9. Chapter 9

Ilet out a breath when I'm out of the door. Hazel, that annoying human, well, annoys me.

It has been a while since I talked to a human. Is that what they do? Tick me off?

She probably has no idea how much I want to pin her down and strip her naked. I just want to help her. I don't know why. I'm not a generous uzain, but with her...

I shrug that off and head down the corridor. It is too late to take anything back. My side, where the captain kicked, aches. But maybe that's because she also kicked me.

She has such a soft body that I want to hold her close. But at the same time, I don't want to scare her. It hurts to watch the captain whip her. I thought I could stomach that, but I couldn't.

Now, she is supposed to be my mate. That's what I told the captain and fought him for. If I were anyone else on the ship, I'd be locked up for fighting against the captain.

I halt at a corner when I smell the captain at the other end. It doesn't take long before he comes around and glares at me. I take a breath and stand my ground, giving him a nod.

He grunts. "You had fun with the human?"

"She has a name." My cock twitches and I wish I'd had fun with her. I suppose touching her soft back and taking in her sweet scent isn't nothing, but that's far from the fun I want, and the captain expects.

He shrugs and sneers. "I don't care. I'm telling you. If you think the base camp will cover your ass and save your horns—"

"If you think they will be happy with how you kidnapped a human from a friendly space station, go ahead."

He hisses back. "You better watch where you put your horns."

"I will. Same for you."

He huffs and continues down the corridor with big strides, wanting nothing to do with me.

After we fought, maybe he knew better than to fight me again. I didn't make it hard for him when we fought in private. He should be grateful for that.

I let out a soft breath when he should be far enough away. A heat burns in my stomach again and goes down the marking on me. I'd protect Hazel, even though I still don't understand.

Is it the thing Vrek told me? The same feeling he felt when Serena was there with him?

While I took Serena to the spaceship with Vrek, I didn't know she meant that much to him. Serena gave us doughnuts and I've been wanting more of those for as long as I flew on this ship.

Those good old days...

Did Vrek know about his mate bond with Serena when he first met her?

Except there's no way for me to know or ask him when I'm on this ship. Only the captain has the device to contact the base camp or other spaceships. He is never going to let me touch that in private. And he is never going to let me use it just to make sure what I'm feeling for Hazel is the right one. Not that I'd want to even mention that in front of the captain.

More importantly, there's no telling what Vrek is up to. He probably can't receive my message at this time either.

What am I doing here?

I remain in the corridor and stare blankly afar. I think there is a reason for me to be here that's more than running into the captain.

But...

I rub my horns. Am I supposed to be doing something other than getting away from Hazel so I can calm myself?

I told her to stay in the room and sleep. So...

Right! Pillow, yes.

I continue down the corridor toward the storage room. There should be extra pillows sitting around.

My heart races when I hold a pillow in my hands. Soon, I'll be there with Hazel again, and I don't know whether I can control myself. She is a bit too tempting...