Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
GWENDOLYN
“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.”
This isn’t good at all. Since Murgul and I bonded, it appears as though the link between our minds is open all the time, and I can hear every silent conversation he and Vrog have.
What they were discussing right before he walked out the door does not fill me with any warm fuzzies.
Murgul is super pissed off that his brothers interrupted our morning after sealing our bond, and he intends to get his proverbial pound of flesh.
Except, I don’t think he intends it to be proverbial. From what I inferred, Bikar wasn’t honest with Murgul about all the elements of the Korgon job, and he fully intends to address that.
With violence.
Hopping out of bed, I check on my little beasty, and to my surprise, she’s awake and silently waiting for me. “Well, hello, littles. How are you this morning?
Her little warble of greeting makes me smile. “I bet you need to go potty. Hmmm.”
After contemplating it for a few seconds, I remember seeing some absorbent towel thingies in the bathroom wall storage.
When I’d asked Murgul what they were for, he’d said they are used to clean up messes, and after using one, all I had to do was toss it in the waste disposal.
“Don’t worry, littles. I have a solution.
Hmm, I can’t keep calling you ‘littles’, you need a name. ”
Ignoring some of the frightening sounds coming from the hallway, I carry my beasty into the bathroom and grab an alien puppy pad before laying it in the corner of the bathroom.
Lowering her to the pad, I make sure she’s steady on her feet before letting go so she can do her business.
Padding over to the sink, I brush my teeth and start my morning beauty regimen, only to stop when I see myself for the first time after sealing the bond with Murgul.
Leaning closer to the mirror, I trace the new addition to my skin in wonder.
Murgul was right, it’s beautiful. Turning, I look over my shoulder and see that it trails down my back, curling to a stop where my torso meets my buttocks.
The mark looks like a delicate wisp of flames across my neck, throat, chest, and back.
Honestly, I was a little worried about what it would look like when Murgul and I finally sealed our bond, but my fears were unjustified.
Smiling at myself, I finish up my morning ablutions.
While drying my face, a soft brush across my legs makes me smile.
Hanging up the towel, I look down and see two slitted amber eyes peering up at me.
Now that she’s clean and I’m not rushing to get her somewhere to relieve herself, I finally take the time to really look at her.
The grime and filth are gone, replaced by a stunning, dappled hide that gleams in the light.
Her mane and tail are a striking mix of black, silver, and white, cascading in soft waves.
From her ears to her chest, her coat glows with a deep rust-red hue that gradually fades into snowy white along her flanks.
The white isn’t pure, though—rust-red spots and splotches are scattered across her body in a pattern that feels both wild and deliberate, like nature’s own art.
Her lower limbs are draped in silky hair, each leg ending in three curved talons that catch the light when she shifts. She’s beautiful in a way that feels both fierce and otherworldly—like the embodiment of the wild itself. “You’re a little beauty, aren’t you? Let’s name you… Neera.”
Neera peers up at me and lets out a quiet chirp, almost as if she agrees with her name.
A crash, louder than before, causes her to flick one of her equine ears and viciously hiss in the direction it came from.
Sighing heavily, I walk over and dispose of her morning constitution before scooping her up in my arms.
“We might as well go see what all the fuss is about.”
With Neera, safely cradled in my arms, I exit the bedroom and immediately come to a stop just past the threshold.
The hallway is a warzone. Slavic, Einar, Bikar, and Murgul, with Vrogs’ presence noted by the additional horns and increased bodily size, are in an outright brawl.
Ruby and Rowan are standing in the doorway to the dining hall, safely out of the way as their males try, unsuccessfully, to break up the fight between Murgul and Bikar.
Skirting the edge of all that flailing greenish skin, I quickly make my way over to where my friends are.
“Do either of you know what started this?”
Ruby cuts her eyes over at me and smirks. “Well, the behemoth that looks like Murgul on ‘roids came out of your bedroom and interrupted the extremely earned ass kicking Slavic was giving Bikar by backhanding him out of the way. My poor big guy has a bloody, possibly broken nose as a result.”
Wincing at that, I glance over at Rowan. “How did Einar get involved? Isn’t he normally the pacifist of the group?”
“Normally, yes, but he’s been just as frustrated as Slavic about the fact that the Zenith has been missing for several days, and that Bikar was deliberately ignoring all of the comms the guys were sending from the shuttle on Deapra.”
The bottom drops out of my stomach. I had no idea Bikar was being such an idiot.
What if something had happened to my friends while they were off the ship, and we had no idea?
Any shred of sympathy I had for Bikar shrivels up once the severity of his actions sinks in.
Glancing over at them, I ask, “Isn’t he supposed to be the smart one? ”
Ruby snorts. “On paper, yeah, but you sure as shit can’t prove it as of right now. More importantly, what the hell are you holding? It looks like a T. rex and a horse had a mutant love child.”
Rowan and I snicker at her quip before refocusing on the brawl in front of us, and I answer her question as we watch our men beat the hell out of each other.
“This is Neera, her species is called a theroquine. Basically, she’s an alien puppy.”
“Well, that’s freaking cool! I think Rowan and I need an alien puppy!”
Twin groans of dismay sound from their mates, even in the midst of their sibling brawl, and all three of us break into giggles.