Layla sat at the human’s bedside, not sure whether to call her Anuk or Alexis. The human slowly stirred as the sedation started to wear off.

Zharek had been left with no choice but to knock her out. When Layla had finally been allowed to enter the lab again, the human had been terrified, incoherent, screaming her lungs out as a group of scary Kordolians loomed over her. Jeez, Layla didn’t blame the woman. She probably would have had the same reaction.

And then there had been Enki. Layla had screamed and banged on the door as she watched him on the holo—lying on the floor, blind fury and fear twisting his features—until they had let her in.

Watching him like that—it had felt like a piece of her heart was being torn out.

Layla made a beeline for him, not caring that the intimidating boss-Kordolian had him pinned on the floor, not caring that he was wild and frantic and naked, his claws out, his fangs bared, his eyes unfocused and filled with the most unimaginable darkness.

An emotion she couldn’t even define. Something utterly alien.

Catching sight of Layla as she passed, the woman had screamed out her name. “Layla Rose, it’s me, Alexis Carter. We were on the Malachi together. Please, help me!” Then her speech had descended into incoherent babbling as she flailed around on the floor, accidentally cutting herself on a shard of glass, and Zharek had no choice but to stick a needle in her arm, sedating her.

He’d done some mysterious medical stuff on her, stabilized her, and brought her to the pod. Confused and worried, Layla had insisted that the first face she saw when she woke should be a familiar one. Only me.

Because really, how fucking terrifying would it be to go from all the death and chaos on the Malachi to waking up in a dark alien ship, surrounded by scary Kordolian faces?

“I think she’s stirring,” she said softly, and the dark, reassuring presence behind her grunted in agreement.

Of course Enki was there with her, but he was standing in the corner, out of sight; a phantom in the shadows, so silent he might not have even been there if Layla didn’t know any better.

Her guardian.

Ever since the fog of insanity had cleared, he’d refused to let her out of his sight. The old Layla might have considered his behavior overbearing and stalkerish, but after what they’d been through together, she didn’t just accept his unwavering presence at her side, she reveled in it.

He was Kordolian. They seemed to do things a little… differently.

“If she does anything unpredictable, just step back. I will handle it.”

“I don’t think she’ll cause any trouble, but let’s see. Don’t hurt her.”

“Of course.” Enki snorted. “There are many ways to immobilize a human without causing harm.”

“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow in mock-surprise.

“Maybe I will show you later.” Enki’s voice became a deep, seductive rumble, and Layla almost forgot about the task at hand.

It was so good to have her sexy Kordolian back. After the incident in the labs, Enki had been quick to recover his composure, his diamond-hard exterior falling back into place, leaving no trace of the darkness inside.

That was her mate, going from mind-shattered victim to hardened warrior in an instant. She didn’t know what had happened to make him react so strongly, and she suspected she might never know all the details—it wasn’t Enki’s style to bare his soul to the world—but that was okay. He was back, and he was fine, and that was all she cared about.

“Layla,” he whispered, drawing her attention to the human.

Deep brown eyes fluttered open, and for a split-second, so briefly Layla almost missed it, they glowed green, before returning to their natural brown-black hue.

She was awake. She looked around, taking in the dark curving walls of the room, and thank the stars Abbey had brought in some decent lighting, because the Kordolian station was truly a thing of spooky alien fantasies; a black behemoth carved from the fabric of the Universe itself.

And as far as Layla knew, she, Abbey, and now Alexis were the only living humans onboard.

“Hey, it’s me.” Layla reached out and placed her hand over the woman’s. “Layla, from the Malachi. It’s okay, Alexis. You’re safe now.”

She responded to her name, turning to study Layla’s face with great intensity. True to form, Enki stayed hidden, a silent, unwavering presence in the background. Menacing, even, if you were on his bad side. “What happened to you, Layla Rose?” she croaked, and her question definitely came from Alexis Carter the human, not Anuk the Tharian.

Somehow, the Tharian had brought her back. A cold ripple ran down Layla’s spine. This was some necromancy-level shit. How was such a thing even possible? And what had happened to Anuk?

“Me? Don’t you worry about me,” she said gently, her heart hammering as she looked into the eyes of a dead woman who had come back to life. “This might sound crazy, but we’ve both been rescued. We’re on a Kordolian ship in the Ninth Sector.”

“Kordolian?” A look of pure horror crossed Alexis’s face. She sat bolt-upright, gathering her robes around her. “So that really happened? N-no, it can’t be possible. You can’t trust these people, Layla. They’ll skin you alive and eat your fucking heart out if you give them the chance. We have to get out of here.” Her eyes darted around the room, taking on a paranoid hardness.

Layla discreetly put one hand behind her back, giving Enki a signal. Wait. She could almost sense the tension radiating from him; he would be standing there in the darkness, poised and ready to move between her and Alexis at the slightest hint of danger.

Wait. Please. I’ve got this.

“Alexis,” she said slowly, forcing herself to sound as calm as possible, “I know these people. They have nothing to do with the Kordolians from the Empire. They fought the Empire. They aren’t going to hurt you.”

“Y-you don’t understand,” she whispered, clutching the sheets against her chest. “The reason I left Earth was because of them.”

“Something happened on Earth?” Layla asked sharply. “Did a Kordolian do something to you?”

But Alexis refused to answer, shaking her head, her eyes wide with terror. She wasn’t entirely… all there. “I can’t say,” she whispered. “They could be listening.”

Shit. Layla was at a loss. If Alexis encountered a Kordolian now…

“We do not spy on our passengers.” And just like that, Enki emerged from the shadows, materializing at Layla’s side like a goddamn wraith.

“Oh my god!” Alexis scrambled backward, pulling the sheets with her as she shrank back into the dark recess of the sleeping pod. “Don’t you fucking touch me!”

“Stop it,” Enki snapped, his voice taut with irritation. “We are not going to hurt you.”

Layla squeezed his arm. Relax. Whatever had happened in the lab had obviously been traumatic, because Alexis was totally incoherent… damaged.

“He’s not going to hurt you.” Intentionally, Layla threaded her fingers through Enki’s; a gesture of affection, of possession. Alexis’s eyes widened.

“You must be famished,” Layla said instead, taking a leaf out of Abbey’s playbook. “What about if I leave you to rest while I go and rustle something up from the kitchen-bot? They’ve got a pretty high-tech one. It makes some wicked cinnamon croissants.” She glanced at Enki. “He’s not your enemy. Trust me. I’ll come back with a nice lady friend of mine, a human, of course. You think we’d be walking around here eating cinnamon croissants from a kitchen-bot if these guys were scary vicious killers?”

Well, they were scary vicious killers, and heart-eaters too, but Layla wasn’t going to tell Alexis that.

Oh, the irony.

Alexis blinked. She stared at Layla and Enki for a long time, her eyes dropping to where Layla and Enki’s fingers intertwined. “I’m hungry,” she admitted. “I could eat a horse right now.” Although the prospect of food seemed to have calmed her a little, she still kept stealing wary glances at Enki, as if he were a wolf that might turn on her at any moment.

Don’t worry, honey, he ain’t gonna bite. Well, maybe only sometimes. Layla’s other hand drifted to the base of her neck, where Enki had left his mark.

“I’ll get you something, Alexis. You’ve been through a lot. Maybe you’d prefer a moment alone, to process everything.”

“I-I’d appreciate that.”

Well, it was a start. At least Alexis didn’t have that wild-eyed look anymore; as if she were a rabbit trapped by a wolf’s mesmerizing gaze.

“Be back soon,” Layla reassured her, turning toward the exit. Enki led the way, his face an expressionless mask. “Oh, and Alexis?” Layla couldn’t help it; she looked back over her shoulder, a question burning inside her mind.

“What is it?”

“Do you know someone called Anuk?”

For a moment, Alexis’s eyes grew unfocused, and again there was that faint shimmer of green. “Oh, the blue lady? We met in a dream,” she whispered, as if in a trance. “We’re friends now.”

What the hell does that even mean?

“That’s… good…” I guess. A ripple of unease coursed down Layla’s spine, and goosebumps prickled on her arms, but she didn’t quite know why. The Tharian wasn’t an enemy… was she?

Sensing her discomfort, Enki laid his hand on the small of her back as they stepped through the unravelling black door. “Go and get her something to eat. I will stand guard outside in case she does anything stupid,” he whispered, turning and pressing her against the wall as the doors closed behind them. “I am impressed.”

“Why? I didn’t do anything special.”

“You take care of your own,” he rumbled, dropping a sneaky kiss on her lips. “Even when most of your race has shunned you.”

“You know about that?” Heat entered her cheeks as she felt a surge of that familiar crappy old emotion—shame. “How did you know?”

“I know, and I don’t care.” He kissed her again, sending delicious ripples of warmth through her body. “If that is the only thing keeping you from returning to Earth, I can fix it.”

“But there’s no way you can—”

“Layla.” His tone became stern; he spoke her name like a whipcrack, demanding her complete and undivided attention. “Don’t argue. I will make them understand. How can I allow my mate to suffer at the hands of mere humans?” His eyes glinted dangerously, promising a world of pain to anyone who dared to defy him.

Stars, he looked so fierce, and Layla loved that about him. It was at that moment that she started to believe she might actually be able to return to Earth—and live in peace.

It might not be perfect, but Earth was home, and she missed the feeling of the pure summer sun on her bare skin. If there was one thing she wished she could bottle up and bring with her into space, it was that.

Layla gave him a sly look. “And what about me? Do you see me as a mere human?”

Even though she already knew the answer to her question.

“No. You are my mate.” He kissed her again. “For me, there is no equal.”

“You’re not so bad either, Kordolian.” She poked him in the chest. “We humans have our good points too, you know.”

“I am not interested in other humans. Only you.”

Ooh. That was the thing about these Kordolians. Abbey had tried to explain it to her—that once they made up their minds they were all in—but Layla needed to witness it first hand; to live it in order to truly understand.

She was still learning so much about him, and he kept surprising her in the most thrilling of ways. All it took was a whisper, a glance, a touch, and Layla would become entranced all over again.

Seriously, when had they gone from scary alien/frightened human to this? It had happened so fast, and yet it felt so natural. Perhaps if Enki hadn’t shown her small glimpses of vulnerability behind that diamond-hard exterior of his, she wouldn’t have caved so quickly, but he was what he was.

Dangerous.

A little bit damaged.

Irresistible.

The way he’d been after the consciousness transfer—wild, haunted, savage—that image of him was imprinted on her mind forever, but she would not forcefully seek an explanation from him.

Layla knew all too well what it was like to be hounded, and maybe all that time she’d spent alone in the escape-pod had taught her a certain kind of patience.

No, she would wait until he came to her, in the same the way that he’d been so patient with her while her injuries were still healing.

And if he never mentioned another word about the whole thing ever again…

Well, maybe that was okay too.

“Layla.” His low voice penetrated deep into her thoughts. “The past is exactly that.”

“Are you a mind reader?”

“No. The question is written on your face.”

“I can’t help but wonder,” she murmured. “It’s because I care.”

He took her face into his hands, caressing her cheeks, her jaw, his touch both roughly possessive and reverent, turning into to pure tenderness as he studied her closely, his intense, searching gaze roaming across her face like a gentle caress. “Huh,” he said, as if he’d just stumbled across the most unbelievable thing. “Huh.”

“Why does that surprise you?” Layla drew strength from his intense scrutiny, feeling adored. For a woman who was used to being stared at by billions of people across Earth’s networks, this was strangely humbling.

“Not surprised. Simply appreciating my good fortune.” He didn’t say anything more after that, instead choosing to capture her lips with his own, running his fingers through her long hair and down the nape of her neck. The way he touched her was a statement in itself—she was unequivocally his, and his alone.

“I’ll be back,” she said softly as she disentangled herself from his arms. It was difficult beyond belief. “And then we can appreciate our good fortune together.”

“Indeed,” he rumbled, his lingering gaze holding the heat of a thousand suns. “And I will do a lot more than just appreciate…” He gently swatted her ass.

Emboldened by his teasing, Layla raised a sly eyebrow. “Oh, really?”

“Really.”

And that was that.