Treasured By the Alien Pirate by Celia Kyle Page 0,4
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.”
“We’re just like any other living sapient,” I say