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Chapter
One
“You sure you’re up for it?” The Zevrian security chief glanced back at Tegan as she led her onto the spaceship, her boots making the metal ramp shake and rattle. “Have you ever handled four pregnant women at one time?”
Tegan stopped twirling a strand of chestnut hair around her pointer finger as she met Tori’s gaze. “They aren’t all due at the same time, are they?”
“No, we aren’t.”
Tegan blanched, her steps faltering. “I didn’t know you were one of the expecting mothers.”
Tori dismissed her mistake with a wave of one hand as she reached the top of the ship’s ramp. “Don’t sweat it. Zevrians don’t show our pregnancies until we’re almost ready to pop, and then we almost literally pop. Our babies are born through our stomachs.” The alien with brown skin and a row of bumps along her hairline turned to the new midwife she’d just hired. “I should have asked you if you have experience with Zevrian births.”
“I’ve assisted with one,” Tegan admitted, “but I’ve delivered hundreds of healthy babies, so I feel confident about taking care of the four moms-to-be on this ship.”
Tori nodded and eyed her quickly. “Good. I’m hoping you also have tricks to keep the babies from driving us crazy once they’re here.”
“I thought the job was only for the deliveries.”
Tori gave her a crooked grin that exposed her pointed, back teeth. “It is. I was joking. I know there will be no way to keep a half-Zevrian, half-Dothvek baby under control, but if all goes according to plan, we’ll be back on the Dothvek home world by the time I deliver. My mate’s tribe lives in tents in a desert. Babies’ cries don’t echo as much out there.” She gestured to the steel ceiling of the spaceship. “In here, it’s enough to drive you mad.”
“How many babies are already on board?”
“Only two, but one is half Lycithian shapeshifter, so be warned. Qek thinks it’s hilarious to shift into the form of Pog.”
Tegan wasn’t sure if this was another joke, but Tori wasn’t smiling. “Is Pog the other baby?”
Tori snorted out a laugh. “I wish. Pog is a Lycithian shapeshifting glurkin.” When she didn’t respond, Tori added, “A pet.”
Tegan frowned. She wasn’t a fan of animals on spaceships. Actually, she didn’t have any experience with animals on spaceships. She wasn’t a fan of animals anywhere. The only creatures that had lived among the settlers on the dingy outpost she’d grown up on had been scavenging grinderwolves. They were mangy beasts who would as soon take a chunk from your leg as look at you, so she’d learned to steer clear. “How big of a pet?”
Tori held her hands out and apart as if she were holding a small sugar melon. “Not big, and I’m pretty sure he’s ninety percent green fur.”
“Small and green.” Tegan made a mental note. “Got it.”
Tori held up a finger as she hung a right and led Tegan down a corridor. “But be warned, a green ball of fluff could be Qek pretending to be Pog.”
Tegan took all this in, wondering suddenly if she’d made a mistake. When Tori had approached her stall in the marketplace, she’d been sure the tough-looking female was lost. Nothing about the Zevrian with wild, dark curls held on top of her head by a pair of sharp, metal sticks conveyed that she’d be interested in Tegan’s natural remedies, but then she’d made her proposition. Join the bounty hunter babes—that was the phrase she’d used—on their ship until all the females aboard gave birth. In exchange, she’d be paid handsomely, along with her room and board.
The credits she’d been promised weren’t the reason Tegan had said yes to the odd proposal. It was true she was an experienced midwife, and taking care of four pregnant females would be a breeze compared to her usual workload. Babies seemed to come with brutal frequency in the far-flung outpost, so there was rarely a week she didn’t deliver at least one, usually more. The money Tori had promised would more than compensate her for her work and her time, but it was the chance to travel among the stars that had been the reason Tegan had said yes without thinking.
Not only did she want to experience space travel, but she also wanted to get away from the place she’d lived for her entire life. She’d been born into poverty to a single mother on the outpost, and every day of her life had been a struggle to stay afloat. She supposed she was luckier than most. Her mother had taught her how to be a midwife, so she had a skill that was in steady demand, but it was also a job that made her feel like nothing ever changed.
Babies continued to be born without fathers, since most men on the outpost ended up leaving for better opportunities or were only ever passing through. The mothers struggled, children often went hungry, and young women eyed handsome visitors as a means to an escape the squalor. So, the cycle continued.
Tegan scanned the dark interior of the ship, her heart hammering. But she was finally doing it. She was leaving. Even if it was only for a while.
“I didn’t expect a group called the bounty hunter babes to have such a battleship,” she admitted as they wound down another dimly lit corridor.
“This wasn’t always our ship.” Tori glanced back and grinned at her. “It’s actually a Zevrian mercenary ship we…acquired.”
It sounded like there was a story there, but before she could ask, something bumped her leg, and she jumped. The green ball of fur scampering around her legs made a series of high-pitched sounds.
“Speak of the devil,” Tori muttered as she paused. “That’s Pog.” She bent to get a better look. “I’m almost positive it’s Pog.”
Despite her usual fear of animals, Tegan smiled at the little creature. How could she be afraid of something so small? She couldn’t even see any teeth. She reached down and ruffled the fur on the top of his head. At least, she thought it was the top of his head. It was hard to tell since he seemed to be completely round and rolled around a lot.
“Uh oh.” Tori gave her a sympathetic look as Pog’s noises turned into purrs. “Now you’ve done it.”
