Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

Siroc

I woke up to her sprawled over my chest. One hand gently rested on my shoulder. Her warm body made a delightful blanket of breath and skin. Mitrans only slept on their backs, on account of our horns, and some slept on specially made beds to accommodate uniquely shaped horns, but mine arched out from the sides, so I could sleep on a flat bed. However, I could have been lying on rocks and I would have slept happily if it meant Jane's body was on top of me. It had been one of the best sleeps of my life. She felt so right beside me, on me. She would surely feel perfect under me.

My cock, wide awake and painfully hard, was thankfully not digging into any part of her body. Her thigh crossed over mine. Her torso half covered mine and her head rested below my collarbone. I wanted nothing more than to roll her over and bury myself inside of her. In that moment. So, it was a good idea to get out of bed and put some distance between me and the female I wanted to mate with.

I delicately moved her arm and slid out from underneath her. Her ordeal from the previous night had exhausted her. She made a little mewing sound, then settled into the blankets without waking up. I rubbed my hands over my face.

We kissed. She had kissed me and I'd kissed her back, and now, there was no forgetting what she felt like. There was no way to undo the desire I had for her now that I'd had a taste. I wanted the feast.

I went to the washroom to clean up, get dressed, and get my head together. I was not looking forward to the day. It had been guards who had alerted me to Jane's nighttime wanderings. They had followed her as she had walked trancelike through the halls, and they'd summoned me for help. This would surely get back to the Elders, again increasing pressure on me to confine her. I left the washroom clad in black pants and a thick leather tunic as she was waking up. I watched, transfixed, as she pushed herself up on one elbow and gazed at me with sleepy eyes. Her short spiky hair stood out in all directions, and her lips curved into a soft smile. "Good morning."

"I trust you slept well, Jane?" My voice sounded gravelly. It was rough with need, but hopefully she would think of it just as my own sleepiness.

"Yes, thanks to you." One sleeve of her nightgown slipped over a shoulder and the wide neckline gave me a glimpse of beautiful lush skin beneath. I saw the swell of breast and one succulent nipple. "Not thanks to me. I don't know what came over me. Please accept my apologies."

I gritted my teeth and turned away. "I was a willing participant," I said. "Neither of us should apologize for… Well, I have some things to do," I said shortly. "Stay in bed and rest. You were exhausted after your ordeal."

She yawned and lay back down, stretching her arms high above her head. "I am exhausted. I still can't believe that entity had such control over me." She covered her face with her hands. "When I first woke up, I'd hoped that was all a dream."

"Unfortunately, it was not." I crossed my arms and faced her again. "Urix will visit you here today. I'd like you to stay in our chambers."

"Who knows that I left the room last night?"

"By now?" I shrugged, trying to downplay the seriousness of what had happened. "Most everyone. But sleepwalking is not a crime. You're certainly not the first one to do it. I will take care of it."

Her eyes, heavy-lidded with sleep, met mine. "I'm afraid, Siroc. I'm afraid of whomever it was that spoke to me last night."

I picked up my spear and leaned on it lightly. "He will not have you, Jane. We will find this being and end him."

She nodded, but still looked uncertain. "I don't know what he wants me to do. What if he makes me hurt someone? I couldn't break his control."

"We will find a solution before that happens. In the meantime, you're going to get a full examination from Urix to see if his devices can teach us what happened to you last night." I moved to the door, needing to leave before I returned to her side and drew her back into my arms. The desire to do so was all-consuming. "I will return soon."

I left before she could say anything else. My cock was still hard. I was wound so tight that when my first guard, Koloth, fell into step behind me, I snapped out, "Report," without looking at him.

"I have received the information you asked me to gather from Earth about Jane Miller," he said. "It appears this information has come just in time."

"What have you found?" I asked.

"Our contacts there were confused on something in her history, so they did a deeper investigation." He shook his head. "Either your Jane spent a large period of her life completely offline, leaving no digital traces, or she's not Jane Miller at all."

I stopped in the hallway and turned to him. "Explain."

He handed me a datascreen. "Read for yourself. This woman didn't exist until two years ago, except for a few entries in childhood, which may have been fabricated and inserted into the record."

I frowned. This was not the news I needed right now. "You're saying she came here under a false identity."

He shrugged. "Signs could point to that, yes. Or maybe there's a perfectly normal, reasonable explanation."

"And she can't remember to tell me about it," I said in exasperation.

"Are you certain of that?" Koloth asked.

"Are you saying she's lying about her memory loss?"

Koloth shook his head. "I wouldn't know. But Elnok did say—"

"Do not speak that fraud's name in my presence. He has caused this Thrail enough problems and transformed the Council of Elders into a band of hand-wringing, paranoid fools who are no use to anyone."

Koloth expelled a harsh breath. "I cannot argue with that, Warlord. They will not do anything without his guidance."

I tapped the screen to turn it black. "This information stays between us for now, do you understand?"

Koloth nodded. "Yes, Pal-Siroc."

"I want the tunnel she was found in sealed off at its entrance point today. No one is to go down there under any circumstances. The entity that abducted Jane may be using that corridor."

Koloth's eyes widened. "It was seen?"

I shook my head. "He was heard. And no good will come of that creature having access to this Thrail. Seal it off and reroute the emergency evacuation passageways if you must, to avoid anyone entering that section."

"Yes, Warlord." Koloth paused, then met my gaze. He had been my first guard for a long time, and my friend before that. He and I had competed for the role of warlord. He knew me well. Well enough to know that I saw Jane as more than a female under my protection. "There is some concern, Warlord."

I suppressed a sliver of irritation. "What concern?"

"Concern amongst the people that you are getting too close to Jane. Concern that you are letting feelings for her cloud your judgment."

I narrowed my eyes. "Is that what you believe, Koloth? Speak freely. We have known each other a long time."

"I don't know, Pal-Siroc. I have never known you to have clouded judgment. You've always seen situations with clarity. But if this is a female you wish to mate with, then it is imperative that you find the truth about her."

I turned my gaze skyward, wishing I had these answers. "I cannot argue with that, Koloth."

"The Elders themselves lack the authority to depose you, but if they were to turn popular opinion strongly against you, it would be very hard to continue to rule."

My gut tightened. "I have a feeling that is exactly what that creature Elnok wants." A sudden thought came to me and I turned sharply to Koloth. "When exactly did the seer appear in our Thrail?"

He stroked his chin in thought. "Would have to say almost eight standard galactic months ago."

"That was about the same time that Jane disappeared from our Thrail, was it not?"

Koloth's eyes widened in surprise. "It was not long before that, I believe."

Unpleasant dread coiled in my gut. "Begin a thorough investigation of Elnok. He says he is from no one particular Thrail, but he came from somewhere. Find out where. I want to know everything about him."

Koloth nodded. "I will see to it."

"If you must, employ outside investigators. The Vistoar species is very good at finding information. They may be a resource to tap. Find out what they want to trade and give it to them. And again, keep this investigation quiet. If Elnok is dangerous, we cannot risk the safety of the Thrail."

Koloth bowed his head. "Understood, Warlord."

He turned and departed as I continued on to the main hall to begin my business for the day and to deal with the speculation and concerns surrounding Jane and her nocturnal wanderings.

The people were worried I was getting too close to her. Possibly, they were right. But I had found the female I wished to mate with, bond with, share my future with. What if she herself was a lie?