“What for?”
“Swipt and Montier are arguing about the nav charts,” I reply with a shrug. “Again.”
Frowning, Solair doesn’t look too happy about leaving the scene. Not that I’m surprised. He’s taken Varia as his mate and is probably concerned about her. After all, she just witnessed one of her own going through a difficult cryo experience.
“I’ll be there in a while,” he replies. “They can wait.” Walking to the pod, he fumbles with the electronic dashboard mounted on the side and then frowns once more. Whatever data he’s looking at, he’s not too pleased.
As Solair does his inspection, I turn around to see who else is in the medbay with me. There’s Varia, the tough leader of our new female crew mates, and another woman I don’t recognize. Then there’s…
Lamira.
The moment I lay eyes on her it feels as if invisible fingers squeeze my heart so tightly the damn thing might burst. My blood boils in my veins, and my thoughts spiral out of control.
Lamira.
“Are you okay?” She takes a couple of steps toward me and, placing both hands on her hips, meets my stare. “You’re going pale,” she continues, and the sound of her voice is enough for a knot to appear in my throat. I return her gaze, her smoky gray eyes luring me in, and I try and compose myself.
This has happened every single time I’m in her presence. From the very first moment we met, now, and every time in between.
My heart races. My palms sweat. My throat is unable to work.
I’ve tried to talk to her like a normal sapient being. I’ve tried to ignore her.
Nothing works.
My body tells me she’s my jalshagar. I’ve never felt like this before around anyone. I wouldn’t even know about what this felt like if I hadn’t unearthed some ancient religious texts taught to all Kilgari males when they first begin their education.
In a fit of pique last week, I loaned her my holovid projector. I had the intention of asking if she had ever watched Kilgari drama and, if not, if she would want to.
But my throat constricted after handing her my projector.
She took it as a gift… and watched Fenix Black music videos instead. I had thought Kilgari dramas with tales of males meeting their jalshagar would strike something in her—considering I was at a loss for what to do.
Instead the end result was her watching a scantily clad human pop star jumping around a stage.
A curse upon the Precursors...
“Grantian?”
“I’m fine,” I reply, even though that’s an absolute lie. Then, like a complete idiot, I point at myself with one thumb. “Always ready to rock.”
She giggles.
“I’ve heard you used to be a mercenary,” she continues in that curious tone of hers. I actually have to take a deep breath so I can focus on what she’s saying. What the hell’s wrong with me? Is my brain short-circuiting? “Is that some sort of goofy saying you learned?”
“My mercenary life was a lifetime ago.”
Thank the Precursors I’m able to get through a whole sentence.
My tone is clipped, if not rude, and I have to resist the urge to smack myself on the forehead. The more I look at her, the more my brain seems to overheat, all my neurons frying. Is this what Solair went through with Varia?
Needing something to focus on, I look away from Lamira and point toward the woman in the pod. “Are her vitals stable?”
“Stable, but not stellar,” the second woman, the one in the lab coat, replies. “Her heart rate has steadied, but her system received a shock. We have to keep an eye on her. Cryostasis is a delicate process, and in her case, it didn’t happen like it should have. Far from it.” She continues to explain the technical intricacies of what happened, but if I’m being honest, I’m no longer paying any attention to her words. Lamira is standing right beside me, her arm brushing against mine, and that’s enough to keep my brain busy.
Biting on the inside of my cheeks, I try to keep my composure as her scent coils itself around my thoughts. It’s delicate and feminine, and it hits all the right notes. It makes me want to pull her against my body, all just so I can breathe it in while losing my fingers in her dark brown hair. It’s an overpowering feeling, and it only makes the truth more obvious.
It shouldn’t be possible, but it seems like I’ve found my mate.
I’ve never given too much thought to the fated mates principle inscribed on the Elder Scrolls of Kilgar, at least not before Solar and Varia joined, but apparently there’s some truth to them. There has to be. I’ve been all over the galaxy and I’ve never met a woman who elicited such a response from me. Either the Elder Scrolls of Kilgar are right, or these women are intergalactic sorcerers sent here to bewitch us.
“Grantian,” Solair calls, raising his voice loudly enough for me to know it’s not the first time. “Did you hear what I just said? Ever heard of a place called Solace?”
“Solace?” I repeat, finally putting some space between Lamira and me. Walking toward the far end of the room, I join Solair next to one of the terminals, a blue-colored holographic map of the sector floating in front of us. “The name doesn’t ring any bells.”
“I was hoping you’d heard of it during your time in the Hael Hounds,” he mutters, more to himself than to me. With both hands on his hips and a serious expression on his face, he keeps staring at the holographic map as the terminal conducts its search. Soon enough a small message appears below the map, announcing that there are no records for a location called Solace.
“Never heard of it,” I shrug. “Is it important?”
“The woman from the pod woke up and screamed out that she didn’t want to return to Solace, wherever that might be,” Solair replies. Pursing his lips, he shuts the terminal down and shakes his head. “She sounded scared.”
“Not a good omen.”
“Not at all,” he whispers, and I notice him sneaking a glance at Varia. She’s visibly shaken by the whole ordeal, and I can’t really blame her. She crawled out of a cryopod herself before we came across her ragtag group and she’s probably thinking the same could’ve happened to her. “See if they need anything, Grantian. I’m going to head into the bridge before Swipt and Montier kill each other.”
Before I have the chance to say anything, Solair turns on his heel and marches out of the room, leaving me alone with the three women. Not really knowing what to do, I merely clear my throat and shift my weight from one foot to the other.
“So, the Hael Hounds?” Materializing beside me, Lamira looks up into my eyes once more. “Is it true what they say about them?”
“Depends on who you ask,” I tell her, suddenly feeling the urge to bolt from the room. I want to remain close to her, to get to know her, but a part of me wants to run away from here. Suffice to say, I’m not equipped to handle any of this mating bond nonsense. I’d rather dismantle and reassemble a thousand high-caliber rifles than have to face the fact that I’ve just found my mate. “But, yes, I was part of the Hael Hounds. It’s not as glamorous as most people think it is. You see a lot of shit that can’t be unseen.”
“I’ve never really known a mercenary before.”