Pirate's Gold - S.J. Sanders Page 0,34

among the tight network of roots. Though they stumbled around, half-blind, led by the handheld lights they carried, Veral’s vision was unhampered, eyes glowing with perfect night vision. From his vantage point, he knew that the roots were perhaps the safest place to rest that they could hope for without constructing a shelter.

The massive trees grew so close together that their long branches would block out most of any rain that might fall overnight. The roots themselves offered further shelter. At some point, they had forced each other up from where they were anchored in wet earth, creating natural beds amid the dips and hollows they formed above the wet ground. Everyone was all the more eager to seek shelter among the roots as they scoured the area for any sign of predators.

His eyes slid over them all, coming to rest on the form of his mate as she stretched out the kinks in her back. She tilted her head back as if sensing him lurking above her, smiling as she met his gaze. Discreetly, she pressed her fingers to her lips—blowing him a kiss, she called it.

The corners of his mouth quirked in response, his heart warming at the gesture. He touched his own lips, fingertips sliding between the gap between his mandibles in silent communication of his returned love. Her smile widened, but then she ducked her head, her attention turning abruptly to the female at her side.

He understood why, but he ached with disappointment. It was ironic for a male who spent so long ignoring every emotion that reminded him of how flawed he was in the eyes of his species. Yet now he acknowledged the need that boiled inside of him to be joined with her again.

Skimming over the other males, his eyes fell at last on the source of his current problems. Egbor strutted below with his personal guards as he sought the best sleeping accommodations. Coming across a spot that he wanted, he ousted the male who was already occupying it in order to make his own bed on the green plant life that covered the expanse of the bog lodged between two curved roots. Even as he lay there among them, the ridiculously expensive weave and stitching on his robes made him stand out among his crew. He looked like a pampered idiot. It was a deceptive and cultivated appearance.

And at that moment, there was no one that Veral hated more.

This planet should have been a private place where he could leisurely explore with his mate while they worked side by side. Instead, he was forced to see her under constant threat. He did not doubt that the second-in-command—Azan, she was called—would do all that she could to keep Terri from harm. Whenever she stood near his mate, her bearing had an attentive protectiveness to it, daring anyone to approach.

But he also knew that the female had iron in her that had been fashioned and tempered by the fires of pain and cruelty. He could see it within the depths of her eyes, cold and merciless.

Right now, she was biding her time, waiting for some sign of the advantage she sought. He knew that she wanted to kill the captain. It burned within her eyes whenever she watched Egbor unnoticed. She hated the male even more than Veral did, of that he had no doubt. But to preserve her life and position, much the same thing for a female in a pirate crew, she would kill his mate if ordered. If that happened, then Veral would be forced to slaughter her along with everyone else.

Although sometimes it was easy to forget when he was with his mate, he too was a cold, merciless killer, after all.

Movement in the distance attracted his attention, and he stilled. One of the Blaithari males was moving away from the safety of the trees. Veral’s eyes tracked him, following the male’s unsteady movement over the solid mounds in the bog, his hands trailing along the sides of trees to stabilize himself whenever he came within reach of one.

Veral leaped down from the tree, taking to the shadows. Most of the pirates had already drifted off to sleep. The few males who had been left on the first shift of guard duty were easy enough to avoid as he silently stalked after his prey.

Drawing nearer, a hard smile pulled at his lips. It was the Blaithari who had attempted to shove his way between Veral and his mate. Right