small metal shrapnel.
They might hit his mate if she was inside the room.
It was a risk he’d have to take in order to save his mate from the space pirates.
Better she be a little beat up than kept a prisoner of these pirates.
Kneeling, he pressed a button on his belt and ducked his head.
The small explosion shook the immediate area, and Ak’kel heard the clink of metal shrapnel hit the walls around him.
When the smoke cleared, he and his men slowly rose and approached the whole in the wall, the door completely blown out.
The sound of metal crunching under his boots was the only sound.
Entering the room, Ak’kel froze when he spotted a human male holding a knife to Sara’s throat.
“Don’t approach!” The male called out, his hand shaking, causing the sharp blade of the knife to cut into Sara’s throat, a trickle of blood dripping a trail down the column of her throat.
Her head lolled to the side, and Ak’kel could tell she was unconscious.
Thankfully, she wouldn’t have felt the small prick of the blade
Ak’kel’s black eyes traced the line, before they flickered back to the human male. A snarl warped his lips as he kept his plasma pistol trained on the threat.
“I will kill her.” The male threatened.
Ak’kel could feel the anger radiating off the men around him. All of them were Vrak’rir, and to threaten a mate grated at each and every one of them.
“Trust me, human, when I say the only one who won’t make it out of here alive is you.” Ak’kel growled, giving the slightest nod of his head.
A male beside Ak’kel had a plasma rifle aimed at the human, and with that slight nod, he fired one plasma shot. The human male tried to react, but the shot hit him square in the face, splattering his brains across the wall behind him.
Darting forward, Ak’kel wrapped an arm around Sara’s waist, cinching her tight to his side. Her head still lolled to the side, but he felt the steady pace of her heart under her ribcage, reassuring him that she was alive.
Holstering his weapon at his side, Ak’kel kneeled, placing an arm under the backs of her knees, and then rose with her safely tucked into his embrace. “Around us.” Ak’kel commanded his men as he made for their ship, ready to leave this pirate vessel long behind him.
It was time he and his mate got better acquainted.
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"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." Sara groaned when she opened her eyes and saw Ak'kel storming into the medical bay. First, she got caught by her ex and now she was back in the hands of the Vrak’rir? What had she done to piss off the universe recently? She lived an honest life as a scavenger.
“I heard she was awake.” His frantic black eyes searched the medical bay until they landed on her. With just a few strides he was at the side of her medical bed. "Is anything wrong?” He asked, but his eyes never left her.
Another Vrak’rir stepped forward in some black scrubs, only highlighting his blue skin and black swirling tattoos. "No. She'll live, but she'll have a few scars to remember the experience by." He stated calmly, not even shaken by the growl that curled Ak’kel’s lips.
"Guess you'll still get to rip my head from my shoulders." She remarked dryly as she stretched an arm and winced at the pain in her shoulder from where a plasma shot had hit her.
"Not in my medical bay. You can rip her head off once she's healed and out of here." Then the Vrak’rir doctor turned and went to tend to his other duties.
"I said those words to you before I knew what you were to me." Ak’kel seemed to grump with exasperation that she’d hold it against him.
"Is that an apology?" Sara wasn't sure to believe her own ears.
He huffed a laugh. "In my own way, I suppose it is."
"Did you happen to hit your head since the last time we met?" Sara narrowed her eyes on the Vrak’rir before her. Something about him felt different… like he’d had a personality change since the last time they’d encountered each other. She figured he’d be more pissed on their next reunion.
"I can assure you I am in perfect health." Ak’kel said as he tried to grab her hand.
Sara ripped it away from him as she scowled up at him. "Oh, no. Sorry.” She held up a hand as if warding him off. “No holding hands for you."
He glared back down at her but let it go. "Tell me about this human courtship."
"Umm, I'm a little more concerned about the state of my ship than explaining how humans court each other." Sara scoffed with a roll of her eyes.
"My men are onboard your ship." Ak’kel shrugged a large blue shoulder. "The pirates were defeated."
Sara glanced away and when she looked back she found Ak’kel studying her intensely.
“What is it?” He asked, bracing his hands on the sides of her medical bed.
“They weren’t just pirates.” She admitted.
She watched him tilt his head ever so slightly.
“What were they?”
Sara crinkled her nose before she muttered, “They were hired by my ex, and he was one of them.”
When a growl pierced the air, Sara jumped slightly, her eyes widening as she eyed Ak’kel.
“Was he the one to beat you while you were on board? You were covered in cuts and bruises when we found you.”
Sara glanced down the exposed parts of her body, but didn’t see any bruises or cuts. There were a few fine scars, but nothing more.
“Our doctor has healed your injuries.” Ak’kel informed her as he noted her examination of her body.
“Is he alive?” Sara asked as she glanced back up at Ak’kel.
“If he is, he won’t be for much longer. That much I can promise you, mate.” He growled dangerously. “There was a male with you when we found you. Perhaps that was your ex.”
“What happened to him?”
“His brains now decorate a wall within the pirate ship.” Ak’kel smirked, seeming pleased with this.
“What did he look like?” Sara asked, trying not to hold her breath, but finding it hard.
Her tormentor might finally be gone. She might never have to worry about her ex finding her again.
Would she have preferred he’d been imprisoned?
Maybe, but it wasn’t like she’d killed him.
Ak’kel had taken that decision out of her hands.
Ak’kel shrugged one shoulder. “He looked like a human.”
Sara frowned. “Brunette? Blonde? Eye color?”
With a sigh Ak’kel tilted his head as he thought about it. “The human male was blonde, taller than you, and he had green eyes.”
Sara closed her eyes, relief filling her. “And you’re sure he is dead?” When she opened her eyes, she found Ak’kel watching her carefully.
“Was it your ex?”
Sara nodded. So many years of running, always watching her back to make sure he wasn’t there, and now he was gone, never to bother her again.
“Yeah.” She whispered as she closed her eyes again. “What happens now?”
"You will command at my side, of course."
"Command?" Sara couldn't hide her surprise at that as her eyes shot wide. She'd thought he might try to hide her away. With Vrak’rir makes being so treasured and all, she had wondered if he would want to keep her safe. She definitely wouldn’t be safe aboard the same ship as him. He was a space mobster.
"Clearly you can't be trusted to keep yourself safe." He explained, and she frowned at him. "And after captaining your own ship for so long, I doubt you'd want anything less than fifty-fifty involvement."
"What about my ship?"
"We can... put it in my shuttle bay." Ak’kel conceded.
"You killed some of my crew." Sara glared at him.
"An unfortunate event." He agreed.
Sara's eyes widened. "Unfortunate? Unfortunate?! Why don’t you try telling them it was unfortunate."
"Space is a dangerous place." Ak’kel argued as he folded his arms across his broad chest, showcasing those thick blue tattooed arms of his. She couldn't help her eyes as they dropped to see how his pecs stretched the material of her short-sleeved shirt.
"It wasn't an ion storm or some space creature." Sara snapped. "It was you. I don't think my crew would support this. There’s no way they would follow the Vrak’rir who’s been hunting us.”
"If I can convince them?" Ak’kel smirked down at her.
This time, she folded her arms across her chest. "Fine. If you can convince them."
"You will live on my ship and let me court you?"
"Umm.” Sara felt a blush heat her cheeks. “Sure." Because Sara knew there was no way Cat would agree to work with or for this Vrak’rir.