Chapter 1
Chapter One
MURGUL
Several rotations later.
I have not killed anyone in almost a lunar rotation. It is depressing and making me foul-tempered. We need to make something bleed, suffer, and die.
Soon.
Sighing heavily, I carefully set the blade I’ve been sharpening down before replying to the pulsating darkness inside my mind.
Cease speaking! You are always foul-tempered, so that is not the excuse you think it is.
We have been over this topic numerous times.
That opportunity is not going to be available to us for a long while.
. So. Shut. The. Frack. Up. About. It! Weapon checks and battle simulations will have to suffice for now.
If you would tell your brothers the truth about ME, they would understand what we need to function.
Do we really have to have this conversation again?
Yes, they are my brothers, but if you think for one tic that they would allow me freedom on this ship if they knew you existed, you are deeply overestimating the depth of their love for me.
They would consider me a security risk, and we both know it.
You are pathetic and always have been. Without me, we would not have survived the frackin Velgriddix, AND WE BOTH KNOW IT!
The instant my alter-ego says Velgriddix, a humid, dank cell reeking of bodily fluids and unwashed flesh fills my mind.
Frack! Murgul… we are no longer in that place, but worry not. I will make sure we do not die, again, since you are such a weakling.
Vrog’s voice becomes far away as memories bombard my mind from every direction.
I feel myself slipping further and further away, losing my iron-clad grip on Vrog.
I can feel his twisted sense of humor tinged with triumph as he surges up out of the depths of my mind.
Distantly, I feel it the moment he takes over my body, invading it just like the parasite he is.
We move out of the armory, the door sliding closed behind us before we turn towards my quarters.
Vrog is powerful, but even he cannot control the tenuous grasp we have on our sanity.
It should concern me that he can take control of my body, but in truth, it comforts me.
Had Vrog wanted to erase me, Murgul, from existence, he would have many rotations ago.
He is content to exist inside me… whether I like it or not, and takes my body out for a spin from time to time.
Up to this point, he has not crossed any lines that would make me reveal him to my brothers.
He is aware that destroying me would result in his execution at the hands of my brothers, as they would see Vrog as something created by the scientist.
So… there is that.
“Oof.”
The quiet exclamation follows the impact of a soft body against mine. My hands snap up and latch onto two of the most delicate arms I have ever felt. The tic our skin meets, an electric current jolts through me, and the shock is enough to silence the noise in my head.
Instantly.
It is a sense of peace that I have not felt since I was a youngling, and it floods through me like a tidal wave.
The intense sensation is matched by the burning of my mating collar as it forms around my neck, before blazing a path across my body.
My half of the mating bond snaps into existence, which immediately punts Vrog back to the cage where he is kept when I am in control.
It shocks me to the core that something so small can wield such power over something like Vrog.
Vrog is seething… yet curious, and I do not know how to feel about that.
My face slackens in astonishment as a wan feminine face lifts to stare up at me in alarm.
The realization that this frail, emaciated creature is my Starshine hits me like a plasma blast. My initial elation at finding my Starshine is chased away by horror when I realize Vrog is looking at the beautiful creature through my eyes… and he very much likes what he sees.
She peers up at me, dazed in confusion, before her lips part, uttering a broken whisper so soft I barely hear it. “What… pretty… eyes…”
Yesssssss, you do have pretty eyes, little mate. I will very much enjoy tasting you. Murgul will not always be in control, then you are MINE!
Terror fills me at Vrog’s words, and before I can attempt to utter a greeting to her curiously broken statement, she loses consciousness, wilting before us like a delicate piece of greenery.
It is called a flower, you fool.
We watch as her verdant orbs roll back before her eyelids descend, hiding the bright green color from me as I catch her insubstantial form before she hits the unforgiving floor.
Wiping the wonder from my face, I assume my customary scowl before tenderly lifting her into my arms. Ignoring Vrog and his gloating, I peer around, trying to figure out where she came from.
Catching movement from the corner of my eye, I flinch and hiss in response, the reaction unconscious in nature, and I realize Falon is peering out of the open door of his quarters.
Einar is looming over his shoulder, staring at me and the female I am holding in my arms. Stalking back into the room my mate apparently fled from, I huff in exasperation at my brothers and their gawking. Einar’s eyes are narrowed in suspicion, and his face is creased in speculation.
Frack. He always was more observant than most.
Yes, he is. It would not surprise me if he had an inkling that I exist. Out of all your siblings, he is the one you should worry about the most. Just think what his scientific mind will do to you, to me, to US when he finds out how unhinged you really are.
What if he finds out what all that torture unlocked within you?
Your insanity created me, and you will never be rid of me.
You know they will eventually figure out how we escaped…
Disregarding Vrog and his dire warnings, I ease my mate down on the sleeping surface next to two other human females. Glaring down at her petite face, conflict wars inside my being. It goes against everything within me to relinquish my mate, but I am far more private than any of my brothers know.
For a fracking good reason to—they are nosy bastards.
I have no desire to deal with their shet. Not the congratulations, nor the ribbing I will inevitably face once they figure out I have met my one. Even if it were from a place of caring and good nature.
I no longer have anything close to cordiality left inside the fractured minefield of my existence.
I ignore the look Falon throws Einar’s way and cross the room, taking my usual spot against the far wall—back protected, view unobstructed. The habit is instinct now, carved into me by memories I refuse to let surface.
Taking a deep breath, I shift my shoulders against the metal wall, channeling my energy into keeping Vrog contained. I cannot afford for him to get loose in here, not with Einar and the females present.
Contrary to what you think. I do not long for death, quite the opposite, actually. Especially now that we have a sweet female to sink into.
You will not touch her!
Dark laughter fills the space between my ears as Vrog chortles in glee.
Always in denial, aren’t you? You sleep, fool, and when you slumber, you’re vulnerable. I will bide my time and claim our mate as well. After all, there is no you without me!
The low rumbling growl in my chest makes Einar and Falon shoot me concerned looks; both of them trying to be surreptitious.
Unless I make some sort of overt aggressive gesture, neither will bother me, though.
And we all know that just because they are older and slightly larger, does not mean that either of them wants to test me.
My hold on sanity is tenuous at best, and because of what the filthy fairy fracks did to me, losing my hold on what little rationality I have left is not something any of us can afford.
Not after what the Velgriddix unleashed within me.
I bare my teeth at them in annoyance, and it’s enough to make them both turn and refocus on whatever it is they were doing before my abrupt arrival.
From my vantage point, I watch Einar pick up a tiny piece of tech—which I can only assume is one of the translators we risked our arses for on Navale—smoothly inserting it into my mate’s ear.
The device will enable her to not only speak our language, but to read and write it as well.
Her faint whimper elicits a deep, involuntary snarl from my throat before I can muffle it.
Be blatantly obvious, why don’t you, Murgul?
You are one to talk about being obvious. Need I remind you of some of the messes you have left for me to clean up?
Ahhhh, yes. Good times. We should do some of that again.
Einar speaks then, bringing me back to the present. “Well, that is done. Falon, I will leave you and Murgul here to make sure there are no unseen complications. It is on my schedule to come by periodically to check on their wounds and to see how they are healing.”
His eyes flick over to the crate surreptitiously placed against the wall before he continues.
“I see that you brought at least one of the crates up for the females. They are in desperate need of additional attire. Well then, I am off to the med bay to install translators for mine and Slavic’s mate.
Falon, please make sure that you deliver one of those crates to Slavic’s room for his mate and one of them to my quarters for mine. ”
“I will make sure the crates are delivered to both of your quarters, Einar.”
Falon is always kissing arse.
Silently, I agree with Vrog, not that I would ever admit such a thing.
Einar shoots a thankful grin over at Falon before glancing at me again. Ignoring his curiosity, I keep my eyes fixed on the fragile, still figure lying on the sleeping platform across the room—hope welling in my chest. It’s a heavy weight, but not an unwelcome one.
I cannot wait to meet my mate.
Our mate.