“Military?”
“Shadow ops.”
“Haunts, Slayers, or Shredders?”
His pale silver eyes shine. “What do you think?”
“Shredders. Haunts don’t usually get their paws that dirty. You can’t be a Slayer.”
He tilts his head. “You’re a Slayer.”
“Weare.”
“Pack?”
“Aegeris.”
His posture quirks a little. Carnas’ attention darts around the ship at the other males. “I thought they were all…”
“Dead?” I nod to myself. “Yeah. Most do.”
“Your pack sacrificed itself to keep Mindor safe many years ago, when the Nebs first invaded to steal females.”
The space between my brows pulses with a headache every time I’m reminded of that day. “I remember. You don’t need to tell me.”
“Sorry.” He lightly backhands me in the chest. “Fuck it. Take my female. I’d do anything to call myself a pack mate of an Aegeris. If anyone can crack my teeth, it’s you. It would be an honor to join a family that understands my dedication to our kind but isn’t closed minded enough to pretend like monsters don’t exist.”
“They do,” I say.
“Ha. Yeah.Us.” Carnas snickers. He’s a broad-shouldered Mindor, like Azrim, but a bit thicker like he eats much better. “Hey, can I ask you one more question?”
I study the stars through the nearby window. We’re about fifteen minutes outside of lunar orbit. “Sure.”
“What happened to the last ship of empire soldiers all those years back?” Carnas steadies himself on a nearby post as the ship jolts out of hyperspeed. “Word got around that the ship was in orbit. Your pack took out the ground troops, but what made the Nebulous leave?”
I look down at my boots. “They took Azrim and me.”
“To the ship in orbit?”
“Yes.”
He shakes his head like he doesn’t understand.
“They did not expect juveniles to have such...bloodlust.” Even as I study Carnas’ face, I replay the memories of my claws slashing open Neb soldiers, Azrim’s teeth tearing the enemy apart, the flashes of gunfire, and the bullets cutting through us.That was the day we discovered our ability to steal light and turn it into crushing power.
The escape pod had no symbols we knew. Azrim protected me with a Neb rifle as I tracked the patterns and got the pod door shut. The pod was destroyed on impact. How we lived, I still don’t know.
“You two…”
I glance away. “Every day is the same battle now.”
“True, but you lived up to your pack name at a young age.” He pounds his clawed fist to his chest. “My allegiance is to you, Zorin of Aegeris, if you accept me.”
I’m worried now that I’ve made a mistake coming here. There’s no guarantee that my female will be safe. She is going to have to be stronger than most, familiar with war, and with being on her own while we fight. Those things are the opposite of what we promise to be to the humans who race.
“Let’s see how this week goes,” I reply. “I just need to get through this and back to our world, so we can return to the fight. The portal sightings have grown concerning.”
“You’ve had them in your district, too?” he asks.
