Chapter Six

Raxon

The medical bay faded behind us, but the weight of that damning revelation still hung in the air like a sour miasma. I fought to keep my stride measured and controlled, but every instinct screamed at me to snatch up Sutton and race her to the nearest escape pod.

Get her off this ship, away from the prying eyes and twisted intentions of my so-called comrades before it was too late. Before one of them decided to test the scanners" findings about her "compatibility" and made a move to claim her for themselves.

The thought made my hackles bristle, a low rumble building in my chest. Over my dead body would any of those depraved vorks lay so much as a claw on the little human. She was under my protection now, bound to me by the most sacred traditions of my kind.

And if they thought to challenge that... well, it would be their funerals.

I risked a sidelong glance at Sutton, taking in the pallor of her features, the slight tremble still working its way through her delicate frame. She looked shellshocked, her huge eyes slightly unfocused, as if she couldn"t quite process the full implications of what had just transpired.

Not that I could blame her. That cold, clinical phrasing the technician had used, so blasé and matter-of-fact about her role as some kind of... of universal whore. It turned my stomach just remembering it. As if she were little more than a pleasure-slave to be bartered and sold to the highest bidder amongst our kind.

I felt the growl building again, echoing from the darkest recesses of my psyche. Rationality warred with a more primal side of me, one that recognized Sutton as something infinitely precious. Not just another curiosity or potential threat to be neutralized, but a rare flame of life and individuality that deserved to be sheltered and protected.

We emerged into a wide, bustling corridor, and I instinctively angled my body to shield Sutton from the worst of the foot traffic. Armored warriors and technicians brushed past in a constant flow, many of them shooting curious looks at the strange little alien keeping pace at my side.

I snarled low in my throat, baring a hint of fang until the bolder ones averted their gazes. Let them look, let their twisted thoughts and urges take shape for now. I"d put them down like the rabid curs they were if any of them dared act on their perversions.

My jaw clenched until the bones creaked, every muscle in my body coiling tight as a winch cable. I had to get her out of here, had to find some way to secure her from the grasping, grasping hands of the Coalition"s top echelon. Someplace safe where I could figure out how to begin undoing this twisted situation.

But where? It couldn"t be just any sanctuary or hidden safehouse—those would be the first places the Coalition would think to search, and they had resources that could root out any hiding place, no matter how well concealed.

No, it would have to be some place they would never think to look. Someplace they were specifically forbidden from operating, by the very core tenets they"d sworn their oaths to uphold.

My thoughts spun out, possibilities and scenarios flickering through my mind in rapid succession. I was so lost in my own churning contemplations that I nearly bowled over the stocky warrior waiting for us at the end of the corridor.

"Raxon." The gravelly voice cut through my reverie like a plasma torch. I blinked, refocusing on the all-too-familiar features of my oldest friend.

"Kravok." I inclined my head in a shallow nod of greeting. The old vork had clearly been apprised of the situation—his nostrils flared ever so slightly as he studied Sutton, scenting the subtle musk that clung to her. A muscle ticked along his jaw as he processed the implications, but to his credit, he kept his composure.

"I"m to escort you to your quarters and await further instructions from the command staff," he rumbled at last, turning on his heel and setting off down a side passage without waiting for acknowledgment. "They want time to... assess the proper protocols regarding your little tagalong."

I bristled at his cavalier phrasing, but bit back the instinctive snarl building in my throat. Kravok was still a brother, one of the few warriors whose martial prowess and personal integrity I respected without reservation. If anyone could be trusted to advise me through this mess, it was him.

So I simply fell into step beside him, shortening my stride to allow Sutton to keep pace. She stuck close, practically brushing against my side, no doubt seeking what little comfort and security my presence provided.

The thought made that same fierce protectiveness flare up again, burning white-hot in my chest. I would keep her safe, no matter what insane gambit I was forced to undertake.

We lapsed into silence, letting the echoes of the passageway swallow us up. Kravok seemed content not to pry, at least for the moment. He knew me too well, understood that I would share what needed to be said in my own time.

At last, we emerged into a wide anteroom, ringed with closed double-doors that no doubt led to the officers" private quarters. Kravok gestured to a sealed portal near the far end, mouth set in a grim line.

"These chambers have been prepared for your use," he growled, already keying in the access codes. "Food replicators, basic amenities, the works. No communication suite, though—we can"t risk any unencrypted signals leading your new shadow"s homeworld to us."

I tensed at his implication, bunching my shoulders as I prepared for the verbal barrage that was sure to come. But Kravok just shook his head, whiskers twitching in a subdued manner.

"Don"t look at me like that. You know I don"t give a rip about the brass and their sanctimonious prattling." His tone shifted, becoming quieter, almost... conspiratorial. "But we both know this whole situation just took a turn into uncharted territory. You"re going to need to play this smart if you want to get your little pet off this ship in one piece."

Pet? I opened my mouth to snarl a blistering rebuke at him, but Sutton beat me to it. She stiffened at my side, shooting Kravok a look of pure venom despite her diminutive stature.

"I am not a pet," she bit out, each word crisp and laced with fury. "I"m a person, same as either of you savages. And if you can"t be bothered to see me as anything more than your master"s new plaything, then you can take your thinly-veiled insults and shove them straight up your—"

"Easy there, little firespitter," Kravok rumbled, though I could see the glimmer of respect kindling behind his eyes at Sutton"s blistering tirade. "I meant no insult. At least, not towards you."

He shot me a pointed look, one I returned with a warning growl. "Your quarters await," he rumbled, jerking his muzzle towards the darkened chamber beyond. "I"ll be posted just outside if you need anything else. Or..." His gaze flicked to Sutton, then back to me with a look I knew all too well—the same considering, calculating expression he wore right before proposing one of his crazy, insubordinate schemes.

"Or?" I prompted, fighting to keep my tone level and even. The last thing I needed was for him to go off half-cocked and jeopardize whatever gambit I had in mind.

Kravok"s lips peeled back in a wolfish grin, whiskers twitching. His gaze moved past me to settle on Sutton once more, studying her with those sharp, appraising eyes.

"Way I see it, the smart move is to get your... mate... somewhere secure while you figure out your next play." A slight smirk tugged at the corner of his muzzle as he used the respectful term for a warrior"s lifemate. "Somewhere off-grid, out of reach of the high-and-mighty vorn"aras back home before they can stick their snouts where they don"t belong."

Kravok seemed to sense my hesitation. With a slight shake of his head, he took a half-step closer and dropped his voice to a low, urgent rasp.

"You know I"m right about this, Rax. Those arrogant vorks in high command wouldn"t hesitate to snatch your little pet up and start poking and prodding at her like some kind of science experiment the second your back was turned. And that"s if they decided to be merciful about the whole thing."

His eyes bored into me, deadly serious in a way few warriors ever saw him.

"You know what they"re capable of, Rax. What lines they"re willing to cross in the name of "tactical advantage" or "military superiority." Hell, you"ve got the scars to prove it."

My breath caught in my throat as the old memories came flooding back. Flashes of darkness and cold steel, of agonizing nights spent raking my claws down the walls of my cell as I drowned in fever-dreams of what new torments awaited me come morning. Memories of being held prisoner by Arudian slavers during a Coalition mission threatened to overwhelm me.

Kravok was right—the Coalition"s noble rhetoric rang hollow in the face of such recollections. They preached honor and integrity, but I knew firsthand how quickly such lofty ideals could be discarded in the name of grasping for any advantage over their foes.

And if they saw Sutton as some kind of powerful new "resource" to be controlled and exploited...

A low growl built in my throat as I studied the human female, watching our exchange with a mixture of wariness and confusion. She might put on a brave face, all flickering bravado and sharp tongue, but I could smell the fear wafting off her. The bone-deep terror that came from being a fragile mote of life adrift in a reality far larger and more unforgiving than she could comprehend.

No. I would not abandon her to the machinations of the Coalition"s intellectual elite, no matter how noble their stated goals or how stringent their oaths claimed to be. Not while a single, bloody breath still stoked the fire in my chest. If claiming Sutton as my lifemate saved her life, then it was a sacrifice well worth the price.

Squaring my shoulders, I fixed Kravok with a look that would have withered mere recruits where they stood.

"Tell me what you have in mind, Krav. And it had better be one of your better improvisations this time around."

Kravok"s smirk widened into a full-blown grin, one I knew all too well. It was the expression he wore whenever some new, half-baked plan began taking shape in that devious brain of his—the kind that inevitably led to us catching more reprimands and demotions than I cared to remember.

But this time... this time, I found that I didn"t care about such potential consequences. Not if it meant keeping Sutton safe from the machinations of our erstwhile "allies."

"Have I ever let you down before, Rax?" Kravok rumbled, the gleam in his eyes taking on a distinctly mischievous glint. "Just leave it to me. I"ve got the perfect place for you to lay low while you sort out this whole mess."

Nodding once, I turned and gestured for Sutton to precede me into the temporary quarters. She frowned, clearly sensing the new tension in the air, but knew better than to question me in that moment.

As the door slid shut behind us, I caught one last glimpse of Kravok"s feral grin as he spun on his heel and strode away, no doubt to begin setting his latest insane plot into motion. Despite my gnawing trepidation, I felt a strange sense of relief wash over me.

For better or worse, I was committed now.