26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Nikolai

Z’Ree sleeps through the ship jumping into hyperspace and throughout most of the bumpy ride.

The occasional groaning sounds coming from the hull are truly nightmare inducing even though D’Aakh assures us it’s normal. Apparently, we don’t usually hear or feel the vibrations thanks to the ship’s internal dampening systems. Since those are currently running at the lowest capacity, we’re feeling every bump of this hellish ride.

It’s like being jostled around in a plane flying through the turbulence of a thunderstorm. I want to be scared but seeing that everyone else remains mostly unphased, including little Ellen who is calmly playing with her pet, I hold my anxiety in.

Z’Ree wakes up when we’re just over an hour away from our destination. As her eyes flutter open, she gives me the brightest, most beautiful smile. A second later, she winces, as if remembering something terrible, lowering her head to avoid my eyes.

Oh, I’m in so much trouble.

Slipping off my lap, Z’Ree yawns and stretches her arms out. “Ow, my back. Ugh. How long have I been asleep?”

“Eight hours,” I tell her, taking this opportunity to stretch myself. Some of my vertebrae pop and crack as the movement realigns them into their original positions. “We’re still more than an hour away from the station.”

“Oh, alright.” She bends over to stretch her legs. My cock surges to life as she offers me an unspoiled view of her perfect ass and pussy. Z’Ree suddenly remembers she’s only wearing my shirt and no underwear. Hastily, she straightens up and yanks down the material as if stretching it might cover her better.

“Here.” I offer her the blanket which she gratefully wraps around herself. “There’s food and water. You should eat something.”

“Mmm. I probably should,” Z’Ree replies, her expression pensive. “Preferably something rich in vitamins and nutrients,” she mumbles to herself, scouring the pile of ration bars. “And water too. I definitely need water now.”

She’s acting strange. I’m about to ask if she’s alright when Ellen saunters closer. “Hello,” the little girl chirps, waving at Z’Ree. “You’re pretty.”

Z’Ree smiles. “Thank you. So are you! And what’s this?” She points to the animal in Ellen’s arms.

The creature watches Z’Ree with unbidden curiosity. He cocks his head, his forked tongue darting out to taste the air around him. “This is Fluffy,” Ellen says. “Do you want to pet him? He’s really fluffy.”

“You don’t say,” Z’Ree giggles, cautiously letting Fluffy sniff at her hand. “He has a good name, then.”

“I chose it,” Ellen announces with pride. “He eats a lot. Last time he got into the kitchen he stole all of the seka rolls!” Soon, the two of them are immersed in the story of Fluffy’s unfortunate seka roll incident and I’ve lost any chance to speak to Z’Ree privately.

Ellen sticks to Z’Ree’s side even as we finally dock to the Alevvo station.

The silence that greets us as D’Aakh shuts off the tortured engines is deafening. The crew looks at each other in disbelief. “So…” Faelin ventures, scrunching his brows. “Have we made it?”

D’Aakh taps at his datapad for a few seconds, drawing out the silence before finally nodding. “We’re safely docked. The shipyard’s systems are supplementing our life support and other vital systems until we can fix the ship and run them on our own. There’s no evident structural damage to the hull.”

“Dude.” Faelin smacks the back of D’Aakh’s head. “Did we make it?”

“Yes, we made it.”

The atmosphere in the ready room changes in a millisecond, the relief we all feel is palpable. Once the wave of cheers subsides, Zarkan looks over everyone. “You’ve all done well. Every single one of you contributed in some way to ensure our safe arrival here but I have to give special mention to two of you in particular. D’Aakh, our resident grump—err, I mean…brilliant technician,” he grins, “and Z’Ree, our brave stowaway who saved us all.”

D’Aakh merely rolls his eyes, ignoring the applause that follows but Z’Ree’s cheeks lose all color from how hard she blushes. She’s inching away from everyone who wants to thank her in person and it’s more than a little pleasing to see that she’s seeking safety with me. I pull her into my side and shoo Astra and the others away.

Z’Ree leans into me, tension leaving her body just at my touch. Allowing myself to relax a little, I think, perhaps I haven’t screwed this up so badly. Then again, she said we needed to talk. Now that we aren’t in mortal danger anymore, we finally might have that opportunity to do so.

“So, what now?” I ask the question everyone else must be thinking.

Zarkan motions to the door. “Everyone’s free to go. The station is small but safe, so feel free to explore. We’re going to be here for several weeks before we get the ship operational, so…have fun, I guess?”

“Yippee!” Ellen exclaims, already halfway out of the door. Nala and Faelin rush after her and most of the others follow.

Z’Ree shifts her weight from one foot to another, looking at Zarkan with trepidation. “Captain? Can I stay on the ship?” she asks timidly.

Zarkan grunts. “Z’Ree, I told you that you can stay here for as long as you want. And that was before you went and single-handedly saved all of our lives. You’re part of the crew now, for better or worse,” he jokes. “Just pick any room you like. Oh, and if you need anything from the station, talk to Astra or Nala. Unless you want to go shopping personally?”

A shudder runs through her body and she inches closer to me. “No, sir. I really don’t want to leave the ship.”

“As you wish. I have to talk to the station’s foreman to discuss the repairs we will need, but you can always message me. Or call. I like hearing your voice now that you’ve got it back.”

I know he’s just being friendly, but my hackles rise at his compliment. He shouldn’t be complimenting her!

Zarkan must have caught my scowl, because he grins. “I guess you’re in good hands here. Later.”

We remain behind, finally alone. Z’Ree sucks in a shaky breath, then looks up at me. Her beautiful purple eyes are full of strong emotions I can’t discern. There’s fear and apprehension but also love and tenderness. I don’t know what to make of it all. I’m a simple man, after all, hardly an expert on female emotions.

Tracing my fingers along Z’Ree’s cheek, I’m relieved when she doesn’t pull away. “I…” I swallow around the lump in my throat and try again. “I’m going to check on the machines in the infirmary to see what was damaged. Would you like to come with me? We…uh…we can talk.”

“Yes,” she agrees immediately. “I’d be happy to help you and…yes, we do need to talk. The infirmary will be perfect.”

So that I can stitch up my heart after she tears it to pieces?

We step out of the room, both gasping at the sight of the damaged corridors. The walls are charred, lights shattered, and the smell of burning plastic permeates the air. Aliens don’t use Earth-style lightbulbs, so the shards covering the floor aren’t actually glass but they’re sharp anyway. Since Z’Ree still doesn’t have any shoes to wear, I scoop her up into my arms.

I’m not a buffed up super soldier like Faelin or the rest of the crew. If Z’Ree was a little taller with a healthy body weight, I’m not sure I’d be able to carry her very far. As it stands, she’s five feet nothing and seriously malnourished, so I have no problem carrying her until we reach the infirmary.

The infirmary is a mess but considering the hellish journey we just survived, it still looks relatively intact. Hopefully, the electricity surge didn’t damage anything in here. D’Aakh mentioned restricting the current to the main corridors, but it’s electricity. How you tell it not to go somewhere is beyond me.

I carefully set Z’Ree down in an empty space and assess the damage. It looks like a herd of toddlers barged in and ransacked the drawers and cabinets, throwing the contents recklessly across the floor. It’s not ideal but relatively easy to fix.

“Anything damaged?” Z’Ree asks, peering over my shoulder. “The scanner?”

I sweep some stray bandages away from the large medical scanner and touch the screen to activate it. It comes online without a hitch. “Seems to be working fine. Come, I’ll scan you right now to see how much damage the radiation did.” I do my best to sound professional but the slight tremble in my voice betrays my anxiety. What if the scan shows something bad?

She tiptoes closer, cautiously avoiding the tools scattered all over the floor. I curse myself for not carrying her over here.

She runs her fingers over the scanner’s examination table, but doesn’t move to lie on it. “There’s something I need to tell you before you scan me,” she says somewhat sheepishly.

My stomach drops. Here it is. The “we need to talk” talk.

“May I say something first?” I ask, cupping her face to make sure she doesn’t turn away. “I love you, Z’Ree. Nothing will change that. If this is about what I did before, how I said I wouldn’t let you go…” I heave a sigh. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I just wanted to protect you. I was fucking terrified of losing you. I still am. Please, forgive me, if you can.” I swallow roughly. I’m not going to cry. I’m not.

“It’s not about that, Nikolai. I know why you said it. I should be the one apologizing. The collar comment was way out of line but, I needed you to let me go or we would have all died. It’s not…” She pauses and tries to look away from me but I don’t let her. “That’s not what I want to talk about.”

It’s not? What else did I do wrong? I’m at my wits’ end. “Then tell me. Please.” I can’t take this anymore.

“Alright. Just…promise not to get angry with me. I never planned for this to happen. I didn’t realize that…I mean, you’re human! It doesn’t make any sense. I never thought that… I’m sorry.”

“Z’Ree, my jewel, you aren’t making sense. I won’t get angry. Just start at the beginning and tell me what’s going on.”

She takes in a shaky breath, relaxing a little, then places her hand on my chest. “Do you feel something strange inside of your body?” she asks. “Something different, something you never felt before you met me? Like a low humming deep inside of you?”

“Yes! At first, I thought I was imagining it, but it always grows stronger whenever I’m near you. What is it? Is this something you did?” Is that why she’s afraid I’ll be angry? “Because I don’t mind. It’s actually rather pleasant. A little incessant when it comes to being near you but in my book, that’s a good thing.”

“I didn’t do it. Well, not on purpose.” She sighs. “Nikolai, what do you know about Silithrae culture? Namely, about crystal kin?”

“Nothing. I’m sorry, I meant to look it up but with everything that has happened and then the systems were offline… Just tell me what I need to know. If there’s a ceremony or a ritual I’m missing, I’m happy to learn about it.” Perhaps we should have had an alien wedding before having sex? Hell, I’ll gladly put a ring on her finger if it means she’d never leave me.

Z’Ree shakes her head. “Not exactly. Each Silithrae has a perfect partner for them somewhere in the universe. A single person who will make the optimal mate for us, the other half of our soul. They are the only person in the entire galaxy with whom we can…conceive. Other races sometimes refer to it as ‘fated mates’.”

“Yes, I’ve read about fated mates but it really doesn’t have anything to do with fate so much as biological and genetic compatibility.”

“Mmm,” Z’Ree hums in agreement. “When two crystal kin meet, their crystals begin to sing to each other. The song draws them together and compels them to…well, to mate.”

I focus on the low, barely noticeable humming sound inside of me. Everything she said sounds perfect, except… “I’m not a Silithrae. I don’t have any crystals inside of my body.” As far as I know, anyway. “Yet…it feels like my body is singing to yours. So, does that mean we are fated mates? Crystal kin?”

“It seems so,” she replies, her voice solemn.

“But…isn’t that a good thing?” Why is she so sad about it?

“Well, if it wasn’t for the bond, you wouldn’t have—”

I interrupt her. “Yes, I would have. Don’t even go there, Z’Ree. This vibration thing started the moment I touched you but I’ve been interested in you since long before that. I love you, Z’Ree,” I repeat, hoping that if I say it often enough, perhaps it will get through her crystalline skull. “Crystal kin or not. This just seems like a sign from the universe that we’re perfect for each other. I mean, what are the odds? That you have one mate in the entire universe and it’s me? That’s…” I shake my head in disbelief. “Amazing.”

Z’Ree still looks troubled. “I’m happy you’re my crystal kin, Nikolai. Beyond happy. But there’s one more important thing I need to tell you. I can have sex with anyone I like but my crystal kin is the only person I can have children with.”

I still don’t see the issue. “I love children. I don’t—”

“Nikolai.” She grips my arms and gives me a slight shake. “Let me finish. Crystal kin always conceive during their first mating. Always.”

Blinking slowly, my brain struggles to catch up with my ears. “Are you saying that…”

“I’m pregnant, Nikolai.”