Pirate's Gold - S.J. Sanders Page 0,79

air. Screams of pain rang out, stopping after only a second. Jerking her head up, she stared in awe as the plumes of smoke disappeared, revealing a bubbling mass of the creature lying on the floor. A chuff of laughter left Veral.

“Plasma cannon, warrior class,” he stated with no little pleasure just as a large mass dropped down in front of them.

The figure uncurled as he stood, revealing himself to be an Argurma male somehow even bigger than Veral. His face was broader, with a more sharply defined square jaw. His vibrissae practically stood straight out from his head in an enormous halo as he absorbed information on everything in the area. His expression was hard and foreboding despite the small smile that just barely turned up the edges of his mouth.

“Veral,” he said, his glowing amethyst eyes narrowing.

“Kaylar,” Veral returned in greeting, though he made no attempt to approach.

The male, Kaylar, tilted his head in acknowledgement before flicking his eyes to the remains of the experiment. “Is that it?”

“Yes,” Veral replied. “The pirates in our company are dead, and that was the only land-mobile experiment within the remains of the ship, although I make no guarantee what that blast might have attracted from the outer areas.”

The other male shrugged. “I required a quick entrance. I loaded the virus into the pirate ship and set my ship into auto-hover mode so that I could lower myself down to the wreckage. I did not expect to encounter flying beasts that attempted to chew on me midair. Blasting my way through the hull seemed to be an expedient solution to get away from them once I became bored with their games.” His eyes flicked to Azan, who immediately held her hands up in reaction to his hard gaze. “What of the Blaithari?”

“An ally. She poses no threat.”

“I see. And the coordinates?”

Veral nodded. What did their rescue have to do with coordinates? Terri stared in confusion at Veral as he initiated the data transfer. “Wait—what?”

The ghost of a smile widened on the male’s face as he accepted the transfer and nodded in approval as he no doubt reviewed the information. “Your mate did not tell you? I am not surprised. It is in his nature to protect, whereas it is not in mine. Another flaw in his systems. You should know that the council is very interested in your species. That you are biologically compatible with Argurmas could have interesting implications when it comes to usefulness for organ harvesting and organic replacement tissue for our species, among other uses in testing. It is believed that a female would be preferable to keep for initial testing.”

Terri’s mouth dropped open, and she leaned back so she could adequately turn her head and stare at her mate in shock. “You didn’t…”

“It was necessary. It was all that he would accept for his aid. He has the virus codes that are temporarily disabling the pirate ship orbiting the planet. It was the only way to save you,” he growled.

Terri swallowed back her dismay and the many rebukes that had been ready to fly off the tip of her tongue. She hated that he gave up that information without even consulting her, but perhaps he had known that she wouldn’t have agreed. He wouldn’t sit back and let harm come to her. He would sacrifice anything for her.

She couldn’t say that she wouldn’t have done the same.

She leaned into him, worrying about the fate of the women she had left behind on Earth who wouldn’t even know that anyone was coming after them.

“Interesting,” Kaylar said quietly. “Even after your betrayal, she still cleaves to you.”

She shot him an annoyed glare. “I’m not so stupid that I don’t recognize he did it for me and our child. As much as I hate you right now for what you’re about to do, I can’t be angry at him for making that choice. I would have done the same for him.”

A heavy brow rose in her direction, and he hummed thoughtfully to himself. “Interesting.” He gave them a long, considering look before he shrugged and drew an enormous blaster from his back, leveling it on Veral. “I am truly in awe, cousin, that you have had the good fortune to find a worthy mate. Unfortunately, that doesn’t change anything for you. I do believe it is time for you to surrender.”

“Betrayal, Kaylar?”

One corner of the male’s mouth pulled up in a genuine smile. “Business only. Truly, I will regret it, but