Chapter 22

Ontarii tried futilely to get a grip on his emotions. He’d never been prone to mood swings, his skin generally remaining an even light green, which indicated his calm. Since the black mating frenzy had taken hold of him, he’d been riding wave after wave of emotion.

Ontarii stomped down the hallway, seething at his circumstances. He had allowed himself to be distracted by the lovely human female, and it had cost him. Not only had the Hareema agents been able to take out the two subordinates he’d brought with him, but he’d been trapped in an airlock and tricked by an imitation of the captain.

Now, perhaps worse by far was the mating frenzy. He’d been unable to resist the urge to fuck the exotic human, and now he was paying for it. In fact, he might have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

His life.

Zantharian men were forever bound to the woman they claimed as a mate. Because Zantharian females had only one egg with which to breed, they mated only once. A release of his seed into his chosen mate was the sole means to relieve the frenzy and save his life.

But to release his seed into a human? The thought was almost laughable.

Ontarii knew that the Supreme Regent of Zanthar had chosen a human female for his mate. The news had been carefully protected during the current state of emergency on Zanthar as a result of the Hareema threat. Still, rumors ran rife through the government, and the populous had been muttering about how much time the regent was spending with the human female.

Only a few selected officials high up in the government truly knew the full extent of the regent’s actions. He’d claimed Dr. Cohen as his mate, and he’d survived the frenzy by releasing his seed into the human. Because they were from different species, the likelihood of their conceiving was astronomically small. The regent had wasted his one chance to breed on a female he’d never be able to impregnate.

When word got out that he’d made the female his mate, the shit would hit the fan, as the human expression went.

Ontarii wouldn’t make that choice for himself. He’d always been married to his position, his duty outweighing everything else in his life. Still, somewhere in the back of his mind he’d thought that someday he might take a mate and breed a child with her. The thought of giving up that opportunity made him gnash his teeth.

Even if he never took a Zantharian female as a mate, he wouldn’t want to take a human. The infamy he’d experience might be enough to get him drummed out of the service. If not that, he’d always be a joke, laughed at behind his back. It would subtly erode his command, which was the death knell for authority figures.

“Hey, could you slow down a little? My legs aren’t as long as yours.”

His shoulders hunched as the female’s voice rose from behind him. He slowed his pace, letting out a sigh. For one second he allowed himself to consider the possibility of mating the female. He’d have to be willing to accept the ridicule of his people, but would she want to take on that burden as well?

Besides, Jennifer Brooklyn was a starship captain. Like soldiers, they were devoted solely to their jobs. Even if he wanted to claim her, he didn’t think she’d accept his claim. Instead, she’d board her ship again and fly back off into space, perhaps never to be seen again. That kind of abandonment could not be borne.

Because Zantharian biology had evolved such rigid structures to ensure the race remain strong, his people mated for life. Although the dark skin and intense mood swings subsided after the claiming, the same pull that a male felt during the mating frenzy – like he would not survive if his mate was not by his side at all times – lasted a lifetime once the frenzy had subsided.

Could a relationship with the human captain stand the test of time? He had his doubts.

Still, if he were being honest with himself, he’d have to admit that a tiny corner of his heart felt differently. It bombarded his brain with images of them snuggled together, telling each other their secrets while exploring every inch of one another’s bodies. He thought about showing her his world, taking her to all the places he’d enjoyed in his life.

Then a stray thought stopped him in his tracks. The image of a child, its skin a green so light it was almost white, dark tendrils covering its small head and golden eyes, froze him in place.

“Oof! Warn someone next time!” The pretty woman behind him ran into his back.

He couldn’t admit that the thought of having a child with her had paralyzed him, so he played it off. “Shh…I heard something.”

Yeah. The sound of my heart breaking.

“I didn’t hear anything,” she whispered roughly.

Ontarii made a display of scanning the corridor before he proceeded to enter the mess. As the chamber widened, Jennifer stepped up beside him.

She looked up at him, and her golden eyes hit him with the force of a blow.

Why does she have to be so damn beautiful? If I thought I could claim her and keep her, I might risk it.

“Are you seeing anyone? Back on Earth, I mean.” He realized how foolish the question sounded when he caught sight of her flabbergasted expression.

“Is that really something we should be talking about right now?” Her tone of voice said it wasn’t.

“You’re right. Sorry.” Stupid!

Her expression softened. “But no, I’m not.”

He didn’t trust the way he felt ten times lighter after hearing her answer. Get yourself together. The situation is too dangerous to be distracted by the attractive female by your side.

Still, he couldn’t keep the smile from climbing across his face. He turned and surveyed the mess hall, finding debris still strewn around the tables and chairs, but the place was empty.

Jennifer turned her attention back to him. “Maybe the FIDOs are still down, after what you did to them.”

Ontarii nodded, but he feared something worse. If the Hareema had realized that the robots were able to point them out when they had taken a shape not their own, they might be bent on destroying the FIDOs. Which meant they needed to get to them before the enemy could.

Once again he picked up his pace. The human captain let out a frustrated huff behind him, but a glance over his shoulder showed that she was keeping up. He stopped before the cargo bay entry, and this time she managed to skitter to a halt before running into him.

A quick scan of the bay showed the FIDOs were no longer in their previous resting places.

Shit. We’re too late.

“Where are they?” she asked.

“Not where I left them.” He scowled, wishing he’d figured things out earlier.

“Maybe they recovered from your attack and are somewhere else on the ship.”

Ontarii shook his head, dominos starting to drop in his mind. “I doubt it. More likely, that’s what the ship came for.”

The Hareema already on the ship had probably discovered the issue while trying to complete its mission, whatever that was. Infiltrating Zanthar, undoubtedly. It found out the FIDOs could trace it and called out for reinforcements.

He glanced at his companion and saw that she was coming to the same conclusion. “We’ve got to get to that ship.”

He agreed. “The Hareema craft seems to have settled over the same hatch my men and I entered by.”

Together they rushed out of the cargo bay and into the corridor, headed back toward the mess hall.

When they reached the corridor that led to the external hatch, Ontarii pulled the human captain to his side. His back against the wall, he carefully peered around the corner. He was expecting some sort of guard, but the corridor was empty.

“Maybe we should make a thorough search of the rest of the ship before we go down there,” Jennifer mumbled.

He thought he detected a note of fear in her voice.

“Not this time.” Their searches so far had ended badly. “We need to seize the opportunity while we have the chance. They probably think we’re still locked in the bridge.”

“Maybe, but I don’t know…” she replied, grabbing his arm and squeezing it. A rush of protectiveness flooded through him at her action. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

“Why does everyone inevitably use that line in situations like this? I mean, under what circumstances would you have a good feeling about this?”

Jennifer rolled her lovely eyes at him.

“Forget it.” She dropped his arm and straightened. “Let’s go.”

He instantly missed her touch.

Regretting his off-the-cuff remark, he wanted to take her into his arms and soothe her. She had a right to be scared. Alien shapeshifters were crawling all over her ship, her crew was missing, and they were about to head into enemy territory.

But he couldn’t embrace her, regardless of how much he wanted to. Her body language said she wouldn’t appreciate him pulling her into his arms right now. Not to mention the fact that the enemy could surround them at any moment, or they could run into a squad of angry robots.

Ontarii wished suddenly that he would have met her under different circumstances. He wasn’t sure what sort of situation would have brought him into contact with the brash human captain, but he longed for a chance to put aside the constant fear and nagging distrust and be able to talk to her, to hold her and comfort her, without death hanging over their heads.

Ontarii started forward down the corridor, charging up his bioelectricity. The charge was faint. He still hadn’t built up enough of his energy since taking out the FIDOs a little while ago. He prayed to Noruma that they wouldn’t run into any Hareema before he could get back to full charge.

The hatch was closed, and he motioned for Captain Brooklyn to open it. She hit the buttons on the console that would release the hatch, and when he heard the whoosh of air from the seal being released, he grabbed the hatch handle and pulled.

Ontarii was surprised to see the small craft’s own hatch was standing open. He’d expected it to be closed as an additional security measure. Taking a look around the empty vessel, he stepped over the threshold and onto the ship.

When Jennifer moved to follow, he held up his hand. “Wait outside. Both of us shouldn’t be on the ship at the same time.”

She nodded and stood guard at the hatch.

Ontarii crept into the center of the ship’s small control room. The room was ovoid, and there were no chairs or console stations. Instead, lights blinked from the walls and the ceiling. Hareema weren’t bound into traditional bipedal form, meaning they didn’t need console stations. They could ooze into every nook and cranny the ship could hold.

After a quick inspection, Ontarii realized that there didn’t seem to be any additional areas on the ship. Just one oval room. He turned back to his companion, and that’s when he saw it.

It looked like the corridor wall was moving. The dull gray surface seemed to be slipping forward, looming over the back of his woman.

“Get down!” he yelled, charging up his bio-weapon.

The captain stared at him for a second, wide-eyed and afraid, then dropped to the floor.

Ontarii flung out his hand in the direction of the thing and expelled the greatest charge he could manage. The electric beam hit the creature and it shuddered backward.

He hit the thing as hard as he could, but to his dismay the charge was depleted too quickly. The wall seemed to melt, sliding down to the floor, but the Hareema held its shape and color. Instead of reverting to a red jelly, it became a gray puddle.

Ontarii watched in horror as the puddle shot out a tendril that wrapped around Jennifer's leg.

He summoned up all his strength to blast the creature anew. He held out his hand.

Nothing happened. There was no charge left.

He grabbed the female's arms and pulled hard, hoping to jerk her out of the thing's grasp. She scrambled along the floor and the tentacle came with her.

Ontarii yanked her into the ship, then circled around to bring down his boot on the creature's extension. It wiggled beneath him, so he stomped down hard. Then again.

One more hard stomp and the tentacle released its grip. Drawing back, he kicked the gray beast, propelling it back down the hallway. He wasted no time rushing onto the alien craft and slamming the hatch closed.

His intention was to wait the creature out, to buy some time for his bio-energy to recharge. But the moment the hatch was sealed, he heard it lock. All of a sudden the craft dislodged itself from the side of the Earhart. Before he could blink, the small vessel was speeding away from the human ship.

"What's happening?" Jennifer asked, pulling herself off the floor.

"We're moving." Ontarii spun around, trying to puzzle out the Hareema technology. Not being bound by the typical form of two arms and two legs, the Hareema had built a system the likes of which he'd never seen. Without guidance, it could take him a lifetime to figure out which interface controlled what function.

Jennifer was scanning the ship's various systems as closely as he was. "Where the hell are we going?"

Ontarii frowned. "How should I know? Do I look like I can operate this contraption?"

His anger spilled over into his tone, and she growled softly at him. The sound ran down his spine like an intoxicating drug, and he had to force himself not to think about the need to mate the woman next to him.

They had fallen into another Hareema trap. It seemed like he'd done nothing but stumble through one enemy plot after another. The major was used to anticipating his opponent's next move. He was used to staying one step ahead, outmaneuvering the enemy at every turn.

He was not used to losing.

Now the Hareema were playing him like a game of skipping stones. First, they'd separated him from his flagship, then killed his men. Now he was shooting off into space, destination unknown.

In the blink of an eye, the commander of the Zantharian had become a Hareema prisoner.