Gravity (Dark Anomaly #1) - Marina Simcoe Page 0,80

female to resume the sessions would take the attention from Svetlana and ease the tension.

An unpleasant feeling scratched inside him, as if he were tossing the female to the pack of predators. And in a way, that was very much what he was about to do.

For Svetlana’s peace and safety.

He would do anything for her.

“I won’t be the one touching her, though,” he said to his crew.

“Who will?” the crowd perked up, expectant.

Vrateus gave the new leader of the errocks an assessing stare. Younger than the rest of his brutal group, Wyck still shared most of the characteristics of his kind. He was just as aggressive, hot-minded, and rebellious as all the errocks on the Dark Anomaly. Since the death of Crux, Wyck had also shown signs of hostility toward Svetlana.

How long would a human female last in his care?

He glanced at Lesh. The ill-tempered mahdi had been one of several dozen of the animals, chained and caged in the cargo hold of a yourlu ship. It had crashed about nine years ago. All the mahdi had been killed and eaten within days. Some had been forced to fight each other—bloody, brutal battles instigated for entertainment. Both winners and losers ended up being butchered afterwards.

Only after Vrateus had taken the power had Wyck come to him with Lesh. He told Vrateus that he had saved the animal, hiding it in one of the side tunnels. He had fed it, trained it, kept it alive, and in return, the mahdi gave him his undivided loyalty.

Could Wyck’s patience and kindness to the animal be translated into better treatment for the female?

There was no way to tell for sure, but Wyck was the best choice Vrateus had. Wyck had the authority and the strength to defend someone in his charge. He would also have Vrateus’s full support in doing so.

“As the leader of my personal guard, Wyck will have the honor of taking care of the female,” he announced, loud and clear, making sure that none of the doubt he felt made it into his voice.

Nocc growled. Spitting on the floor he threw a heated glare at Vrateus, then stormed out, shoving everyone out of his way.

Vrateus added another mental note to his already longer-than-his-tail list: to watch Nocc more closely.

Wyck shuffled from foot to foot, uncertainly. “Take care of the female” obviously didn’t make much sense to him in terms of specifics.

“Put her in Svetlana’s old room. Bring her meals. Make sure no one touches her.” Vrateus rubbed his face. No matter what, every new arrival was his responsibility. He was the captain, after all. He needed to make sure, though, that Wyck understood it differently, in this case. “She is fully under your protection. Do you understand? Her life and wellbeing are your responsibility.”

Wyck threw a glare toward the female who sat quietly, a calculating expression on her face.

“Captain...” The errock shifted closer, turning his back to the rest of the crew and lowering his voice. “I don’t want her.”

“What?” Vrateus felt his eyebrows shoot up to his fur line. These must be the most shocking words he’d ever heard from a male on the Dark Anomaly. “Why did you just fight for her, then?”

Wyck rubbed the back of his neck, seemingly unsure about his own motives.

“I found Nocc between her legs. She shrieked and fought... He looked like he would kill her.”

“So, you stopped him?”

“He was so much bigger than her. It didn’t seem fair...” the errock mumbled. His voice trailed off, as if Wyck realized he wasn’t making much sense, not enough to continue.

The little he’d said, however, only reinforced Vrateus’s conviction to keep the new woman in Wyck’s care.

“Keep her safe,” he ordered. “If you want someone else to bring her to the mess hall instead of you, let me know by tomorrow night. You don’t need to touch her yourself, but you do have to keep her well and alive. Understood?”

Wyck made a half-nod, half-shrug in reply. That would have to do.

“What about the second female?” the errock asked unexpectedly.

“What second female?” Vrateus replied sharply. Wyck better not be talking about Svetlana again.

“When I got here, there were two females, at first.”

“Two?”

Wyck turned around, scratching his bald head in confusion. “Where did she go?”

“Xoqaek and Gahot. Have you seen another female here? Besides this one?”

Both stared at him with their mouths agape.

“Um... No, Captain.”

“Just this one here.”

Vrateus took a closer look at the bodies on the floor. There were actually four in total. All four appeared to