Chapter 21

Kat couldn’t stop thinking about the human lieutenant, and it was starting to interfere with her duties. Major Ontarii had enlisted her to help in the interrogation of the Hareema prisoners. So far, they’d been unable to garner any information from them, but it wasn’t helping that she was so damned distracted.

“Lieutenant Yarr, are you even paying attention to me?” Major Ontarii’s voice boomed. He’d been irritated all day, probably because he was forced to spend several hours away from his mate.

I’m irritated too, she wanted to shout. I drove my mate away because I couldn’t deal with the feelings, so back off.

At least, that’s what she wanted to say.

“I’m sorry, Sir,” is what she did say, trying to focus on his complicated plan for extracting information.

“Right. Now tell me, what are you to say when I tell them that we’re planning a move on their prison planet?”

Kat searched through the empty hallways of her mind but could come up with nothing. “Uhh, that we’ve already moved our fleet into position?”

“Dammit, Yarr,” he yelled, slamming his hands down on the briefing room table. “We’ve been over this three times already!”
“I’m sorry, Sir.”

“And that’s the tenth time you’ve apologized this hour. I’m beginning to think you’ve been replaced with a Hareema plant set on tormenting me.”

Kat saw the streaks of yellow starting to work their way up his skin and she shrank back. “I’m sorry!”

“Tell me what the hell is going on, or I’m going to throw you into a cell until we can make certain you haven’t been replaced.”

Kat wanted to groan. Why was he trying to force her to tell her secrets? Couldn’t he just leave her alone for Noruma’s sake!

“Answer me!”
“Fine!” she shouted, burning her commanding officer with a fiery gaze. “I’m in love with the human lieutenant.”

“I see,” Major Ontarii said, settling back down into his seat. “Well, I must say, that explains some things.”

Kat burned with embarrassment, aware that her skin was flushing orange for the major to see. “I’ve been trying to hide my feelings, to behave as if he doesn’t affect me, but the truth is, I’ve never wanted anyone more.”

Major Ontarii gave her a small smile. “I know the feeling.”

Kat had always looked to the major for guidance, but would have never imagined coming to him for romantic advice. Especially in light of her persistent crush on him that she’d only recently abandoned.

Still, Major Ontarii himself had chosen a mate, and very recently to boot. Maybe he had some insight that would help her out of the mess she found herself in.

Even if she’d already decided that she’d missed her chance.

“I understand how it feels, to be struck suddenly by love when you’ve never really given it a thought in your ordinary life.”

The major stared off into the distance, a look Kat had never seen before on his face. It was somewhere between dreamy and surprised. Awestruck by love. Her heart beat harder.

“At first, I couldn’t understand my attraction to a human. I mean, a human! One of the most backward races in the system. But the longer I spent with Brook, the stronger the feeling felt until I had to give in to temptation.”

Kat knew exactly what he meant. Although it had gone against everything she’d ever thought about the laws of attraction, she’d had to surrender the pull of the human lieutenant.

“It didn’t take long to realize that my feelings went beyond the sexual,” Major Ontarii continued, his eyes focused on a point in the distance as he reflected on his memories. “There was something about her, something special, and I’m not talking about the fact that she’s from a different species.”

The major’s smile widened. “She was beautiful, but she was also smart. Her tenacity amazed me, even as it frustrated me. She was loyal, strong, and had a sense of humor that made me remember how good it could be to laugh. How could I walk away from that?”

Kat ran a hand through the dark tendrils on her head that had been waving agitatedly for the last several hours. “But how do you deal with the rest of it? You’re both in command, with people relying on you. How do you build a life together when you’re literally worlds apart?”

Major Ontarii leaned back and crossed his arms over his expansive chest. “Our relationship is new, so we still have plenty of things to figure out and fight about. But the most important thing is that we’ve both made the decision to be together, no matter what. We put each other first, which means that, as much as I’ve always been devoted to duty, my career comes second.”

Kat nodded. She wasn’t sure if she could be so cavalier about walking away from the life she’d so carefully built for the past decade, but seeing her C.O. saying he would sacrifice anything to be with his mate gave her hope.

She realized then that she had unconsciously been rubbing her belly, her hand tracing slow circles on her still-flat stomach. She lifted her hand away immediately as if she’d been burned, and brought her gaze back to Major Ontarii’s face.

He’d caught her movements and had leaned forward, interested.

Kat’s voice was small when she revealed her greatest fear. “What about…what about the child? It would be neither human nor Zantharian. As you know, sentiment on our planet toward humans is not exactly positive at the moment.”

Major Ontarii’s expression grew dark. “I’m well aware. I barely got Brook to her ship’s docking bay today without strangling someone. Those idiots with their “Zanthar for Zantharian” signs and their stupid protest chants, they certainly represent a challenge.”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “These are difficult times, Kat’Chinna, but they won’t last forever. We’ll rout out the Hareema infiltrators and move to establish peaceful relations with Earth. That will calm down the bulk of the protestors.”

“You can’t please everyone,” Kat said softly.

“You’re right,” he replied. “But why worry about pleasing everyone? Please yourself for once. If you love Lieutenant Brunt, if he’s worth fighting for, then strap on your battle armor and be the warrior I know that you are.”

“And if a baby results from your union,” he said, tiny wrinkles appearing in the corner of his eyes as his smile widened, “then I pity any fool that dares to insult your child.”

Kat laughed. It was the first time she’d done so since she’d parted company with Jeffrey. It felt good.

“Thank you, Thrak’Lin,” she said, using his given name for the first time. “I appreciate your advice.”

He stood, walked to her chair and pulled her out of it. He held her in a loose embrace, and for a moment Kat wanted to cry.

“You’ve never been one to give up without a fight,” he said. “Don’t let me down now.”

As she left the briefing room for a much-needed, and major-ordered, nap, tears slid down her cheeks. Although it felt good to talk to someone about her dilemma, she still hadn’t resolved her feelings.

Did she risk everything for love? Could she build a life with someone who was vastly different from herself?

And what about the child?

A life could be growing inside her right now, one that was half Zantharian and half human.

In the heat of the moment, she’d decided to use her single chance to conceive with Jeffrey. She didn’t regret it, even if she thought it was likely foolish.

Chances are, human and Zantharian DNA are not compatible enough for inter-species breeding.

Still, she kept her hand on her stomach, wondering if she would soon be a mother to the child of the man she loved.

And if she were pregnant, should she tell him? Or should she let him return to Earth to forget about her?

Kat couldn’t answer those questions, not now, not with tears streaming down her face and exhaustion making her feel weak.

The only thing she was sure of at the moment was, if she did have Jeffrey’s baby, she hoped it had his lovely deep blue eyes.