The Breeding Experiment - Laurann Dohner Page 0,63
see the scan again?” Dr. Brick turned her glare on Roth. “So either it was a lie, or your guy mated my friend without telling her. Total dick move, by the way. Which is it?”
“I was so angry,” Gnaw rasped in Veslor language, thinking about his time with Darla in that cell. “The Elth kept demanding that I breed Darla over and over. It enraged me that they didn’t care about her health. They wanted to obtain our cubs to train them to become killers, to do their bidding. I didn’t lose control, though. I stayed in this form.”
Maith came back to him, switching to their language, too. “Were you angry enough to transform into battle form while you were copulating with her?”
Gnaw gave a sharp nod.
Maith reached up and cupped his face again, pressing their foreheads together. “That might explain how it happened. Rage induces us to transform. We’re fertile in battle form. You might have kept this outer skin but inside, your body must have been affected. It is reasonable to assume it made you fertile under those severe conditions.”
Gnaw closed his eyes. He should have thought of that. Forced his rage back before he copulated with Darla. He felt no regret though. She was carrying his cubs. “I am not sorry. She is everything to me.”
“Now I understand,” Dr. Brick said, her Veslor accent horrible.
They all gasped, and Maith released Gnaw, spinning to stare at the female.
She switched back to her English. “Is my pronunciation that bad? You guys speak in growls, which is hard to mimic. Humans don’t have the voice box for it. Did you really think when your grouping came onboard that I didn’t do my best to learn Veslor?” She smiled at Maith. “So that’s why I was told none of you could knock up human women. You have to be shifted. Few women would go for that.” Then she paled. “Shit. Vivian Goss agreed to do that, didn’t she?”
Gnaw walked toward her.
Dr. Brick took a step back and threw up her hands. “No judgements! Darla will be pissed at you if you kill me. I mean, yeah, it’s a scary thought to have sex with one of you guys when you’re shifted, and a little suicidal on the woman’s part, in my opinion, but what’s the big deal?”
“We were warned that your people would be highly disturbed over it. I am not going to kill you.” Gnaw stared down at the female. “It’s not just pregnancy that results when we copulate in battle form. It creates deep bonds. For both the male and female. Other races could force us to mate with them if they realized. Mating is sacred. We mate for life. You never want to see the result of a forced mating. My father did that to my mother. She hated him. He had to be killed to free her. He ruined―”
Roth clasped his shoulder and pressed against his side. “You don’t need to explain to this female.”
Dr. Brick surprised him when her brown eye filled with tears, leaking down her cheek. She reached out to gently touch his other arm. “I’m sorry. I won’t share what I’ve learned with the fleet or anyone else. You have my word. Curiosity has always been one of my biggest weaknesses. No one needs to know. You can trust me. I do have compassion and a conscience. Why else would I have lied during that investigation, or plan to falsify when Darla got pregnant? I’m on your side.”
Then she surprised him by taking a step back as she released him. She fisted her hand, placed it over her heart, and bowed her head. “My word.” She lifted her head as she let her hand drop. “I’m a fast learner.”
“I still don’t trust you,” Maith grumbled. “Or like you.”
Gnaw spoke before those two could argue again. “I do. Help me by telling me how to flirt with Darla, and what I need to do tonight in front of the humans to keep her and my cubs protected.”
“I can do that,” Dr. Brick said, wiping the tears off her cheek and smiling at him.
Chapter Fifteen
Darla sat hard on the couch in her cabin. “You told Gnaw?”
“I’m sorry.” Jessa went to her knees and sat on her haunches in front of her. “Please don’t be mad. You were terrified to tell him, and I didn’t want it to become a shit-show with Gnaw doing something crazy. You know? I had them come to my lab and