Chapter 32

THIRTY-TWO

He was back in his body, back to reality, and the feeling of pure escape and bliss and her was just a precious memory that he carefully wrapped and sealed in the innermost sanctum of his heart.

His eyes snapped open. He was on his feet, moving faster than ever before, lashing out at the one who'd dared to lay a hand on him.

Why was he so fast all of a sudden?

It didn't matter.

Someone was here, and they'd gotten closer than they should have. Normally, he would have sensed them coming from a kulik away, but this time, he'd dropped his guard.

Dragek's hand found the intruder's neck. He propelled himself forward, fuelled by anger, overcome with an overwhelming urge to kill.

Without thinking, he squeezed his attacker's neck.

The intruder's hand went up, wrapping around his wrist, gripping him with formidable power.

Stop. It's just me.

Dragek faltered as Ashrael's mindvoice snapped him back to reality. He stared back at his once-enemy, the Silent One who had given him a chance to be something else.

Ashrael went perfectly still, refusing to retaliate even though he could have fought back with immense and lethal force.

He let Dragek wrap his hand around his neck.

It was the right thing to do.

The only thing.

If Ashrael had fought him then, he would have lashed out with the fury of a thousand suns.

But his minder was as cold as the ice sheets of the Vaal, and even though Dragek really could have killed Ashrael then and there, he didn't move.

What incredible nerve.

It occurred to him that Ashrael was already wearing his skinsuit. The saladin material both reflected and absorbed light, creating a subtly mesmerizing effect. There was nothing else like it in the Universe. The only thing that was missing was the death-mask: the featureless pale oval that would completely conceal his face, giving him the visage of a soulless killer.

At least, until he applied the qim and disappeared from sight entirely, becoming a true wraith.

It took Dragek more than a heartbeat to gather himself and calm the fuck down. His senses were extremely heightened, his self-control more brittle, his anger more difficult to contain. Pain throbbed through his temples. His ka'qui threatened to spiral out of control.

Just my cursed luck.

He might have satisfied his hunger for her in the world of dreams, but his real, physical body was caught in the grip of full-blown Mating Fever.

Dragek loosened his grip a fraction, but he didn't let go of Ashrael's neck just yet. After all, the bastard had pulled him away from her .

He'd better have a damn good excuse.

"Are we leaving already?" he hissed, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Surely, Ashrael could have given him more warning before he approached, especially when he'd been in such an unguarded state.

He couldn't believe he'd let him get so close, but then again, he had been singularly distracted.

The entire Fleet Station felt it.

"What are you talking about?"

Most of them had no idea what was happening. But every single individual on this station was suddenly overcome with intense sexual arousal. They had to shut down critical operations. You're fortunate that Tarak chose to take advantage of the situation rather than classify it as an incident.

Dragek blinked. It was one of those rare occasions where he was truly stunned. Actually, he didn't react like this, ever.

They had done that? He and Jade?

No. He knew how to keep his aura contained.

She didn't.

By the Goddess.

Suppressing his killing intent, he shook his head a fraction.

Sweet, unassuming Jade had projected that to the entire Fleet Station. He didn't care one whit about what others had experienced during their mating—in fact, all the better if everyone understood that she was his— but from what he knew of her, she would be self-conscious about it all.

She didn't have to worry about a thing. If anyone dared disrespect her, he would make them suffer.

"I don't even know what that means—to take advantage."

Ashrael's lips curved into a knowing smile—as if he held some deep and precious secret. "Your chosen mate is quite the powerful one. For those of us who are already mated, a sudden surge of lust is nothing new. We can easily handle such things. Some of us even have our mates with us. But the thousands of crew members onboard who have never experienced the Mating Fever are now likely to be highly sensitized to any potential future exposures."

Releasing his grip on Ashrael's neck at last, Dragek shook his head again, still not quite able to comprehend what the Silent One was saying.

Ashrael took a step back and folded his arms, completely unflustered. He still wore that infuriating smile. It was astounding that a Silent One could make an expression like that. "Your mate simply projected what she was feeling at the time. And she made all of us feel it, too. Some of us even acted upon it. There's no harm done, but she's definitely going to need to learn how to control her aura. Noa will help her."

Dragek bristled. "If it was so harmless, why did you interrupt?"

"Because, my brother, time passes differently in the void. You were out for longer than you thought, and now that you've had your fun, it's time for us to work." A second skinsuit appeared in Ashrael's hand. He held it out to Dragek. "In case you'd forgotten, there's an active hostage situation and a would-be emperor who needs to be taken down. Amun Kazharan could be the key to everything. It's time to prove your loyalty to us, katach. Time to decide whose side you're on, once and for all."

Dragek bared his fangs as he took the skinsuit, letting the strong yet fluid fabric slide across his fingertips. Such a familiar texture. It reminded him of bloodshed and the silence that came after.

It irked him that Ashrael would even question his loyalty.

He'd just claimed his human.

What else did Ashrael think he was going to do?

Fighting the irrational rage that rose inside him, he schooled his features to blankness. He was still in the grip of the Mating Fever. Restraint was harder than ever.

"This mission," he said at last. "How critical is it?"

The other Silent One's smile disappeared. "Think of it this way. There are human women onboard that ship. Like my mate. Like yours. Innocents. What do you think they'll try if we let them get away with this? Earth is under our protection now. Everything from that planet belongs to us. Including them."

Dragek tried to imagine what Jade would think. With her sense of justice, she would urge him to go after them.

He wouldn't be surprised if the humans had been treated terribly—as breeding slaves. And the ones that had taken them—cruel remnants of the Noble Houses—wouldn't hesitate to do the same to Jade or any other human.

The thought of it nearly made him apoplectic with rage.

He would make Amun Kazharan pay.

"Your ka'qui is a little terrifying right now," Ashrael said mildly. "That's good. You can use that. Channel it. Since you haven't yet completely mastered the qim , let me show you something useful."

"What?" Dragek's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Irritation flared, but he suppressed it. It was true. He might be able to use qim adequately, but he was nowhere near as proficient as Ashrael.

Time to take a lesson from the master.

"The Mating Fever has heightened all of your instincts and made you quick to anger. There's pent-up energy inside you. If you ignore it, your body will suffer, and your mind will drift toward insanity."

It occurred to Dragek that these effects were merely physical. In fact, he could just go to her quarters right now and have her. At the height of his madness, with all this fury and lust seething inside him, he could take her again—this time, in his real physical form.

But she was resting in his inner sanctum, asleep for the first time in ages.

"There's no time for that," Ashrael said softly as if reading his mind. "We just received communication that our target is making a course for a nearby ice planet. One that's listed in the ancient records as an abandoned Zor outpost. We must reach them before they land."

"So, what do I do?" Dragek's voice came out colder than he intended. He didn't like the sound of that planet. Zor things gave him bad vibes. There must be a reason Amun Kazharan was so intent on reaching that place.

And whatever it was, it wouldn't be good.

"It's simple. The energy coursing inside you—you fuse it with your ka'qui and channel it. Qim is the most draining state of all, but you can use that to your advantage. Just like the others use violence, you can use the technique to drain the excesses of the Mating Fever."

"Hm." He couldn't help but agree with Ashrael's strategy. It was so elegantly simple he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it earlier. How well this man understood him.

But, of course he did. They were cut from the same cloth, after all.

"And now you have a reason not to throw your life away recklessly," Ashrael said solemnly. "You have to return. And believe me, when you do, the reward will be far beyond anything you could ever have imagined."

"You speak from… experience?" Dragek couldn't help the surprise that entered his voice. To think that the infamous Ashrael, the Silent One feared by all others, could sound like this, his expression soft as some tightly held cherished thought crossed his mind.

Even his fearsome aura softened, if just for a moment. "Believe me, brother, I do."